Hey everyone! I’m looking into ways to build business credit as a non-resident without waiting for the typical 1-year ITIN history that traditional banks usually require for unsecured products. I've seen that Bank of America offers a Business Secured Credit Card and Wells Fargo has Business Secured Credit options. I'm curious if anyone here has successfully opened these? Specifically: - Approval: Did you manage to get approved with a new ITIN or by using an existing personal relationship with the bank? - Graduation: For those who have them, how long did it take for the card to "graduate" to an unsecured line? - Reporting: Does the Wells Fargo secured line report to all three major business bureaus (Experian, Equifax, D&B)? - Process: Did you have to go into a branch, or were you able to facilitate the security deposit and application remotely? I know BoA is tough without history, so I’m hoping these secured paths are a viable "backdoor" for us. Would love to hear any DPs or strategies you guys have!

I’m fairly new to Navy Federal and recently opened membership/checking/savings. I deposited funds into savings and applied for a small share pledge loan The application went under review, which I expected as I’m a new member. Navy then requested either an employment contract or a “letter from command”. Like a lot of us I’m self-employed/freelance, so I don’t have an employment contract, and I’m not military. I’m also very early in my US credit/banking journey, so I don’t have a long US income paper trail yet. I’ve replied saying: I am self-employed/freelance and do not have an employment contract or military letter from command. This is a share pledge loan secured by funds already held in my Navy Federal savings account. If employment documentation is still required, please let me know what alternative documentation is acceptable…. Has anyone else had Navy request employment documentation for a pledge loan? Any experience with this? 1. Am I just too early! 2. Am I best to just cancel the it down and reapply later 3. Does cancelling a pending pledge loan application cause any issue with Navy internally? Thanks all

Hi everyone, So, after failures in Chase branches in San Francisco and Washington DC ( System outage in DC ) I finally got a Chase checking account ( The one with the $4.95 monthly fee ) in a Las Vegas branch. Luckily my new BofA checking account generated a statement last week with a workable Anytime Mailbox address. I also applied for the Freedom Unlimited credit card, and despite my banker pushing it to be approved on the spot, the application has gone into review. But my banker is confident that it will be approved by next week. He also took copies of my BofA statement, passport, and i had to sign some forms, including the W8 Ben form. I was at the branch for 1 hour and 15mins. The banker was very patient and friendly. ( I have attached a copy of his digital business card, in case anyone is going to Las Vegas lol ) And that's it for my American banking adventure. I think it was a productive trip, as i have signed up with BofA, Wells Fargo and Chase. I know for some nationalities, it is difficult to get a US visa, and USA is an expensive country to visit. But if you have the $$$ and time, and your passport is powerful, i highly recommend that you all come to America and get everything done in a branch. The experience is so much easier and less stressful. PS : My Tello number can receive OTP messages from Chase, Wells Fargo and BofA.

I just got into Navy Federal. I'm wondering what I should open with them—like a pledge loan, secured card, business account, personal account, etc. If there's an area in the classroom on this, please let me know. I could do something like a $20,000 pledge loan if that will help me.

Has anyone got approved for penfed in the last 60-90 days? I got my penfed account a year ago and they asked for US ID. Thankfully I had a US Visa and they accepted the application with that. Now I have another friend that applied and they are asking again for US ID again and asking weird questions like "how many days did you live in the US last year". etc