Hello guys and gals. I am trying to figure out how some people are able to open bank accounts here in the US when their wifes/husbands are in other countries? It would be nice to save all the hassle if she was to have access to my banks here via atms. Does anybody have any insight into this? The banks I have talked to are bound by that US law that bars none residents from opening accounts, yet I have read of many people opening joint accounts...any clues?
Thanks!
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VisaJourney.com > Marriage Based Immigration (K1, K2, K3, etc) to the USA > IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa General Discussion
Not from me, sorry. We even had issues when he was here....till he got a SSN.
I thought I read somewhere that if you get them a TIN issued for tax purposes, you can open an account. Not sure, though.
I wish you luck.
I thought I read somewhere that if you get them a TIN issued for tax purposes, you can open an account. Not sure, though.
I wish you luck.
An option, if all you want is an account which your fiancee can access via atms.
Open a separate account in your name, and once the ATM card is issued for said account, send your fiancee the ATM card and tell her the PIN#. You can deposit what you wish in that account and she can withdraw on the other end. I've heard of people who have done this for family and such, to save on money transfer/wiring fees, which if you send money with any regularity can add up.
-P
Open a separate account in your name, and once the ATM card is issued for said account, send your fiancee the ATM card and tell her the PIN#. You can deposit what you wish in that account and she can withdraw on the other end. I've heard of people who have done this for family and such, to save on money transfer/wiring fees, which if you send money with any regularity can add up.
-P
QUOTE(Paula&Minya @ Jun 2 2008, 09:15 AM) 
An option, if all you want is an account which your fiancee can access via atms.
Open a separate account in your name, and once the ATM card is issued for said account, send your fiancee the ATM card and tell her the PIN#. You can deposit what you wish in that account and she can withdraw on the other end. I've heard of people who have done this for family and such, to save on money transfer/wiring fees, which if you send money with any regularity can add up.
-P
Open a separate account in your name, and once the ATM card is issued for said account, send your fiancee the ATM card and tell her the PIN#. You can deposit what you wish in that account and she can withdraw on the other end. I've heard of people who have done this for family and such, to save on money transfer/wiring fees, which if you send money with any regularity can add up.
-P
That's what I did.
Just last week we added him to my bank acct w/ Washington Mutual...all they needed was 2 forms of ID from him, i.e. Canadian drivers license, his SIN card from Canada, or a major credit card. The guy at the bank had to call the bank's helpline to bypass the SS# part, but it worked out. I asked about this on a thread in the Canadian forum, and got alot of replies from people who were also able to do this no problem. Sometimes it just depends on the bank.
QUOTE(pushbrk @ Jun 2 2008, 12:28 PM)
QUOTE(Paula&Minya @ Jun 2 2008, 09:15 AM)
An option, if all you want is an account which your fiancee can access via atms.
Open a separate account in your name, and once the ATM card is issued for said account, send your fiancee the ATM card and tell her the PIN#. You can deposit what you wish in that account and she can withdraw on the other end. I've heard of people who have done this for family and such, to save on money transfer/wiring fees, which if you send money with any regularity can add up.
-P
Open a separate account in your name, and once the ATM card is issued for said account, send your fiancee the ATM card and tell her the PIN#. You can deposit what you wish in that account and she can withdraw on the other end. I've heard of people who have done this for family and such, to save on money transfer/wiring fees, which if you send money with any regularity can add up.
-P
That's what I did.
I tried that once, but Washington mutual only uses Mastercard... so the card didn't work for my wife. Still I told her to just hold onto the card for when she gets here.
I'm not sure if the orginal poster wanted it as proof of relationship for the Visa process. This is what I attempted a while back and I couldn't get any bank to open an account with my wife standing next to me.
We used Bank of America. They only asked to see his passport and a second form of identification. he used his local bank visa card for the secondary.
QUOTE(xuemei @ Jun 2 2008, 09:50 AM)
QUOTE(pushbrk @ Jun 2 2008, 12:28 PM)
QUOTE(Paula&Minya @ Jun 2 2008, 09:15 AM)
An option, if all you want is an account which your fiancee can access via atms.
Open a separate account in your name, and once the ATM card is issued for said account, send your fiancee the ATM card and tell her the PIN#. You can deposit what you wish in that account and she can withdraw on the other end. I've heard of people who have done this for family and such, to save on money transfer/wiring fees, which if you send money with any regularity can add up.
