Moving to US for work. Looking for advice RE SSN/Bank account?.

anonimity

Hi guys, I have just had an O-1 visa approved for 2 years to accept work in my field in the US.

I will be living in Los Angeles. Everything has been approved/confirmed on this side, but there's lots I will need to sort out. Unfortunately there's only so much I can do from the other side of the world.

One of the first things I need to sort is obtaining a Social Security number and bank account. Is this a relatively easy process? I will be living at a temporary address for the first two weeks - I'm not sure if that will be a hindrance.

I really haven't a clue which banks would be the best to look at opening an account with. I will need to transfer money from my UK and Irish accounts, so something which doesn't end up charging extortionate fees for these transactions would be ideal.

If any of you have any experience or advice (on anything!) for someone just setting up I'd love to hear your thoughts, tips and opinions.

ProudDUB

Getting a SSN won't be hard. Google where your local office of the Dept of Social Security Administration is, pop into it and they'll sort you out with your number. You'll need to bring your passport with the visa stamp in it, to prove that you are in the US legally. You also need to bring your birth certificate, so remember to bring that with you when you move. The SS card will be posted out to you, you won't be given it there and then. If you don't know where you'll be living, perhaps you could tell them to post it to you at work?

There is not a huge difference between the high street banks. Generally, the more money you have in your account and/or the kind of account you have, the more services (such as international transfers) you get for free, or at a reduced rate. But other things matter too, such as account maintenance fees, check writing fees, ATM fees etc etc. Don't just go on what they charge for international transfers.

When you get there, open an account in a bank that is convenient to where you will be living and working. Then shop around for other banks that may offer better deals. You can always close the first one if need be. In the US, there are small, local "boutique" banks that generally offer cheaper banking rates than the big nationwide banks such as Wells Fargo or Bank of America. But they will have far fewer branches or ATM's too & none outside the state, so bear that in mind if you open an account with one of them.

anonimity

ProudDUB wrote: »

Getting a SSN won't be hard. Google where your local office of the Dept of Social Security Administration is, pop into it and they'll sort you out with your number. You'll need to bring your passport with the visa stamp in it, to prove that you are in the US legally. You also need to bring your birth certificate, so remember to bring that with you when you move. The SS card will be posted out to you, you won't be given it there and then. If you don't know where you'll be living, perhaps you could tell them to post it to you at work?

There is not a huge difference between the high street banks. Generally, the more money you have in your account and/or the kind of account you have, the more services (such as international transfers) you get for free, or at a reduced rate. But other things matter too, such as account maintenance fees, check writing fees, ATM fees etc etc. Don't just go on what they charge for international transfers.

When you get there, open an account in a bank that is convenient to where you will be living and working. Then shop around for other banks that may offer better deals. You can always close the first one if need be. In the US, there are small, local "boutique" banks that generally offer cheaper banking rates than the big nationwide banks such as Wells Fargo or Bank of America. But they will have far fewer branches or ATM's too & none outside the state, so bear that in mind if you open an account with one of them.

Thanks so much for that. That's a brilliant help.

I'll have a shop around the local area for banks when I get there. As I'll be at a temporary address I figure I'll have to list a work address to receive the SSN.

biddywiddy

As ProudDUB said, getting the SSN is not difficult. Here's a link to the form you will fill out in the SS Office. While you won't get your card on the spot, they can give you proof of your number so you can start using it immediately.

We went with Chase bank, as they have a few branches and ATMs close to us. We transferred money from our Irish accounts using CurrencyFair - though according to an email I received from them before Christmas, they have withdrawn services for US residents. Hopefully this is temporary.

iusedtoknow

biddywiddy wrote: »

As ProudDUB said, getting the SSN is not difficult. Here's a link to the form you will fill out in the SS Office. While you won't get your card on the spot, they can give you proof of your number so you can start using it immediately.

You also have to wait around 10 days before going to the SS office to ensure that your entry into the US has filtered over to the system, you can't go on day 2 to get your SS.

It's pretty quick, we bought our passport, birth cert and my wife needed our marriage cert. We were in and out in 20 minutes.

We got proof we had applied for the number, however the number wasn't generated and they couldn't provide us with one. Most companies and banks will "zero you out". in SSN windows, they'll put 000-00-0000 until you can provide the real number. Our bank and my office did that.

biddywiddy

iusedtoknow wrote: »

We got proof we had applied for the number, however the number wasn't generated and they couldn't provide us with one. Most companies and banks will "zero you out". in SSN windows, they'll put 000-00-0000 until you can provide the real number. Our bank and my office did that.

