whatadiva

I have a credit score of 800 out of 1000 (annualcreditreport.co.uk)

I have moved to the states after marrying an american and currently filing for AOS.

For those who moved to the states for whatever reason, how did you build up on your credit score?

I only have an account with citibank at the moment.

are UK credit scores valid here in the u.s?

whatadiva

and I've notice that here in the u.s to get calcuate your credit score you have to enter your SSN, which I do not have at the moment because I am currently waiting for my EAD.

Rebster

I'm terribly sorry to tell you that your UK credit score is meaningless here.

My husband had perfect credit in the UK. It meant nothing when buying a house here. He even had a copy of his UK credit report that he gave to our mortgage broker, but it ended up being worthless in the eyes of the lenders here. We were able to buy a house, but that was with me (the US citizen) as the primary on the loan as well as a hefty downpayment.

I then had my husband added to my bank account and credit cards in an attempt to build his credit. Once he had a SSN and a job we applied for a joint credit card to build up his US credit score. It takes a little time, but 2 years on he now has nearly as good of a score as he had in the UK.

Frustrating, I know. :curse:

helwardman

^^^ This depends entirely on the lender. I managed to buy a house last year without a US credit score. My lender used my UK credit reports.

whatadiva

who was your mortgage lender?

helwardman

Can't remember who the original lender was......the loan has now been sold to Chase.

Norri

Generally UK scores are not useful.

Do you have a Citibank credit card? if not get one even if it is secured, you have to start somwhere.

Are you buying furniture? these kinds of stores tend to be more lenient, just make sure you pay the bills.

If you had good UK credit you will have it in the US eventually, just follow the same rules.

Bob

read the wiki, big chunk of info on credit system.

best bet was switching over a AmEx card, bit late now if you didn't already have one.

sime303

People wonder why the economy fell apart.

helwardman

I think it helped that I put down a 60% deposit and also demonstrated that I had $50k in the bank on top of that. It wasn't an ill-advised loan on the bank's part.

sime303

One of very few I would say

ukintexas

Check out www.myfico.com which has lots of tips for establishing and building upon your credit. It just takes some time, patience and process following. 800 is not a bad score by any means!
Wells Fargo are a good mortgage lender to approach.

thebrit123

My good credit from the UK, 25 years ago, did not help me in the USA. In fact, I was turned down from getting a VISA card. That annoyed me since I already possessed one from Barclays bank. The reason was due to the lack of a credit history. I solved this by opening up a store credit card from J.C Penneys, Sears turned me down.

tonrob

Me too. This was four years ago though, and using a fairly small bank local to me. I'd been referred to them via my employer (a known company locally) and then I sat with the mortgage adviser and we pulled up my UK report together online in her office. We moved into our new home 9 weeks after arriving in the U.S. (This timeline was negotiated with the sellers - I got the impression that the bank could have moved much quicker).

I did qualify for their FTB package (95% LTV) but I went for 89% to avoid paying for mortgage indemnity insurance (if that's what they call it here).

tamms_1965

Ditto. DH bought a computer on 90 days same as cash deal when he opened a Circuit City card and paid it off in 90 days. I had him be a cosigner on my car to help build his credit also. Basically, piggy back on the wife's credit for a few years and that will build yours.