(I’m sorry for putting this thread in this section, I couldn’t find a more appropriate one.)
I will likely be going to college in California in the Fall and I need a bank account in the US. As an international student, it is more difficult to open a bank account in the US. After doing some research, Bank of America’s Core Checking will be the best option for me.
However, to open a Bank of America checking account, I need to have a US SSN, which is something I do not currently have. As I am an international student, will this requirement be waived by Bank of America, or will I need to get a US SSN? Can anyone suggest any better bank accounts for internationals, like me?
Thank you!
P.S. I will open my bank account once I reach the US.
Banks are not required to document a SSN in order to open a checking account but some of them do. Under “know your customer” laws, banks are required to convince themselves that you are the person you claim you are and live at the address you provide. Running a background check using a SSN is an easy way to do that, and the background check would also reveal if you have any previous convictions for fraud or other financial crimes.
The international student office at your college can probably point you to local banks that have let international students open accounts in the past, or you could ask senior international students at your school where they bank.
Most banks have a free checking account for students. Don’t tie yourself to BoA if they give you a hard time about the missing SSN.
I had the same problem when I moved to California from Canada trying to get a bank account. Because I didn’t have a SSN, most of the major banks wanted me to have a certain guaranteed amount in my account at all times (between $1,000-$1,5000) which was not possible. I found out that Citibank didn’t require a SSN or certain amount of money. I had to show them two pieces of I.D, I believe. Here’s the link: https://online.citi.com/US/JRS/pands/detail.do?ID=MovingtoUS Mine is the "thank you preferred card (international students) They also ordered me a bunch of cheques so I could pay rent that way (I think it was free at the time, or didn’t cost too much) which was awesome.
I wouldn’t worry so much about how many locations a bank has in a state, and more about whether they have branches near where you spend most of your time.
Your posting history suggests you’ll be attending Berkeley? Citi has plenty of locations in that area.
Even when you are traveling, there’s now plenty of ways to do banking away from your bank. You can check your balance and initiate wire transfers online. You can deposit checks using a smartphone app. Many people avoid cash and pay for most of their purchases with a debit or credit card. When you do need cash, you can get “cash back” at a store and avoid ATM fees that way. (That means you instruct the store to charge an extra amount to your card when you make other purchases, and pay the extra out to you in cash.)
I am not advocating for Citi specifically; I am just saying that it’s nowhere near as important to find an ATM in every small town as it used to be.
It was a LONG time ago, but when I started university in the US in the first week or so I went to the foreign student office at my university and they helped me get a US social security number. It was relatively easy. Using that number I then opened a local bank account.
It’s become harder for international students to obtain a SSN in recent years. Specifically, F-1 and J-1 students now need a written job offer before they can apply for a SSN, which is non-trivial because international students are not authorized to work until after they have a SSN…