I am often asked how people can apply for credit cards with a Social Security Number (SSN).  For the most part this applies to people with certain immigration status, such as International Students, or people on certain types of visa.  One such type is the H4 Visa, for spouses of H1-B visas, a very common work visa in the US.  This post will tackle several strategies to obtain a credit card in the US for such people, please pass it along to those who might benefit from it.

Before we try to get a card without a SSN, let’s try to get a SSN!

International Student Options

Let’s start out with International Students.  F1 (Academic) and M1 (Vocational) students are not able to work Off Campus in year 1, but they are able to work on campus.  If they were to apply to campus based roles that have a salary, they can take the offer of employment and use it as eligibility for a SSN application.  Here’s the full text from USCIS:

Employment

F-1 students may not work off-campus during the first academic year, but may accept on-campus employment subject to certain conditions and restrictions. There are various programs available for F-1 students to seek off-campus employment, after the first academic year. F-1 students may engage in three types of off-campus employment, after they have been studying for one academic year. These three types of employment are:

• Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
• Optional Practical Training (OPT) (pre-completion or post-completion)
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Optional Practical Training Extension (OPT)

M-1 students may engage in practical training only after they have completed their studies.

For both F-1 and M-1 students any off-campus employment must be related to their area of study and must be authorized prior to starting any work by the Designated School Official (the person authorized to maintain the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)) and USCIS.

Here is the link to the process to apply for a SSN as an International Student once you have found qualifying employment.

H4 Visa Holder (spouse and children of H1-B visa holder)

Historically, H4 visa holders have been restricted from employment, and as such were unable to apply for a SSN.  However, this week the Department of Homeland Security announced proposed changes to this policy, which would allow certain H4 Visa holders to apply for work. It is part of a sweeping program to make the US more attractive for long term highly skilled workers.  The release is here

Tried this, and still can’t get a SSN? OK here goes…

You can apply for an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) from the IRS, this number works in a similar manner to the SSN in that it is a unique identifier, and has the same number of characters as a SSN – this means it can fit into forms and applications, when accepted.

The trouble with ITIN isn’t that the 9 digit number doesn’t fit into the form, nor is it that it doesn’t comply with The Patriot Act, it is simply that some banks accept them and others do not.

I perused the forums over at Myfico, and this thread talks about a H4 Visa holder who was approved for a $7K line of credit on a Citi ThankYou card.  When the poster asks if this is the norm, the first reply is that Bank of America, Citibank, Discover, Chase, AMEX and CapitalOne will issue to a ITIN.   Pretty comprehensive! That useful reply goes on to state that Wells Fargo, Barclays and US Bank will not issue to a ITIN.

I also learned that my favorite everyday card, the Fidelity Amex will issue to ITINs.

Further research shows that banks are more inclined to approve ITIN applications for customers with a certain ‘relationship’ in place.  This amount tends to revolve around the $10,000 level, but is bank specific.  Therefore, if you are thinking to apply to a specific card issuer, such as Chase or Citi, it might be prudent to approach a banker in branch and discuss if the card might be approved with a relationship in place.

From my personal experience, it is best to talk directly with the Private banking arms of such banks – starting at Citigold and Chase Private Client reps and upwards, you will get ‘better’ answers from these people.  Also, it is possible to acquire business credit cards using a combination of ITIN and EIN numbers.

 Credit Building and Reporting

A major reason to apply for credit cards in the US is to build a credit score.  If you are running cards through an ITIN most of the credit reporting agencies won’t be tracking you in full. However, reports state that there is a degree of credit reporting occuring even on ITIN based cards, and if/when you go onto receive a SSN you can apply it to that account and see instant credit score increases based upon partial tracking.

Conclusion

One, or more of these methods should allow you access to a credit card in the US. However, if they all fail you can try the following:

1. Apply for a Secured Credit Card – these cards are backed with a deposit, stored in a CD to the amount of the Credit Line.
2. Apply as an authorized user to spouse card
3. Apply for non credit card option, such as Bluebird from Amex, it’s not a credit card I know, but it will swipe like one and you can use it for online purchases.
4. Attempt a family credit line transfer – for international students with parents who have strong financial relationships with banks in their home country it may be possible to create credit opportunities in the US that originate in the home country.