Building Credit

[ladyaunt 0]

YOu know what sucks? They kept on sending me visa offers every single day. Once i applied for one, it took them months to approve. Im still waiting for one right now.

[Kanyiri 0]

I added my husband to my credit cards even before he arrived in the US. About two months after he was here he started getting multiple credit card offers in the mail. He applied for one and had it a few weeks later. He is still getting credit card offers in the mail. I don't know what his credit score is, but it was good enough to get a credit card on his own with a temp job that he had had for a grand total of a week.

[rob&ana 0]

I can totally relate to the OP.

Couldnt even get cellphone without credit...

Secured credit cards are the way to go, I opened one with National City, had it since april, and I already have a great credit score in Experian... so it does work...

We're going to wait for next year to buy a house, and I havent tried getting another credit card. But I might do so soon.

It is SO frustrating, it's a long way, but eventually you'll be there...

[wally 0]

Recently my husband and I are considering buying a house together. But we're told that it's better if my name isn't put under the mortgage because I dont have any credit here. Yet my husband's parents said he can always add my name under the property later. Is that true? Besides, is it better if my husband can add my name into one of his bank accounts?

We were just too busy to think about this before... until I read this post I realise having a credit history seems so important here.

my husband did a 'quit claim deed' to get my name on the deed to our house...we had the lawyer arrange it so that both our names are on the deed.

Definition: A quit claim deed is a type of deed where a grantor, a person who owns an interest in a property, transfers all his interests to someone else. The grantor offers no guarantees about the title to the recipient, who is called the grantee.

[Dr_LHA 3]

This has already been covered in some depth in this thread.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22536

Please try to use the search in future.

[Jersey Girl 2]

Call MBNA and insist on speaking to a supervisor. Say you want to apply for a Visa card and have them check your Canadian credit history. It may take some doing but MBNA and AmEx have the capability to do this.

[danae 0]

I have a question.... with this talk of going joint with spouses cards etc to start building your own- well my SO has a pretty poor credit score due to reckless batchelor days- if I were to join with him and 'ride' his credit, would his score then become my own and make me have sucky credit also??

[ccouch5 0]

Hi. Since you are located in Florida, you may want to try contacting RBC Centura Bank if they have a branch near you. They are a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada with branches mainly in the southeastern US. They may be more willing to look at your Canadian credit.

[CanadaGirl 0]

I never even thought about going to RBC. I didn't realize they were in Florida. Good idea and thanks to everyone else for your ideas.

lauraxmarie, you might want to be carefull riding your spouses bad credit. It could end up on your score however, I don't really know...just a guess.

dr_lha, sorry I didn't do a search first. Was just feeling really frustrated when I posted this and didn't even bother to look at other posts first.

Thanks again for the advice all

Terri

[Mme Rej 0]

I have a question.... with this talk of going joint with spouses cards etc to start building your own- well my SO has a pretty poor credit score due to reckless batchelor days- if I were to join with him and 'ride' his credit, would his score then become my own and make me have sucky credit also??

Not to offend you and the readers..However, is your SO at least aware of this type of message that you have left on this forum? At least your SO has done a very great thing for you, brought you in the USA. Appreciation comes before all of that credit that you desire so much and quickly!

Smile and be patient!

[JubJub 0]

I have a question.... with this talk of going joint with spouses cards etc to start building your own- well my SO has a pretty poor credit score due to reckless batchelor days- if I were to join with him and 'ride' his credit, would his score then become my own and make me have sucky credit also??

Good question, if your SO has a bad payment history (i.e. more than 30 days late etc) on a particular card in the last 2 years, then you wouldn't want to be added to that card as an authorised user. It's not so much that you would obtain his score (because the score is made of several different factors including length of credit history etc). But it wouldn't help. Also, if a card is close to being maxed out, that is generally a negative factor. However, for someone with no other accounts being reported, it's better than nothing.

I have a question.... with this talk of going joint with spouses cards etc to start building your own- well my SO has a pretty poor credit score due to reckless batchelor days- if I were to join with him and 'ride' his credit, would his score then become my own and make me have sucky credit also??

Not to offend you and the readers..However, is your SO at least aware of this type of message that you have left on this forum? At least your SO has done a very great thing for you, brought you in the USA. Appreciation comes before all of that credit that you desire so much and quickly!

Smile and be patient!

I don't consider lauraxmaries post to be offensive at all, nothing wrong with stating something that is true. The idea that bringing someone to the USA deserves some kind of super special appreciation is what seems a little nuts to me. What's to say that she didn't make great sacrifices to come here to the US?

[danae 0]

I have a question.... with this talk of going joint with spouses cards etc to start building your own- well my SO has a pretty poor credit score due to reckless batchelor days- if I were to join with him and 'ride' his credit, would his score then become my own and make me have sucky credit also??

Not to offend you and the readers..However, is your SO at least aware of this type of message that you have left on this forum? At least your SO has done a very great thing for you, brought you in the USA. Appreciation comes before all of that credit that you desire so much and quickly!

Smile and be patient!

lol actually he didnt bring me here to the USA. I came on a B-1 visa before I even met him. And he then didnt marry me as a favour to keep me here. I would be rather living back in the UK- but I chose to give up my life there, including my friends and family to be here with him. Just because I state he has bad credit is not implying I dont love or appreciate him! Thats just crazy! I just wanted to know my situation.

Chill out.

[Nikita2Charles 32]

Too bad, how some people can pass judgment really quick.

In your case I would try to build the credit myself if the US spouse credit is not so good, folks here have mentioned several ways to do that.

I added my wife to my credit card, turn my checking account into a joint account with both of our names printed on the checks.

Added her to the Mortgage

Now she starts to receive all kind of credit card offers in the mail, the most common one is Capital one they start you with a $350 credit with $39 annual fee.

Good luck!

[iceyspots 0]

Thanks so much for the support. I don't have a job yet however I just went to an interview on Friday that seemed very promising. My career field is Architecture so I really hope that my credit score means nothing when applying for a job in that field.

When I apply for any credit cards I just say I am self employed and our gross household income is under $30,000 (my husbands income).

I have heard of secured credit cards through my bank but they wanted $300 minimum to get one and I don't really have that kind of cash laying around so was looking for a cheaper option. I still have to pay to adjust my status in the next couple weeks.

My husband was preapproved for a home loan already but we really want my name on the mortgage too for immigration purposes and just so I can feel like I have something in my life lol. Also, I did work in my field for 1 year back home in Canada so maybe that will help.

I didn't know getting added to my husbands credit cards would help my credit score. He has excellent credit so that is good!!

I think I might try to get a JC Penny card or other department store too.

Also, I read somewhere that you can get a cosigner on a credit card however, whenever I see the applications I dont' see a spot for a cosigner.

Thanks again for the help and it's good to know everyone here goes through the same thing I do

How about a no-credit check car loan ? or do you already have a car

[Widge 0]

Dont know how I managed it but this shows what I got at USBank

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24339

can think of nothing extraordinary about my circumstances that made them offer me a cradit card