U.S bank Account for non residents

[ali_khankan]

Hello,
It is no secret now that Valis international has stopped openning US accounts for non residents,as i read on this forum,the fees required by their bank went so high,but it doesn't look that there is any reasonable price service,just like them,that can do the business for me,i had been searching for the last month and scanning the internet every where with no results(except for the high prices),i live in the United Arab emirates and i tried to contact International Banks as well like HSBC and Citibank and they are all useless(They require 5000$ deposit and very complicated procedures),i need the U.S Bank account for PayPal and for any new E-commerce solutions that i am still considering,not to mention that i contacted some US banks directly and non of them is processing Applications by mail.

Here's the HIT..any 1 knows where and how can i open a U.S Bank account the way Valis International does?
Thanks in Advance,
M.Ali

[edited by: lorax at 11:54 am (utc) on April 6, 2005]
[edit reason] No DNs please [/edit]

[moneymancn]

Looks like since the "Patriot Act" they have virtually ceased this practice of opening Bank accounts for non Social Security Card holders.
I am even having problems with PayPal about this with a US Business account.
Good luck and I think you may now have to pay to get the advice you need!

MM

[ali_khankan]

Hey Guys...Any 1 wanna tell another opinion?..seems like every 1 is cool here!
M.Ali

[iProgram]

Hi ali_khankan, you may take a look of wells fargo IPB

[edited by: lorax at 4:12 pm (utc) on April 8, 2005]
[edit reason] delinked [/edit]

[ali_khankan]

Thanks iProgram,i contacted them for details,however i remembered that i have some Relatives in the States,Can they open such a bank account with out me being present?if i could mail all the documents over there and then my guys will take it from there,that would be great!..any 1 has ideas?
Thanks every 1,
M.Ali

[ali_khankan]

By the way,any 1 knows excellent Forums for E-commerece chit chat like the 1 we're using now?
"I need Links Please"!,
Ali

[jenco]

Hi everyone,

there is one easy way how to have your own U.S. bank account. They will ask you to have valid U.S. SSN and U.S. address. For U.S. address, you can use any mail drop or mail forwarding service. And where to obtain your SSN?
You do not need it.
Everyone all over the world can obtain own ITIN (International Tax identification number), which is issued by IRS.
This number has the same structure and the same number of digits as SSN. So, if you will place into the form your ITIN number in colum for SSN, it will work correctly and bank will think, they received valid SSN. Banks do not have any on-line system for SSN validation. They have only their own software, which tests this number for all rules which are used for creating of this number. This number contains in some algorithm crypted your date of birth, name and some more data. But algorithm for creating of ITIN is the same as algorithm for creating of SSN. So, if you want to receive your ITIN, you can find form, which must be completed in IRS webpage. Fill this form, go to U.S. Embassy in your country with valid passport and ask them to verify your indentity in this form. It will cost you cca. 50- 100 USD - fee is different for each country. You will receive your ITIN card (looks the same as SSN card) within 3-4 weeks.
Ed.

[ali_khankan]

Thanks for the reply,supposing that i can get that ITIN would that mean that i am gonna pay Taxes?I am not familiar with the U.S regulations but i heard that if i was a non-U.S resident with a US bank account i can not be taxed,and what about my Signiture or any ID's that any bank would require to provide them in person not via mail or Fax?
Seems like Valis was doing a great job,every thing is online and through mail for only 200 box,I am still not sure that i will toughly fight for a US account since the only reason for me to get it is that i need it to open a PayPal account,i have another good option to fight with is that i can open mrechant account here in the U.A.E but i need organization profile(They won't allow it for individuals),but it also seems like if u wanna do a real E-commerce u have to consider maintaning a US account(Checking ,Saving or Merchant doesn't matter)but at the end ur gonna need it ,i know guys living in europe&canada eventually doing this.
Ali