US bank accounts - please confirm ?

[AussieNemesis 16]

I have been to my husbands bank but am unable to open a Bank Account in the USA as I do not yet have a Social Security number.

Can anyone provide information if they know is this Law or just the policy of his bank ?

Is there any US bank that allows a foreigner to open an account ?

Thanks in Advance.

[LlamaInvasion 76]

It's the policy of the bank.

I got added to my husband's bank account without an SSN, with np.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

***** Moved from General Imigration to Moving here and Your New Life forum ****

It's just policy of the bank, or more likely, a teller who doesn't know about unusual situations- asking for the manager may help.

They opened an account for me (regional bank), but said I'd need to bring in the SSN within 30 days.

[SAT 9,609]

I have been to my husbands bank but am unable to open a Bank Account in the USA as I do not yet have a Social Security number.

Can anyone provide information if they know is this Law or just the policy of his bank ?

Is there any US bank that allows a foreigner to open an account ?

Thanks in Advance.

Some foreign banks in the USA used to do this. (HSBC, TD bank) until the feds came down hard on them. Now you need a SSN, an ITIN, or a student visa. That's for any bank in the US, foreign or domestic.

It's the policy of the bank.

I got added to my husband's bank account without an SSN, with np.

1 SSN for 2 people is good enough

[Owen_London 65]

Some foreign banks in the USA used to do this. (HSBC, TD bank) until the feds came down hard on them. Now you need a SSN, an ITIN, or a student visa. That's for any bank in the US, foreign or domestic.

That's not true.

I opened an account with Chase just fine without any of those items. They wanted to see ID and my passport was sufficient. There are many threads like this on vj, where people complain that they can't open a bank account and then many others say that they've had no problems. Sometimes speaking to the branch manager will resolve the problem, sometimes it won't.

[Tintin and Mike 127]

That's not true.

I opened an account with Chase just fine without any of those items. They wanted to see ID and my passport was sufficient. There are many threads like this on vj, where people complain that they can't open a bank account and then many others say that they've had no problems. Sometimes speaking to the branch manager will resolve the problem, sometimes it won't.

:thumbs:

Yup, I was able to add Mike to my (now ours) checking and savings accounts with just his passport and Philippine DL

Good luck!

[SAT 9,609]

1360335777[/url]' post='5967849']

That's not true.

I opened an account with Chase just fine without any of those items. They wanted to see ID and my passport was sufficient. There are many threads like this on vj, where people complain that they can't open a bank account and then many others say that they've had no problems. Sometimes speaking to the branch manager will resolve the problem, sometimes it won't.

1360374062[/url]' post='5969059']

:thumbs:

Yup, I was able to add Mike to my (now ours) checking and savings accounts with just his passport and Philippine DL

Good luck!

You guys might be right, but banking regulations have been tighter since the HSBC/ UBS investigations.

[NikLR 13,227]

I was added to my husband's account... had to fill out and email a w8ben form, email them ID and a signature. It was through USAA which he's had since he joined the military in 2004.

But that was as an added person. Getting my own account would be harder, unless it's like through TD or RBC who also have their main banks in Canada. Then as long as you have a Canadian account you can normally get an American too.

Edited February 9, 2013 by NikiR

[X Factor 1,112]

I was able to add my wife with a social security number and marriage license

[yonglin 1]

I opened a bank account with TD last year. If you open an account as a "foreigner" (i.e., with only your foreign passport), you are supposed to fill out some special tax forms, but they only asked me to do this much later (at which point I gave them my SSN, which removed the tax form requirement).

That said, this was in Chinatown, so maybe try a bank that caters to a local immigrant community and deals with these things on a day-to-day basis...?

Edited February 10, 2013 by yonglin

[photomile 101]

I was able to open accounts with Wells Fargo, Chase and Frost bank without a Social Security number without issue. I was also able to be added to my Wifes accounts without a social security number without issue. All of this is provided I fill out a supplementary form that says what my US immigration status is. I had one letter from Chase threatening to close the account. Less than five minutes later the manager of the idiot that sent it to me told me that there was nothing to worry about, and that the idiot would be "re-trained". I have had not a single issue whatsoever

[Caryh 5,206]

I was able to open accounts with Wells Fargo, Chase and Frost bank without a Social Security number without issue. I was also able to be added to my Wifes accounts without a social security number without issue. All of this is provided I fill out a supplementary form that says what my US immigration status is. I had one letter from Chase threatening to close the account. Less than five minutes later the manager of the idiot that sent it to me told me that there was nothing to worry about, and that the idiot would be "re-trained". I have had not a single issue whatsoever

There's a lot of assuming, and little looking up of the actual rules at many banks. I had verified with my bank about adding my wife as soon as she arrived, and they said no problem. Then when she arrived and I went to add her, I got some lady who kept saying no no no and lecturing me about laws and such. I even told the woman I had looked into this situation with the manager previously, but she said I must have been mistaken. Her attitude was really pissing me off, but I managed to keep my cool and finally got her to actually ask the manager. Yes, no problem as long as its not an interest bearing account. The woman really should have apologized to us in my view, but the closest she got is "well you learn something new every day". That bank unfortunately kept getting worse with uninformed employees throwing up road blocks, so I left them. The final straw was when they couldn't accept me wife's direct deposit pay checks and I wasn't allowed to talk with the department that could solve the problem. Its really too bad, it used to be a "we can do it" friendly regional bank, but turned into the bank of No. I've gotten many special offers to try and get me back as a customer, so I'm assuming many other people were getting fed up and leaving to.

[rohitandbonny 0]

HI evyone iam having same issue ,i have green card and ssn number ,i dont have DL yet ,i went to BB&t they ask me DL .because i dont hav that yet ,they dont let me to open bank account there, does anyone can tell me ,do i really need DL for bank account ,or some bank let me to open ank accunt with GC or SSN number ,iam Va state

thanks

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Plenty of US citizens do not have a DL. I'd go back and ask for a manager.

[agnesb 47]

I opened an account with SunTrust a day after arriving in US, with no SSN. They wanted proof of my UK address though. Also there was no problem adding me to my fiances credit card account.