New bank account and ID needed.Help required

Hi there,

Your passport should be enough ID for Bank of America!

Enjoy San Fran!

Jackie

Thanks Jackie!

People in Sweden can now get photo'id cards' from the tax office (IRS), I might arrange one of those before I come over, just to be on the safe side.

Look forward to contributing to this forum when I am over!

I moved to San Francisco a year and a half ago. I also didn't have a driving license. I got my bank account using my passport and Green Card as ID. In your position, I would take any and all the photo ID you have. Be decisive when you hand over your ID as they are likely to reject your id if you don't seem sure of yourself! Get an account at Bank of America or Wells Fargo as they are the banks which have the most branches in San Francisco.

Ah great info Girlinfogcity!

Thanks for the tips.  I am also hoping that the fact I am on a company transfer visa will help, as they can see that my wages from Priceline will be going straight into the account.

Have you started to learn how to drive in SF? This is something I have been putting off..I am 35 and never really needed a car but I guess its about time I got my licence at least!!

Shane
If you take your passport with your visa in and a utility bill these should serve as proof of ID, however they do need your Social Security number also so you will have to ago and apply for that in person when you get here.

Not sure if you can still do it but we opened an account at Wachovia before we moved here, think it was a savings account and of course we didn't have a visa or SSN then but things have changed now as they are much stricter.
Good luck
Check out my profile as I work for a company that may be able to help you, contact me privately if interested.

Lisa Mullaney

shane75 wrote:

Hi all

I am a Brit, been in Sweden for two and a half years and now moving to our San Francisco office in about 6 weeks on a company transfer visa.

I will need to open a US bank account asap when I am over. I have read the article on Expat.com and have one question.

I am one of those rare individuals who does not drive, therefore I only have a Passport as ID, no driving licence.  I do have a ID card from my Swedish Bank with a photo and my Swedish Personal Number on it.  Do you know if this will be acceptable to Bank of America for instance?

Really appreciate your advice on this.

Rgds

Shane

Dont know if its different in other states but i moved from the UK to Pennsylvania and needed a social security number to open an account. But, my advice would be try and see if you can open an account with what you have, but i was asked for SSN before i could proceed any further regardless of how much money i had or was being paid. You prity much need that SSN to do alot of things over here.
Hope that helps
Good luck with your move