Getting a U.S bank account as a non-US citizen
 

I thought that thebancorp was accepting non-US citizens to sign up for a bank account but seems not as the customer service replied: "In order to open an Account with The Bancorp Bank your business must be located within the United States and all signers must be US citizens with a valid US social security number."

So are there any U.S banks that let a Finnish/non-US citizen who isn't even a resident in the U.S to open a bank account there?

You can open an investor account with ML and I think that you will get a bank account with it. You have to dump 200K in it though...

Not sure if right now is a good time to be putting your money into US banks.

True.. but I can't wait 3 - 10 years either and it would save me a lot of time and money to have a U.S bank account.

google it you will find many companies offering what you need...

I'm canadian resident... once I opened a delaware corp and had to go to Boston for a business trip... walked in any BoA and they opened me a corporate and personal account.

Google it to find companies of which too many are probably scammers or take a lot of money for some simple advice.

Because of that patriot act it seems to be harder these days to open an account.. well I did find goopen.net and I haven't heard any negative reviews of them so it might just be reliable enough to invest that $20 into that info. ^^

Try incorporating online in the US. and then hiring someone from here as an employee. pay them a fee to go and open the account.

It seems goopen.net accepts only those extremely scam vulnerable type of payment options so can't really test it as I don't have an account with alertpay/egold/liberty reserve and can't bother making one.

good fucking luck, I couldn't even get an account with another state id, they don't do that anymore since 911.

it really has helped with the terrorism. :1orglaugh

I just talked to a BoA live representative and she said I can't open an account online but I can go to a BoA branch in person with my passport to open an account even though I'm not a resident or a citizen.

I opened a US bank account while on vacation in 2003 with nothing but a passport.

:2 cents: to the nth degree

I am pretty sure you can get a personal one no problem but a business one needs a US business.

Yup - I did this a couple of months ago, although I needed to show another form of ID as well as my passport.

what if you have no passport, is drivers license and birth certificate ok?

More than likely not as to get to a US Bank without a passport means you are here illegally.

Then you won't be able to get into the country, never mind a branch of Bank Of America to open an account...

Yep, exactly.

If she wanna open an account in a US bank she got problems, and not just financial problems. :2 cents:

You guys are ALL WRONG, a passport is not required to drive into the U.S.A. from Canada, a drivers license and birth certificate are fine.

That's odd. I had opened an account in NC with an OH ID about a year ago with no issues.

False. Read the laws. Thank you.

FALSE right back at you..... no passport required:

http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders/index.shtm


"Land/Sea Travel
Canadian Citizens
Beginning January 31, 2008, the United States will end the practice of accepting oral declarations of citizenship at the border.

Canadian citizens ages 19 and older must present documentation that proves both identity and citizenship. Identification documents must include a photo, name and date of birth. View the complete list of acceptable documents at CBP.gov.
Children ages 18 and under will only be required to present proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate"

Incorporate a LLC through a local agent over there, have the papers delivered to your home via FedEx to Finland, purchase a round trip ticket for Miami or NYC. There are so many banks, at least one will approve your application as a non-resident foreign customer.

isn't there a law that says you don't have to give up your social security number anyways? don't know why a bank would care if you are a citizen or not either, what difference does it make to them?

I'm sure WaMu can help.
WG