-P
Open a separate account in your name, and once the ATM card is issued for said account, send your fiancee the ATM card and tell her the PIN#. You can deposit what you wish in that account and she can withdraw on the other end. I've heard of people who have done this for family and such, to save on money transfer/wiring fees, which if you send money with any regularity can add up.
-P
That's what I did.
I tried that once, but Washington mutual only uses Mastercard... so the card didn't work for my wife. Still I told her to just hold onto the card for when she gets here.
I'm not sure if the orginal poster wanted it as proof of relationship for the Visa process. This is what I attempted a while back and I couldn't get any bank to open an account with my wife standing next to me.
The card I sent my wife was MasterCard and it worked fine for her in China. I did have to notify the bank it would be used overseas though. We always tell the bank when we'll be using our cards abroad, just avoid denials due to fraud protection procedures.
its all good ... taking from an ATM... is costly ... i have Bank OF America here and it cost me $5.00 per transaction in india ...... for me ... you/spocse can open an account in the foreign country and electronically transfer money to that account .... for india its free ... No charge
QUOTE(Paula&Minya @ Jun 2 2008, 09:15 AM)
An option, if all you want is an account which your fiancee can access via atms.
Open a separate account in your name, and once the ATM card is issued for said account, send your fiancee the ATM card and tell her the PIN#. You can deposit what you wish in that account and she can withdraw on the other end. I've heard of people who have done this for family and such, to save on money transfer/wiring fees, which if you send money with any regularity can add up.
-P
Open a separate account in your name, and once the ATM card is issued for said account, send your fiancee the ATM card and tell her the PIN#. You can deposit what you wish in that account and she can withdraw on the other end. I've heard of people who have done this for family and such, to save on money transfer/wiring fees, which if you send money with any regularity can add up.
-P
YUP!!
This is probably what the OP was hearing about. You can send them an ATM card, which is all that will probably be useful anyway. Most other countries dont have the same banks as here in US, so your SO would never need the actual bank. She just needs an ATM, with a visa/mc template and she can use it whereever she wants, and you can put money in the account, when ever you want.
He could add me to his acct in Canada but they wanted a SS# or ITIN here for my bank. And since I opted to go "head of household" for taxes, we didn't get him a number. Nice to know some banks will help you get around the SS# issue.
Hello There,
I had to get my hubby's ITIN number first, then file joint Tax return and then this year I added him to my citibank account no problem. I had to send the bank Authorization Signture forms for him to sign but with the ITIN number it was not a problem. But it did take about 2 years to do it.
Good Luck!
Nita
I had to get my hubby's ITIN number first, then file joint Tax return and then this year I added him to my citibank account no problem. I had to send the bank Authorization Signture forms for him to sign but with the ITIN number it was not a problem. But it did take about 2 years to do it.
Good Luck!
Nita
QUOTE(rmncm @ Jun 2 2008, 09:07 AM)
Hello guys and gals. I am trying to figure out how some people are able to open bank accounts here in the US when their wifes/husbands are in other countries? It would be nice to save all the hassle if she was to have access to my banks here via atms. Does anybody have any insight into this? The banks I have talked to are bound by that US law that bars none residents from opening accounts, yet I have read of many people opening joint accounts...any clues?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Whoa, thanks guys. I knew about opening another account in my name and sending her the ATM card. I just spent 2 months in the Philippines with her and used my ATM card several times a week and my bank or the banks there never charged me any fee's. I was trying to kill 2 birds with one stone ie: part of the imigration...comingeling of finances and to save a buck or two on wire transfers.
I guess the easiest way will be to open a second account in my name and send her the ATM card.
On a side note, in two weeks time my wife and I will be starting this visa journey....we filled the paperwork out for a cr1 just before I came back to the states and I started to assemble the information only to discover I forgot to have her sign the G-325a 
so....
We are still unsure which is the best way to go CR1 or K3...I found out last week she is pregnant
. THe descission we are trying to make all has to do with the 2 year thing with the cr1. We havnt been married but 2 months so the CR1's benifit of a greencard doesnt apply to us so we will have the added cost of the change of status after the fact so the CR1 really isnt much use to us. Maybe I am wronge. For me I just want my love here beside me to kiss her lips again, touch her face and smell that wonderful garlic breath I came to love 
Thanks guys and gals
I guess the easiest way will be to open a second account in my name and send her the ATM card.
