From neomimsy!cs.umd.edu!dtix.dt.navy.mil!darwin.sura.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!news.ossi.com!not-for-mail Tue Aug 24 22:31:20 EDT 1993

thieber@bnlux1.bnl.gov (peter thieberger) writes:
>A Canadian friend of mine has a H1-B visa and a permanent job. He is now
>starting the green-card paper work. He has so far been unable to get a
>bank loan, a credit card or a mortgage.  Are there banks that are
>especially receptive in cases like this?  Could his employer do anything
>to help?  Any advice would be much appreciated.  My apologies if this
>request is inappropriate for this group. 

Visa status (probably) isn't the issue here ... most banks are happy to lend
money to anyone that they consider "a good risk" ... the snag is that their
criteria for determining whether they believe you to be a good and noble
human who will pay them back on time is focussed on what the credit reporting
bureaus (TRW, Equifax, etc.) say about you ... and when you first arrive in the
USA, they have nothing to say ... so the bank won't lend you anything.

There are a few things you can do to get out of the "catch-22" situation
of not being able to get credit because you don't have a credit history.

1) If your friend has credit cards with banks in Canada, then find out if the
   bank has any kind of special relationship with a bank in the USA.  If they
   have an American Express card, then just phone AMEX and ask them to issue
   you a new card on a U.S. dollar account.

2) The manager of a bank can override the decision to turn you down for credit.
   Make an appointment, and go talk to them.  Take copies of your foreign
   credit card bills to show him/her that you do have a real credit history
   even though the U.S. agencies don't know about it.  It probably helps to
   have established a relationship with the bank for a short while (e.g. have
   a cheque account, and maybe a savings account too ... having your salary
   auto-deposited is also a good plus).

3) Yes, an employer can help ... but it helps if they know the bank from whom
   you are trying to get credit.  I went to the bank that my company used for
   its own accounts.  The personnel manager "had a word" with the loan officer
   on my behalf.

4) It may be easier to start with something like a car loan, rather than trying
   to hit them for a credit card right away.  (The car loan is less risky for
   the bank as they know that they can send in the repo-men if you default).
   Curiously my bank had no difficulty writing a 5-year loan even though my
   visa would expire in less time than that.

5) Another way to start a credit history is to get "Store" credit cards from
   Macy's etc.  Only get them from stores that you actually use ... you want
   to show some activity on the card.

6) If all else fails, you can get a "secured" credit card from many banks.
   These work by you having a savings account that acts as security for the
   credit card ... your credit limit is the balance in the account (and they
   even pay you a laughable amount of interest ... like abou 2%).  You can
   find application forms in some stores (look for the "No credit, we can
   help signs").  My wife got a card from "Bank of Hoven" this way.

I don't know if any banks that are especially receptive ... I got my U.S.
credit history started at "First Interstate" ... but because you are dependent
on the manager at the branch you apply at sticking his/her neck out to override
the standard bank policy, I expect that your mileage may vary.

-Tony Luck

P.S.  Now that I've *got* credit, does anyone know how to stop all the banks in
creation sending me "pre-approved" credit card applications :-)