J1jobs.com Bank Account Set-Up

sajama

I was looking at this site and they offer to help set you up with a Bank of America account without a Social Security number - has anybody used this to open an account before? Or know of anyone that did?

lil_lisa

Without a social security number? That seems dodgy. I wouldn't be too keen to apply. They could sign you up to an account with high annual fees, high overdraft fees and little security. You're better off waiting for your social security number and opening up your own bank account. Research the banks in your area and find out about hidden charges. Its a very straight forward thing to do. Usually banks will have an incentive, eg. Open an account today and we'll lodge $100 into your account! I wouldn't suggest using this company to do that for you!

lonestargirl

The thing is you should be able to open a bank account without a SSN. It's not a legal requirement for having an account, it's just that if you have one you have to give it to them. Most bank procedures are not set up to handle this situation and they just say that it can't be done. I was not entitled to a SSN when I first came over and opened an account no problem, it did cause hassle later on when I got my SSN as they had to go high up the security chain to edit the SSN field in my info.

sajama

lil_lisa wrote: »

Without a social security number? That seems dodgy. I wouldn't be too keen to apply. They could sign you up to an account with high annual fees, high overdraft fees and little security. You're better off waiting for your social security number and opening up your own bank account. Research the banks in your area and find out about hidden charges. Its a very straight forward thing to do. Usually banks will have an incentive, eg. Open an account today and we'll lodge $100 into your account! I wouldn't suggest using this company to do that for you!

Thanks - I was thinking I should probably wait until I get over there...

Also I'd heard it is quite difficult to open a bank account - a guy working in a bank here that said that they're being quite strict recently on who can open accounts and he thought it might have been the same story in the US - I guess this mightn't be the case?

Thanks for the advice - I'll check out the different banks, charges etc

sajama

lonestargirl wrote: »

The thing is you should be able to open a bank account without a SSN. It's not a legal requirement for having an account, it's just that if you have one you have to give it to them. Most bank procedures are not set up to handle this situation and they just say that it can't be done. I was not entitled to a SSN when I first came over and opened an account no problem, it did cause hassle later on when I got my SSN as they had to go high up the security chain to edit the SSN field in my info.

Thanks for that reply - I've heard it is possible to open one without a SSN - I guess Lisa was right in that I could get caught out on charges and fees.

It probably is better to open it when I'm over there - I would've thought I'd need a US address to open one, and j1jobs.com seemed to imply I wouldn't! Although when I clicked "Apply" out of curiousity it opened up a Live Chat window - I just closed it and didn't wait to see if anyone said anything. I guess it probably is pretty dodgy...

duckmusic

sajama wrote: »

Thanks - I was thinking I should probably wait until I get over there...

a guy working in a bank here that said that they're being quite strict recently on who can open accounts and he thought it might have been the same story in the US - I guess this mightn't be the case?

Thanks for the advice - I'll check out the different banks, charges etc

Before I left Ireland someone in an Irish bank told me there was no way I would be able to open an account in America and should use my Irish credit card for all my transactions.

When I got to America I went to that bank to see how true this was. 10 mins latter I was walking out with all my new account information in my hand. Didn't need a SSN. Just the i-94 from your passport.

sajama

duckmusic wrote: »

Before I left Ireland someone in an Irish bank told me there was no way I would be able to open an account in America and should use my Irish credit card for all my transactions.

When I got to America I went to that bank to see how true this was. 10 mins latter I was walking out with all my new account information in my hand. Didn't need a SSN. Just the i-94 from your passport.

Ah how very clever of them - guess they just want our money!

Well that makes me feel better anyway - shouldn't be too hard to open one then

alonso09

duckmusic wrote: »

Before I left Ireland someone in an Irish bank told me there was no way I would be able to open an account in America and should use my Irish credit card for all my transactions.

When I got to America I went to that bank to see how true this was. 10 mins latter I was walking out with all my new account information in my hand. Didn't need a SSN. Just the i-94 from your passport.

What was the name of the bank (the American one)?