credit report for J1 summer exchange worker 10 years ago?

[Cristina280390 60]

I received a social security number in 2010 when I worked 3 months at a ski resort, with a J1 visa as part of a work and travel program. After that I went back to my country and kept living my life. Fast forward to today and I am filling an AOS as a spouse, from a B2 visa due to change of plans from covid (my country closed borders and I got stuck here so my consular process was left incomplete and we started the AOS). When I try to get the free credit report online it keeps saying they cant verify my identity, then I tried creating an account with each of the agencies but they ask for bank details and I dont have a credit card here or any bank account. So I dont know what to attach as evidence for the I944, since I am not even sure that I have or not have a credit score.

 

Maybe someone who did a summer work and travel can shed any light? Much appreciated!

[Crazy Cat 41,891]

Have you tried to register with Creditkarma?

[Cristina280390 60]

17 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

Have you tried to register with Creditkarma?

Thanks for the answer! I just tried it but had no luck. I used all possible addresses, the one listed for my summer employer back in 2010,  the po box they told us to use to receive mail (since we were placed in housing from the ski resort), and my current one; none worked.

 

I just got off the phone with Transunion, they also couldn't verify my identity but I was told to call their Consumer Relations Department so they can help with my specific case, so we'll see if I finally get some evidence that I dont have a credit report despite having a SSN.

Edited January 16, 2021 by Cristina280390

[pnw12 7]

Hey!

 

I would really like to know if you find a resolution to this!

My situation is nearly identical to yours, and I've been trying to see whether I can collect further evidence if a rfe is sent out. Ultimately, I stated my situation in the application and sent a copy of a CreditKarma print out saying that the information I entered did not match anything they had in their system. 

 

After calling the SSN office, a person who works there informed me that this could be due to the fact that there is not enough information to process a credit score. I had a checking account, but no form of credit in the US. 

They also told me that an address may not have even been attached to my number in the first place. I tried every address possible: the place I worked and lived, the bank where I opened an account, the company's corporate office. Nothing matched. 

[Cristina280390 60]

On 1/17/2021 at 4:33 PM, dansea said:

Hey!

 

I would really like to know if you find a resolution to this!

My situation is nearly identical to yours, and I've been trying to see whether I can collect further evidence if a rfe is sent out. Ultimately, I stated my situation in the application and sent a copy of a CreditKarma print out saying that the information I entered did not match anything they had in their system. 

 

After calling the SSN office, a person who works there informed me that this could be due to the fact that there is not enough information to process a credit score. I had a checking account, but no form of credit in the US. 

They also told me that an address may not have even been attached to my number in the first place. I tried every address possible: the place I worked and lived, the bank where I opened an account, the company's corporate office. Nothing matched. 

 

I found the following  in this link https://www.transunion.com/technical-login-support 

ACCOUNT HELP

Why can’t the site find my credit file?

You may not have a credit file if:

• You don’t have enough credit history
• Your lenders choose not to report to TransUnion
• There are inaccuracies in the personal information reported on your file
• You haven’t established credit or have not used credit in 10 or more years

 

This almost 100% confirms I don't have a credit score, since in my case the first and last reasons apply.  I will include this in a letter, along with the screenshots of annualcreditreport and creditkarma. I'll have to do the same you did because I cant seem to get anything official that says I either have or not have a credit score.

 

Fingers crossed for both of us!

 

[pnw12 7]

4 hours ago, Cristina280390 said:

 

I found the following  in this link https://www.transunion.com/technical-login-support 

ACCOUNT HELP

Why can’t the site find my credit file?

You may not have a credit file if:

• You don’t have enough credit history
• Your lenders choose not to report to TransUnion
• There are inaccuracies in the personal information reported on your file
• You haven’t established credit or have not used credit in 10 or more years

 

This almost 100% confirms I don't have a credit score, since in my case the first and last reasons apply.  I will include this in a letter, along with the screenshots of annualcreditreport and creditkarma. I'll have to do the same you did because I cant seem to get anything official that says I either have or not have a credit score.

 

Fingers crossed for both of us!

 

Yes! Let's hope this will be fine! Thank you for updating me with that information. Good luck!

[Cristina280390 60]

On 1/19/2021 at 7:02 PM, dansea said:

Yes! Let's hope this will be fine! Thank you for updating me with that information. Good luck!

Just notice you might be able to help me with another doubt related to our J1 past.  Are you filling for the I765 (Employment Authorization) with your Adjuments of Status? If so, in question 14 they ask if you want to be issued a Social Security Card, did you mark Yes to receive a new one or No? I thought marking No means we could just use the one we already have and in this way, avoid the extra waiting time to get it (I´ve read some people waited extra weeks to get it after having already been approved to work). I am not sure! 

[pnw12 7]

14 hours ago, Cristina280390 said:

Just notice you might be able to help me with another doubt related to our J1 past.  Are you filling for the I765 (Employment Authorization) with your Adjuments of Status? If so, in question 14 they ask if you want to be issued a Social Security Card, did you mark Yes to receive a new one or No? I thought marking No means we could just use the one we already have and in this way, avoid the extra waiting time to get it (I´ve read some people waited extra weeks to get it after having already been approved to work). I am not sure! 

Hey Cristina,

 

I said that I would like to receive a new ssn, as the one we were given cannot be used while we don't have immigration/work benefits in the US. I also explained my situation in the additional information section though. I know that ssa can assign new social security numbers, so I figured that would be the best thing to do. I hope his helps a little - it's a very confusing process. 

[Ayrton 965]

3 hours ago, dansea said:

Hey Cristina,

 

I said that I would like to receive a new ssn, as the one we were given cannot be used while we don't have immigration/work benefits in the US. I also explained my situation in the additional information section though. I know that ssa can assign new social security numbers, so I figured that would be the best thing to do. I hope his helps a little - it's a very confusing process. 

You most likely won't receive a new number. SSN are supposed to be for life. The sentence on the top of the card will still be there if they issue another card based on your EAD (that only goes away with GC), but the number will be the same.

 

I'm also assuming you wrote your SSN on the forms too.

 

If you happen to receive a new number (it happens when the name is different) you will have to contact the SSA to either cancel the new one if possible, or merge them.

Edited January 24, 2021 by Ayrton

[Cristina280390 60]

Thanks for you feedback @Ayrton Indeed, looking at old threads on this topic I found that, as you say, the SSN is only assigned once, which means the one I was given back in 2010 is still valid. The only difference seems to be that, in our case, having a SSN is not on itself enough to work, we require a special permit, an EAD or a green card to go with it. We can just keep using the one we were assigned (in my case I didn't change my last name when I got married, so my name is still the same as it appears there) and once we have the green card, go to an office to have the conditions remove, or have them changed your name in case you changed it. That is generally what I recall, but there were very thorough responses in old posts: 

 

[Ayrton 965]

3 minutes ago, Cristina280390 said:

Thanks for you feedback @Ayrton Indeed, looking at old threads on this topic I found that, as you say, the SSN is only assigned once, which means the one I was given back in 2010 is still valid. The only difference seems to be that, in our case, having a SSN is not on itself enough to work, we require a special permit, an EAD or a green card to go with it. We can just keep using the one we were assigned (in my case I didn't change my last name when I got married, so my name is still the same as it appears there) and once we have the green card, go to an office to have the conditions remove, or have them changed your name in case you changed it. That is generally what I recall, but there were very thorough responses in old posts: 

 

Exactly. SSN is different than work permit.