Jump to content
Cecile and Bryan

Wire transfer to the USA

 Share

17 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: France
Timeline

I have searched the posts talking about transfering money and some people talk about wire directly through the banks, some talked about websites like Xoom or Moneygram, even Paypal. But most of the discussions were about transfering money from the USA to another country.

Here's the situation. When I go to the USA with my K1 visa, I will open a bank account with my soon-to-be husband and then I will want to transfer most of the money that is on my French bank account. I have a relatively big amount of money to transfer (meaning more than $10000). I have read that big amounts raise red flags for IRS.

-> Should I try to transfer less than $10000 at a time (therefore, I would make several wire transfers, which will increase the fees) instead of trying to transfer everything at once?

Moreover, as probably all of you, I'd like to find a way where the fees are minimized.

Xoom seems to be only for transfers from the US to other countries.

Western Union has huge fees for big transfers (from what I read here).

Moneygram quotes €150 ($230) for fees, for a transfer of €5000. I believe it is more than the bank fees.

I couldn't find the exact amounts for Paypal and I'm not sure what the biggest amount I can transfer through it would be.

Some talked about traveller checks but I would be very anxious to have all my money on a small piece of paper... :S

-> What would be the best solution to bring my money to the USA?

07/31/08 Entry in USA with K1 visa

08/27/08 Married

05/15/09 Conditional green card received

05/10/11 Permanent green card received

07/28/12 Started naturalization process

08/31/12 Biometrics done

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Nigeria
Timeline

Large transfers trigger an interest in the source of the money. As long as you can show that you didn't get the money from illict means transfer what you want. Yes it will be reported but if it is your money then it is fine. Have your SO go to the bank ans ask what needs to be done.

First visit:2007-09-12 to 2008-09-23

I-129F Sent : 2007-11-24

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-11-30

I-129F NOA2 : 2008-03-31

NVC Received : 2008-04-21

NVC Left : 2008-04-23

Consulate Received : 2008-04-28

Packet 3 Received : 2008-05-20

Interivew date : 2008-08-07 CO asks inappropraite questions

His father died: 2008-08-18

Retain Marc Ellis 2008-09

Visited Nigeria again: 2008-11-12

petitioned returned to CSC :2008-11-27

returned to USA 2008-12-13

His father buried 2009-01-03

picks up K1 visa Nov 2009

Marriage Dec 2009

take throne as Igwe /Lolo 2010 or 2011

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: England
Timeline
Unless you are planning to make a massive purchase, I would be lazy and leave the money in France. You have access to it through an ATM whenever you want it. If the dollar keeps tanking, you keep making money.

I am in the same situation, I have about 100,000 dollars to transfer, but I think I will do it through a bank transfer and use the atm till I am ready to do that.

You may find that there is a french bank that trades in the usa, as I found a uk bank that does that, may be worth looking into.

Sal and Jay




K1 - Complete
AOS - Complete
EAD - Complete
AP - Complete
ROC - Complete

N400-Complete

I am a United States citizen!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: France
Timeline
Unless you are planning to make a massive purchase, I would be lazy and leave the money in France. You have access to it through an ATM whenever you want it. If the dollar keeps tanking, you keep making money.

Through the ATM, it costs me €7 everytime I withdraw $400, so in the end it would probably cost as much, if not more, as a transfer. I thought of keeping it in France though because of the euro-dollar rate. But once I get there, I'm the one who will pay the rent, and I'll also pay the AOS fee. So that would be better to have everything in the US.

You may find that there is a french bank that trades in the usa, as I found a uk bank that does that, may be worth looking into.

I thought about it too. That would mean that I would have to move my money from my current account to a new one at another bank then transfer it again to the US account. I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. I don't know.

Large transfers trigger an interest in the source of the money. As long as you can show that you didn't get the money from illict means transfer what you want. Yes it will be reported but if it is your money then it is fine. Have your SO go to the bank ans ask what needs to be done.

OK I'll have him ask when he goes there next weekend.

Do you know how long such a transfer can take?

07/31/08 Entry in USA with K1 visa

08/27/08 Married

05/15/09 Conditional green card received

05/10/11 Permanent green card received

07/28/12 Started naturalization process

08/31/12 Biometrics done

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Ireland
Timeline

quite a few people on the UK forum have come accross this, the best reviews have been for xe.com and interchange FX

They are companies that specialise in the kind of transaction you are trying to do, and will have far more favourable fees and exchange rates than western union.

I will try to dig up some reviews for you, but I know that they are the two that repeatedly come out the best from these threads

The UK Wiki

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Ireland
Timeline

Also, I'm presuming that the funds are from your savings or from the sale of property - not illegal activity. So long as the funds are going from one account in your name to another account in your name, and the source of the money is easily proven, you shouldn't worry about triggering interest from the IRS.

The UK Wiki

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Turkey
Timeline

In my situation with large sums of money, it was easier and cheaper to open an account with a bank that is domestic and internationl such as HSBC. There is not a branch in my area but I was still able to get an account on-line and transfer the money into the account. There are branches in the U.S I am not sure in whose area. But to me it is a lot better than wireing money back and forth.

HIM, ME and BABY MAKES 3

"THE STRONGEST PEOPLE ARE NOT ALWAYS THE ONES WHO WIN, RATHER THE ONES THAT DO NOT GIVE UP WHEN THEY LOSE."

