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Opening a bank account as a tourist in the US

Opening a bank account in the US while holding a tourist visa used to be impossible, since they normally require a social security number and at least two valid proofs of identification. But at least one bank now allows a tourist to open a bank account. You can open a bank account with Washington Mutual using your valid Philippine passport and a current US visa (usually stamped inside the passport).

A bank account can be useful if you want to transact using Paypal's services, which requires that you have a US bank account. Although, I think, now you may get an account with an accredited Philippine bank as well (please check with Paypal's Web site for the list). Getting a US checking account will also let you issue your own check for paying for your nursing licensure application. If you open an account at WaMu, you'll get both the checking and savings account as well as a debit card that you can use for retail or online purchases.

Comments

Anonymous said…
geoff: thank you for posting this aticle. i just open an account at wamu. it's a cheking,savings, atm and debit card. this will help me a lot during my stay here. more power to your site!

andrew t. bilog,prn

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