Immigrants could be required to show credit scores if they want to stay in the U.S.

[SB5130 88]

The hilarious story about my credit score journey after immigration...

 

My husband doesn't have any credit card at all. It was a struggle to build a credit when you got no credit history. Every time I apply for one (as advised by my husband), they just check my credit history and outright deny the application. We went to the bank were me and my husband had our joint account and still I was denied. Last year, they told me that I wasn't employed for atleast 6months that's why they couldnt grant me with anything. I just got my EAD that time. 

 

I followed my instinct and went to Bank of America by myself. I had been banking with them since 2016 (even before I met my husband). They granted my credit card application without checking my credit history. In 3 months after opening the credit card account, my credit score  spiked to 680. 

 

2018... Fast forward, my USC husband is now my authorized user  

Edited September 27, 2018 by SB5130

[Daniela M_______ 410]

5 hours ago, dawning said:

That's really not a silly question at all. It's something that many foreigners find strange about the US, and something that most native born US citizens don't think about much.

 

In the US, certain services are considered public.  Things like police and fire departments, are expected to mostly serve everyone within a geographical region regardless of the economic status of the people needing services.  I think that is partly because of a perception that the public safety of all is at stake when a crime is committed or a fire occurs.  Police and fire departments don't charge people to receive services either.  (It would create a lot of ethical problems if they did).  Other public institutions like public roads or public parks are equally available to everyone, although some charge for use to fund additional services, like toll bridges.  We also have public education for children, which is tax funded and free, although there are often criticisms of unequal quality between wealthier and poorer school districts.

 

Medical services are not considered "public" in that sense in the US, at least not in most contexts.  There is some government funding of services for poorer people, which is what this discussion is about keeping immigrants from using.  But it's not like you can just show up somewhere and get medical care the way you could go to a police station and report a crime against you.  You have to first be approved to receive government assistance based on your income and other circumstances, and then you also have to find a doctor or clinic that will accept the government assistance (it's sort of like an insurance the government pays for).  Not all doctors will accept that payment for a variety of reasons, and it doesn't pay for all sorts of treatment.  We don't really have anything like the public care system you are talking about in Mexico. 

 

The other thing about this is that they are talking about making immigrants show that they have private health insurance.  Private health insurance tends to be pretty expense, so a lot of US citizens don't have it just because they can't afford it.  It's pretty common for people to loose their home and go bankrupt after a serious health problem just because of hospital and medical bills.

 

So it does kind of make you think that they want to have only well-funded people immigrating. 

 

The US has some of the most expensive health care in the world, and private insurance is big business.  I believe there's a lot to discuss about the system could be improved for everyone, not just immigrants.

Thank you for this detailed information! I got it better now... Are you from Venezuela? I am.

 

Iit makes sense to have some restrictions, I know health is very different than what we know in Latin america, specially in Venezuela where you have the IVSS which we now it doesn't work but it is (or was) a help for poor people. Health public services in Mexico are provided by the IMSS (Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social) and it works better than back home but still has its deficiencies. 

 

I'm appliying for K1 and my fiance told me he will be able to add me to his health insurance once we get married, but still I kneed to learn a lot about not only benefits but restrictions I'll have when I become a resident. 

 

 

 

[Orangesapples 1,954]

3 hours ago, ch3john said:

Added my wife to Chase credit cards without having to give her SSN and AMEX wanted her SSN. 

If the authorized user's SSN is not attached the credit card, it won't help their credit/credit score.

Not true. My credit was definitely helped by me being an authorized user and I didn't have an SSN

[Orangesapples 1,954]

24 minutes ago, Loren Y said:

No, you can add an authorized user without a SSN, and when she gets it I will notify the credit card company, then they upload her history to the credit agencies. But it seems just her name and my address has generated interest in giving her more credit cards. I might let her start with a small one of her own, then work her way up when she has employment.

She actually doesn't need employment in order to have great credit, she just needs credit history. She could get a credit card, spend $2 a month on it, pay it back on time and still get a good credit score. Or she can just pay for her credit card from your joint account using your income. 

[ch3john 308]

9 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

Not true. My credit was definitely helped by me being an authorized user and I didn't have an SSN

ok

[TBoneTX 45,267]

Several posts that threatened to derail the thread have been removed.  This is not a thread (or the forum) for political arguments.

[geowrian 22,337]

27 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

Not true. My credit was definitely helped by me being an authorized user and I didn't have an SSN

How did they match up you to your credit profile?

I know Equifax uses a number of criteria (name, phone, address, etc.) that doesn't necessarily have to include an SSN, but the vast majority of the time they use an SSN (or ITIN) to associate a user to a credit profile.

(Just thinking out loud...I don't expect an answer. I've done quite a bit of Identity Proofing with Equifax servers for various projects, private and public sector).

[A&H2018 146]

It is easy to get a good credit rating. It is super hard to get a great credit rating. It is easy to get an average rating. It is super difficult to get a crappy rating.

Truly not outrageous to ask why someone with a poor rating has a poor rating. They ask way worse stuff already.

 

Also way I read it a new immigrant would no rating, it would be ignored. 

[randomstairs 303]

No credit score shouldn't affect admissibility according to the DHS document. Low/hi credit score could be negatively/positively weighted in the context of several other quantities (i.e. it's not necessarily critical in determining admissibility but can affect it).

 

It seems that accepting public benefits or having certain medical conditions carries a disproportionately heavy negative weight.

 

The aliens affected include anyone seeking admission to the US: change of status, AoS and all aliens seeking admission - including LPRs returning after 180 days of continuous stay abroad.  