14 Feb08 Case number assigned

5JUN 08 Got visa

FLYS IN TO CHICAGO POE ON THE 15TH!!!

December 08 move to GERMANY

May2009 Start Case for Naturalization

14 SEPTEMBER 2009 Visa Journey is over!! Husband a US Citizen!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Country: Pitcairn Islands
Timeline
Unless you are planning to make a massive purchase, I would be lazy and leave the money in France. You have access to it through an ATM whenever you want it. If the dollar keeps tanking, you keep making money.

Through the ATM, it costs me €7 everytime I withdraw $400, so in the end it would probably cost as much, if not more, as a transfer. I thought of keeping it in France though because of the euro-dollar rate. But once I get there, I'm the one who will pay the rent, and I'll also pay the AOS fee. So that would be better to have everything in the US.

I see. We get charged between 3 and 4€ a transaction, regardless of the amount. Normally we will take out as much as the ATM will give us to avoid having to go too often. It was fun to pay for all of our cars in $20 dollar bills because that was all the ATM would give us. :P

Hopefully you can get something worked out.

Edited by Wacken
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Ireland
Timeline

Yup, this has come up a helluvalotta times over in the UK forum, here are a selection for you:

one thread

another thread

and another

and another one

yup, it comes up a lot

one more for good measure

The UK Wiki

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: France
Timeline

Thank you all!

Poiteen: I will check xe.com and interchange FX. And yes, the funds will be from an account in my name to another one in my name, so I guess that will be easy to prove where the money comes from. We'll ask to my fiance's bank what we need to "prove" it.

Merk: There doesn't seem to be an HSBC branch where we will be. Having accounts online could be a possibility but I'd like to be able to go to the bank when I need to ask them something.

07/31/08 Entry in USA with K1 visa

08/27/08 Married

05/15/09 Conditional green card received

05/10/11 Permanent green card received

07/28/12 Started naturalization process

08/31/12 Biometrics done

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: France
Timeline
Yup, this has come up a helluvalotta times over in the UK forum, here are a selection for you:

one thread

another thread

and another

and another one

yup, it comes up a lot

one more for good measure

Wow thank you very much Poiteen! :thumbs:

I don't understand why they didn't come up when I searched earlier...

07/31/08 Entry in USA with K1 visa

08/27/08 Married

05/15/09 Conditional green card received

05/10/11 Permanent green card received

07/28/12 Started naturalization process

08/31/12 Biometrics done

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: England
Timeline

My every day job is for a bank as an anti-money laundering compliance specialist. I investigate potentially suspicious activity, including unusual wire activity. Given that France is not considered to be a high risk country by the US, it is extremely unlikely that a wire from France between 2 individuals would even be looked at by a bank, let alone reported as suspicious activity to FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network). If there were any questions about the wire transfer, the bank would have branch personnel contact your fiance for an explanation for the transfer. Telling them that it is from a French fiance who is emigrating would not raise any red flags. To be honest, as investigators, we find that when transactions are broken into smaller amounts it is an indication that the customer is trying to hide something.

Just a little food for thought from an industry insider.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Australia
Timeline

I moved just over a year ago from Sydney, Australia. When I was looking at how to tranfer my money (also more than $10000), the simplest way proved to be - direct wire.

I had no account in my name at the time here in the US. Sent it all to my now husband's account (paid a single bank fee of $35 for an iternational transfer!). Without any problem.

Once I got here, we added my name to his account so I had access to my money :) And a few months later when we reached AOS stage, we used those bank statements as proof of "comingling our assests". Without any problem!

Good luck with your money transfer!

I129F process:

20 July '06- I129F filed with CSC (Got a lawyer - BIG MISTAKE... Didn't know of VJ!!!)

28 July '06 - NOA1

08 Dec '06 - NOA2

06 Feb '07 - medical

12 Mar '07 ----- INTERVIEW ----- A P P R O V E D -----

4 Apr '07 - US entry - San Francisco

1 July '07 - MARRIED in SF :)

AOS process (after K-1):

24 July '07 - AOS application received by Chicago Office

09 August '07 - Biometrics appt letter

24 August '07 - RFE for I-485 (incomplete tax info sent!)

28 August '07 - NOA letters for AOS, EAD and AP

29 August '07 - Biometrics

AP - 12 October '07 - hard copy: multiple travel, valid 12 months

EAD - 18 October '07 - hard copy: valid from the date of 1st notice of card production

SSN - 30 October '07 (married name), applied Oct 18, same day I got my EAD

DL - 11 December '07 - driving test at DMV San Francisco. Yay! Now I can drive on the "wrong" side of the road!

21 November '07 - AOS Interview (Letter rec'd Oct 15) ----- A P P R O V E D ----- A P P R O V E D ----- A P P R O V E D -----

07 December '07 - GREENCARD IN MAIL

Peace and quiet... apply for removal of conditions - August 2009!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: France
Timeline

Thank you :) this is good to know.

07/31/08 Entry in USA with K1 visa

08/27/08 Married

05/15/09 Conditional green card received

05/10/11 Permanent green card received

07/28/12 Started naturalization process

08/31/12 Biometrics done

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Ask our VJ Immigration Lawyers.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
- Back to Top -

Important Disclaimer: Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...