Yes, this is correct! This has just reminded me that I got proof of my number straightaway as I already had one from a J1 years ago (same with my OH). We had both lost our cards (actually they're stored somewhere in a really, really safe place - so safe that we can't find them!) so we applied for replacement cards and were given a printout with the number on it. The cards were mailed to us about 2 weeks later.

anonimity

Thanks for chiming in everyone. Really helpful.

Sorry to be throwing more questions into the mix... I'm pretty effin' clueless, so bear with me! I have been looking at what's the best way to withdraw 1000 pounds sterling from my basic UK (Natwest) account. I'll also be looking to withdraw about 500 eur from my Irish Ulster-bank account in the next month too. I could clear them out when I get there, but I imagine that will involve withdrawal limits etc, plus I'm not entirely sure what charges are to be expected.

I have a few hundred Euro in cash I'd like to change to dollars too. Would it be better to change it while in Ireland, or should I do it when I arrive? Someone mentioned I could open a US account in Euros over there, or I could of course lodge it to my Ulster Bank account here and withdraw when I arrive. Any opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much again everyone.

ProudDUB

If you are comfortable carrying around roughly $2000 in your purse/wallet, withdraw it here and convert it to dollars before you go. US banks generally don't have Bureau de Change desks, the way that Irish ones do. So you could run into a bit of bother finding somewhere to exchange your euros and sterling for dollars. You could do it at the airport, but they would charge you a horrible exchange rate.

Open your US bank account when you get over there and deposit your dollars into it. But remember it will take several days for your new ATM card to arrive, so hang onto enough cash to tide you over until it does.

If you want to leave everything in your Irish/UK accounts, your Irish debit card will work in the US. So should your UK one, but you'll get killed on the ATM withdrawal fees. (Bank of America charge $5 per withdrawal when I use my AIB debit card.) AIB add on a fee too, for processing an overseas withdrawal. Then there is the daily withdrawal limit that the banks normally impose if you are traveling outside the eurozone. Contact your bank. They may raise this if you ask them too. They can also give you more details on what fees you'll have to pay if you use your Irish plastic overseas, and other issues you may have.

It is probably best to just get your US bank account set up as soon as you can and use that one on a daily basis. I didn't see anyone hear talking about having a US bank account in euros. If you open an bank account over there, it will be in dollars.

iusedtoknow

ProudDUB wrote: »

Open your US bank account when you get over there and deposit your dollars into it. But remember it will take several days for your new ATM card to arrive, so hang onto enough cash to tide you over until it does.
.

We opened up a Bank of America account on day 2 in the country and deposited the money we came over with. As we were opening our accounts, they gave us ATM cards with "Valued BOA Customer" as the name on it - it could be used straight away. Our proper ones with our name on it came in the mail 4 or 5 days later

anonimity

ProudDUB wrote: »

If you are comfortable carrying around roughly $2000 in your purse/wallet, withdraw it here and convert it to dollars before you go. US banks generally don't have Bureau de Change desks, the way that Irish ones do. So you could run into a bit of bother finding somewhere to exchange your euros and sterling for dollars. You could do it at the airport, but they would charge you a horrible exchange rate.

Open your US bank account when you get over there and deposit your dollars into it. But remember it will take several days for your new ATM card to arrive, so hang onto enough cash to tide you over until it does.

If you want to leave everything in your Irish/UK accounts, your Irish debit card will work in the US. So should your UK one, but you'll get killed on the ATM withdrawal fees. (Bank of America charge $5 per withdrawal when I use my AIB debit card.) AIB add on a fee too, for processing an overseas withdrawal. Then there is the daily withdrawal limit that the banks normally impose if you are traveling outside the eurozone. Contact your bank. They may raise this if you ask them too. They can also give you more details on what fees you'll have to pay if you use your Irish plastic overseas, and other issues you may have.

It is probably best to just get your US bank account set up as soon as you can and use that one on a daily basis. I didn't see anyone hear talking about having a US bank account in euros. If you open an bank account over there, it will be in dollars.

Seriously, I owe you a drink. Thank you!

Scar Tissue

anonimity wrote: »

Seriously, I owe you a drink. Thank you!

If you do go with the route of using your Irish Visa/CC while you're being set up with an American Account don't forget to notify your bank beforehand in case it's flagged as being fraudulently used!

ProudDUB

anonimity wrote: »

Seriously, I owe you a drink. Thank you!

Margarita, no salt, extra limes. Thanks very much.

It's no trouble. Ask away. Forums like this weren't really around when I moved to the US. It would have made my first few months there, as well as planning the move over, a lot easier if they were.