How to get a bank account without a green card

[shayrene 0]

Hello,

I tried to open an account for my husband and they said they could not open an account without his greencard (US Patriot Act, blah blah blah). (Wachovia Bank). Please let me know what others experiences were. What banks did you use? What was required? Thanks.

[mybackpages 0]

We didnt try to open an account, but were successful in adding him to an account that I had opened before he arrived with just the social security card.

[rebeccajo 14]

That's a load of #######.

You don't need a greencard to open a bank account. There's nothing about that in the Patriot Act.

Find another bank.

[~ Karima ~ 0]

I bank at Wachovia also and had no problem adding my husband to an account. All he needed was his passport and SS card.

[raymaga 25]

My husband added me to my account before I even moved to the U.S. They actually used my Canadian Social Insurance # (the equivalent to the US Social Security Number) for identification.

Then, after we were married, I took our certified marriage certificate into the bank and changed my name and address.

[Jasman0717 8]

Claudeth was able to start a savings account at my credit union without a green card but she did have her EAD.

[together2love 0]

That's a load of #######.

You don't need a greencard to open a bank account. There's nothing about that in the Patriot Act.

Find another bank.

Exactly, you have a valid k1 visa, and a SSN, that is all they should need, even considering that you are now married too. Yeesh, I would definetly go to another bank.

[~ Karima ~ 0]

That's a load of #######.

You don't need a greencard to open a bank account. There's nothing about that in the Patriot Act.

Find another bank.

Exactly, you have a valid k1 visa, and a SSN, that is all they should need, even considering that you are now married too. Yeesh, I would definetly go to another bank.

It may not be so much the bank, but maybe the particular branch. I remember when I was trying to change my name once we married. I got two different answers of what I needed to do at two different branches. I would say try another branch before another bank if Wachovia is the bank you currently bank with.

[shayrene 0]

Thanks VJ. I thought it was insane when she said it. I was thinking about Wachovia in the first place because of their international services (i.e. wire transfers, checking options, foreign currency). Back to the drawing board in my research.

[LaL 418]

they also refused to add my husband to my bank account without a FL ID... weeellll we couldnt get a FL ID (according to our DMV) without the greencard (which also seems to be wrong). I dumped that bank and went with one that did not cite the Patriot Act for every little step.

sometimes being armed with evidence that they are wrong does not help.

[notrepetiteashley 0]

That's nuts. They don't know what they're talking about. And get this, one day I went to send an international fax (to Germany) from the bank and they actually told me that they couldn't do it because of 9/11. I was so shocked I just walked out. I went to a copy place and they sent it no problem. The girl at the counter was also confused by the banks refusal to send the fax. She said she'd never heard of such a thing as 9/11 interfereing with international faxes, especially not in 2006! (this was a few months ago.)

[rebelheart 0]

My husband add me in his Wachiova checking/savings account jointly, we talk with their manager in charge.

I have no EAD, no Greencard, no SSN, no Driver license. They only asked my marriage certificate, my passport, my I-94 and my Tax Identification Number in my country(PI.).

Goodluck!

[Meriem_DZ 37]

My bank added Hachemi to my account without a social security number when he first arrived. They told me once he got it, just call them and tell them the number. They acted like it wasnt a big deal to add him. They looked at his passport for ID.

Meriem

[Ephesia 0]

That's a load of #######.

You don't need a greencard to open a bank account. There's nothing about that in the Patriot Act.

Find another bank.

What Becca said. I didn't even have my Social Security number yet when hubby and I went to open a joint account in my first week here at his bank, Regions. All they wanted to look at was my passport. They laughed when I showed them our marriage cert just to prove we were really married.

[Together4ever 1]

We didnt try to open an account, but were successful in adding him to an account that I had opened before he arrived with just the social security card.

We did the same. We added him to my account. He needed his SSC and State ID. They told him since he is now a customer of the bank he can also come in and open his own account any time with just his State ID. We just began AOS.