Bank account on my own?

[Hydey 0]

Hi VJers,

My Wife and I are going through the adjustment of status from the VWP, as many of you will already know. We have a joint bank account together at commerce, but i'm also looking to get my own, possibly at the Bank Of America. Does anyone know if this is possible and what i will need to bring, and if anyone has had any success in the past? I don't yet have my EAD, so no SSN. But that should be coming up soon... I have my passport, expired i-94 and all my NOA's, as well as a stamped biometrics appointment letter.

Thanks,

Rich

[Heliosphan 1]

Hi VJers,

My Wife and I are going through the adjustment of status from the VWP, as many of you will already know. We have a joint bank account together at commerce, but i'm also looking to get my own, possibly at the Bank Of America. Does anyone know if this is possible and what i will need to bring, and if anyone has had any success in the past? I don't yet have my EAD, so no SSN. But that should be coming up soon... I have my passport, expired i-94 and all my NOA's, as well as a stamped biometrics appointment letter.

Thanks,

Rich

You'll definitely need a SSN to open an account on your own. Most likely have to wait for the EAD.

[cdn_in_wa 1]

Hi VJers,

My Wife and I are going through the adjustment of status from the VWP, as many of you will already know. We have a joint bank account together at commerce, but i'm also looking to get my own, possibly at the Bank Of America. Does anyone know if this is possible and what i will need to bring, and if anyone has had any success in the past? I don't yet have my EAD, so no SSN. But that should be coming up soon... I have my passport, expired i-94 and all my NOA's, as well as a stamped biometrics appointment letter.

Thanks,

Rich

I opened a Bank of America account about 4 years ago, before I was married to a USC and while I was a resident in Canada. I had no problem doing so. I'm not sure if things have changed since then. I know some things have changed since 2001, but not sure when.

We had more trouble adding my spouse to the account. He was in the process of moving from another state and had no photo id with a current address on it. Was kind of strange, but they did finally do it.

From what I hear, Bank of America is your best bet for opening an account without a GC. They have been hassling me for a SSN, though. It's why I finally applied for EAD late in the game, in case my AOS took me into next year.

Good luck!

Edited October 29, 2008 by cdn_in_wa

[Zee Bee 61]

At BoA they asked for my husband's SSN.

[Hydey 0]

Thanks guys, now to finding out how to convert my high-school GCSE's so i can study in a community college? I hope that's enough :-S

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

You know, a real good way to find the answer to your question is the call up BOA on the phone or go in person to a branch and ask them.

[Maad 0]

finding out how to convert my high-school GCSE's so i can study in a community college?

try this: http://www.eval.org/find_an_evaluator/eval...nd.asp?where=NJ

[Heliosphan 1]

Thanks guys, now to finding out how to convert my high-school GCSE's so i can study in a community college? I hope that's enough :-S

Are these A Level or O Level GCEs? A Level count as 3 credit transfer classes. O's don't.

[FromJapan 0]

I don't t think you need SSN to open an account. You just need a photo ID (passport), couple of letters that establish your place of residence (bills, government sent letters and mails sent to your address) and that's about it. If they insist on SSN, you can get tax identificatoin number. See, there are thousand of forign internatoinal student comes to the USA. They spend as long as 10 years to finish their degree and all of them have a bank account in the USA. And by law they don't get to work (F-1, unless they work on campus) so they often don't have SSN.

What you do is call your local BOA branch and say, "Hello. I want to open a personal checking account. I am from England and in process of becoming a legal permanent resident so I do not have SSN yet. What documentation I'll need to open an account?"

[metinil 0]

I entered the US as a visitor and had no issue opening a checking and savings account at Bank of America! I couldn't get a credit card, but their debit cards double as a visa so you can use it like credit but the money comes out right away. I think I took my passport and that was it... they took a cash deposit right away.

My biggest issue was that I put my mailing address as my address in the US and my permanent address as my Canadian address. I've had a lot of issues with them wanting to send my cheques to collections or holding my cheques because they're from out of the country or because I'm a new customer. It's caused a lot of hassle when trying to get my money from Canada. My husband and I figured out that if I write him the cheque from my Canadian account and then he writes me a cheque from his American account it's less of a hassle (although it doesn't seem like that). He also can't do an e-transfer because of the Canadian address issue...

Hope it works out for you! Just be prepared for some headaches and frustration, and make sure you have back up money in case you can't access it right away!

[Hydey 0]

You know, a real good way to find the answer to your question is the call up BOA on the phone or go in person to a branch and ask them.

Well thanks mate, but this will save me the trouble of a wasted phone call or embarrassing visit to the bank.

Thanks guys, now to finding out how to convert my high-school GCSE's so i can study in a community college? I hope that's enough :-S

Are these A Level or O Level GCEs? A Level count as 3 credit transfer classes. O's don't.

They are from High School, year 11. GCSE's... english, maths, science and then your options. I got 3 B's, 6 C's, and 3 E's.

[Hydey 0]

I took them in 2005, if that helps? I am 19 years old.

[Brad and Vika 129]

The problem with the bank account is that you need to satisfy the requirements of the Patriot Act. So you need documents sufficient to prove that you are who you say, and that the account won't be used to engage in money laundering, terrorism, etc. Acceptable proof will vary by bank unfortunately, so you should actually drop by with the documents you mentioned and ask them what else you will need. I work at a bank FYI - but not in a retail branch.

Edited October 30, 2008 by Brad and Vika

[Prawninator 138]

If you're on a VWP, I don't think you're allowed to do an AOS.. At least that was what I was told by the Singapore Consulate, not too sure about yours, but I think one of the requirements about travelling on a VWP is that you HAVE TO return back to your country of residence within the 90 day deadline...

[Steph0814 1]

Hi! I know for a fact BOA requires a SSN so does Wachovia and RBC Centura. Unless of course its a joint account, my husband added an account on his line with just my canadian passport (At Wachovia) and they told me to just bring in my SSN when I got it and they would add it.

They have to be able to pull your credit in order to open an account and the only way to do that here in the US is with a SSN.

Hope that helps.