[Orangesapples 1,954]

2 minutes ago, A&H2018 said:

It is easy to get a good credit rating. It is super hard to get a great credit rating. It is easy to get an average rating. It is super difficult to get a crappy rating.

Truly not outrageous to ask why someone with a poor rating has a poor rating. They ask way worse stuff already.

 

Also way I read it a new immigrant would no rating, it would be ignored. 

A credit score has one function - to help potential lenders minimize their risk and it was designed with that purpose only. Using it for any other purpose is misusing it because the algorithm does not serve any other purposes. It's very wrong for employers to use it for background checks for instance, unless the position has something to do with finance and handling money directly. It's equally wrong to use it for immigration purposes. 

 

Many countries have totally different systems and in many countries credit is not as widespread as in the US. Not to mention that there's the potential for religious discrimination - many religions don't allow the use of credit. 

[A&H2018 146]

4 minutes ago, geowrian said:

How did they match up you to your credit profile?

I know Equifax uses a number of criteria (name, phone, address, etc.) that doesn't necessarily have to include an SSN, but the vast majority of the time they use an SSN (or ITIN) to associate a user to a credit profile.

(Just thinking out loud...I don't expect an answer. I've done quite a bit of Identity Proofing with Equifax servers for various projects, private and public sector).

Just more thinking out loud here...but certain banks will give more leeway to certain immigrants in hopes they are a valuable customer later on. Having proof that said person has a banking history and their spouse has history with the financial institution, may allow to give more more credit/access to begin. Which then ofcourse allows you to imrpove your credit drastically faster. 

 

My firrm at the time had a corporate relationship with the bank, so just proof of my visa/income/firms name was enough to qualify for a decent credit card right away. So took only 6-8 months to build my credit. I assume a bank would consider same things when it comes to a persons name being on past banking history with them.

[A&H2018 146]

8 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

A credit score has one function - to help potential lenders minimize their risk and it was designed with that purpose only. Using it for any other purpose is misusing it because the algorithm does not serve any other purposes. It's very wrong for employers to use it for background checks for instance, unless the position has something to do with finance and handling money directly. It's equally wrong to use it for immigration purposes. 

 

Many countries have totally different systems and in many countries credit is not as widespread as in the US. Not to mention that there's the potential for religious discrimination - many religions don't allow the use of credit. 

Again, way I read it this only for people who have USA credit history. So lets say someone on a student visa who has really bad credit due to certain reasons and now is doing the AOS process, is that valuable information for an IO? A new immigrant who has never lived in the USA would assume to be ignored by this proposed rule.

 

Anyways no way the rule passes. But again I think they already judge harshly on varuous things, asking why your credit is poor seems a minor one.

Edited September 27, 2018 by A&H2018

[ttram312 10]

16 hours ago, issea said:

If you click into the link and read the article, it also has the following paragraph: 

 

The lack of a credit report or score “would not necessarily be a negative factor” in deciding whether an immigrant could become reliant on public benefits, the proposal states. If no report or score is available, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may consider immigrants in good standing if they can show little to no debt or a history of paying bills on time.

 

It sounds like this is just going to add more paperwork on top of an already backlog system. Imagine besides submitting whatever you need for immigration, you also include all the bills to prove that you pay bills on time... doubt that USCIS even has the resource to go through that. 

[dawning 212]

9 hours ago, Daniela M_______ said:

Thank you for this detailed information! I got it better now... Are you from Venezuela? I am.

 

Iit makes sense to have some restrictions, I know health is very different than what we know in Latin america, specially in Venezuela where you have the IVSS which we now it doesn't work but it is (or was) a help for poor people. Health public services in Mexico are provided by the IMSS (Instituto Mexicano de Seguro Social) and it works better than back home but still has its deficiencies. 

 

I'm appliying for K1 and my fiance told me he will be able to add me to his health insurance once we get married, but still I kneed to learn a lot about not only benefits but restrictions I'll have when I become a resident. 

 

 

 

I'm the USC, my husband is from Venezuela.  I have spent a lot of time there in the past, so I do know a little bit about how different it is/was.  (Nothing seems to be working well in Venezuela right now.) 6 years ago I was there and had an emergency health problem, and was able to go to the public hospitals and be treated without anyone seeming to care at all if I was a citizen or a resident or a tourist.  But I had to bring my own sheets and toilet paper, so it wasn't like a hospital here.  The doctors and nurses were very good and very kind though. 

 

I think you should be fine if your fiancee has private insurance he can add you to, at least from an immigration perspective.

[YecaCruz 379]

If this would ever be a thing I would think it would be for people who maybe have some established credit of some kind for the US as someone mentioned before perhaps if they were doing the AOS, ROC or even citizenship but not at the CR1 or K1 stages.

 

My husband had no bank accounts or credit cards or anything of that sort. I'm not even sure "credit history" is even a thing in Nicaragua though IF there are credit cards floating around that country, they're in some rich white expat's wallet. So he literally had big fat ZERO for paying history and all that stuff, though then they would see he has no "debt" I guess. Money speaks there; if you got the cash then you're good. Why would anyone get medical insurance in a country where it costs literally 35 bucks to go to the clinic? When my dad cut his leg on some corrugated tin and was in the hospital with an infection during one of his trips there the whole 8 day stay in the hospital with all the services was between 2 and 3k.

 

I read the article but the idea doesn't make sense for people from countries like Nicaragua. Again, if credit is such a big deal maybe do it when it comes to later immigration processes but don't ask someone from the 3rd world ahem "developing countries" to show them their credit history as chances are they don't have anything.