On a side note, in two weeks time my wife and I will be starting this visa journey....we filled the paperwork out for a cr1 just before I came back to the states and I started to assemble the information only to discover I forgot to have her sign the G-325a
so....We are still unsure which is the best way to go CR1 or K3...I found out last week she is pregnant
. THe descission we are trying to make all has to do with the 2 year thing with the cr1. We havnt been married but 2 months so the CR1's benifit of a greencard doesnt apply to us so we will have the added cost of the change of status after the fact so the CR1 really isnt much use to us. Maybe I am wronge. For me I just want my love here beside me to kiss her lips again, touch her face and smell that wonderful garlic breath I came to love Thanks guys and gals
I ended up opening an account with my wife in India because I figured I couldn't do it here without a SSN for her ...
Didn't even try here but now I'm thinking the Bank of America idea isn't bad - maybe I can use some other forms of ID for her in this case ... I'll look into it (but I think my purposes are solved since the I-130 had the Indian account as proof and it must have been good enough lol)
Didn't even try here but now I'm thinking the Bank of America idea isn't bad - maybe I can use some other forms of ID for her in this case ... I'll look into it (but I think my purposes are solved since the I-130 had the Indian account as proof and it must have been good enough lol)
QUOTE(rmncm @ Jun 2 2008, 02:37 PM)
Whoa, thanks guys. I knew about opening another account in my name and sending her the ATM card. I just spent 2 months in the Philippines with her and used my ATM card several times a week and my bank or the banks there never charged me any fee's. I was trying to kill 2 birds with one stone ie: part of the imigration...comingeling of finances and to save a buck or two on wire transfers.
I guess the easiest way will be to open a second account in my name and send her the ATM card.
On a side note, in two weeks time my wife and I will be starting this visa journey....we filled the paperwork out for a cr1 just before I came back to the states and I started to assemble the information only to discover I forgot to have her sign the G-325a so....
We are still unsure which is the best way to go CR1 or K3...I found out last week she is pregnant . THe descission we are trying to make all has to do with the 2 year thing with the cr1. We havnt been married but 2 months so the CR1's benifit of a greencard doesnt apply to us so we will have the added cost of the change of status after the fact so the CR1 really isnt much use to us. Maybe I am wronge. For me I just want my love here beside me to kiss her lips again, touch her face and smell that wonderful garlic breath I came to love
Thanks guys and gals
I guess the easiest way will be to open a second account in my name and send her the ATM card.
On a side note, in two weeks time my wife and I will be starting this visa journey....we filled the paperwork out for a cr1 just before I came back to the states and I started to assemble the information only to discover I forgot to have her sign the G-325a
so....We are still unsure which is the best way to go CR1 or K3...I found out last week she is pregnant
. THe descission we are trying to make all has to do with the 2 year thing with the cr1. We havnt been married but 2 months so the CR1's benifit of a greencard doesnt apply to us so we will have the added cost of the change of status after the fact so the CR1 really isnt much use to us. Maybe I am wronge. For me I just want my love here beside me to kiss her lips again, touch her face and smell that wonderful garlic breath I came to love Thanks guys and gals
CR1 visas result in a two-year (conditional) green card upon arrival. There is no adjustment of status but you file to remove conditions during the 90 days preceding the expiration of the card.
Being married two years before entry results in a 10 year unconditional card.
CR1 visas result in a two-year (conditional) green card upon arrival. There is no adjustment of status but you file to remove conditions during the 90 days preceding the expiration of the card.
Being married two years before entry results in a 10 year unconditional card.
[/quote]
Ohh thank you for setting me strait, I read that part of the guide many times and misunderstood every time. I am sure glad I said something about that on here. I might of ended up making some mistakes and gone the K3 route, not that there is anything wrong with that, its just my wife and I want to go the cr1 route. Thanks Pushbrk and thanks to all who posted.
Being married two years before entry results in a 10 year unconditional card.
[/quote]
Ohh thank you for setting me strait, I read that part of the guide many times and misunderstood every time. I am sure glad I said something about that on here. I might of ended up making some mistakes and gone the K3 route, not that there is anything wrong with that, its just my wife and I want to go the cr1 route. Thanks Pushbrk and thanks to all who posted.
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