Hey guys, I am on K1 visa. I applied for Aos about a month ago. I already have my temp driving license and a social security no as well. I don't have a job because I don't have a work permit yet. I really need to start building my credit as soon as I can.

I was wondering if I can get a credit card on my social and driving license ? Also which are some corporations or credit card companies which are flexible and can approve me for a cc? I am sure one of you guys had experience with this so please help me out. One more thing I have WAMU as my local bank California. Thank you.

Well most credit card applications I've filled out require details of your income. If you don't have a job yet or another source of income couple with no credit history I doubt you will get an unsecured credit card.

Best bet would be to look at one of the banks or card companies that have a credit card you secure with a deposit with them for the limit of the card.

Capital One is pretty easy to deal with, they give you a CC with 500.00$ and if you pay your bills every month they will add 200.00$ to it after 3 months. When i applyed for one they asked about the household income and i put what my hubby makes a year and few days later i got my CC.

I was going through capital one site. What was the APR rate that you got from them?

For purchases is 0,00% and for cash is 20,90%

Personally I'd start off with Capital One (very easy to get a card from) but as soon as you've established some kind of track record dump them. They are bottom feeders and they will bleed you dry (all credit companies will if allowed) with fee's, interest rates and other charges will suck the life out of ye.

Regarding a part of the initial comment: "don't have a job because I don't have a work permit yet. "

you DONT need a work permit with a K1 Visa. Your I94 with the K1 Stamp is your work authorization, so start looking for a job!

Not everybody get that stamp it depends on your POE and if you do have it, its only valid for the 90days the I-94 is valid.

You need to have the temporary EAD stamp in your passport - you can't just work with an I-94 K1.

This is not true - a K1 with I94 is evidence of being allowed to work REGARDLESS of whether you have the employment authorisation stamp or not. Having the stamp may make it much easier for you to find an employer willing to take you on, but it doesn't mean someone without the stamp is not permitted to work.

- Martin

We waited until my husband was employed and we had opened a checking account before applying for credit card. He applied to like 4 or 5 different ones and they all denied him except Capital One. He got the same deal $500 allowance at o% interest for 6 months and then 19% after that. What we do is use it for groceries and gas and then pay it off each month until he gets it increased, after that we plan on opening another one and keep on building his credit.

Diana

Thanks a lot for your help! I came on the forum to check out about credit cards and got exactly what I needed!!

It's crazy - that although i have so much credit established in Canada - I feel like a teenager trying to get a credit card here! My bank has rejected me for the most basic card - and he told me about the card where you put an amount down first, which I was considering. But after reading about Capital One - I went on their site and got approved right away! All I want to do is build any sort of credit - it's crazy how hard it is here.

Thanks again for the tip!

I felt the same way, things are not easy when you move to an other country but thank goodness we have this great site to get the info we need.

What did u wrote in the application to be accepted right away ?
i did it but they say to wait for a decision

Isa got her first credit card through Orchard Bank, we did a secured card for $200.00 after a couple of months she got a pre approval offer from Capital One with a $500.00 limit and the a month later got another pre approved card through Citibank with an even higher limit. Try any one of these or this process and you should have some credit fairly quickly. We are still working on getting her an installment loan to build a stronger credit file. Good Luck!

I'm not sure what I did to make me get accepted! I thought I would get the usual rejection, actually. For household income, i put what my husband makes. Not sure what else might have differed from you though.

If all else fails, do the secured card thing first - I still might do that too - just to have more credit (to build).

when sofyan first came here he was accepted from cap one, then 2 months later from chase, and now he has those 2 and we have AMEX

alright !!! received my capital one card today ! yeehaaa !!!
A big 300$ limit ! 0% on purchase till january and 19.55% after that.

I feel like an adult again !

My husband got his Capital One card back in February I believe it was and we pay it off every month. He then started to receive offers from a whole bunch of other companies, many of whom deny him when he first applied with them. A couple of weeks ago he decided to apply for a pre-approved card from WaMu and he was approved for $1,000, checked out his credit score and it's currently at 720.

Diana

Another option, for Canadians anyhow, is RBC bank. Since I was a long-term client of RBC in Canada, they had no trouble giving me a bank account, check card, credit card, and line of credit as soon as I walked into the local bank! They just called some number to verify my association with RB Canada, and were more than happy to hook me up down here! I think the credit card started with a 2000. limit, but now it's up to 7500. Baaaaad..... baaaaaaaddd ..... must not shop.....

Not sure if there are other international banks that have affiliations with US counterparts, but might be worth checking out.

And I agree with Capital One..... easy to get, not so easy to get rid of!!! Even when I called to cancel the card, the person said "OK, we can do that for you" followed by "We'd like to offer you a new credit card.... " You've got to be kidding???! I think I got a little terse with the guy on the phone. They are relentless.

You can also try Bank of America Secured credit card. All you need is write a check worth $99.00 for a $500.00 credit line. You can apply on their website.
Well, this is good enough to start, right?

yes but it's secured.. when cap. one is not