Carmine6
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Posts posted by Carmine6
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My spoken Thai is fine, better than most actually, no worries, however after 13 years I should really learn to read and write. My 5 year old kid can so I should.
I need a teacher of some decription who's experienced at teaching thick" people. Any names or numbers folks?
It my New Years resolution.
Thick?? I have to commend anyone who can learn Thai without learning the script and reading. My wife can tell me a word 20 times and it doesn't sink in. I was in the country for three years and still didn't know squat about the language. Finally I am teaching myself to read and starting to catch on a little about speaking it.
Good luck and keep up the good work.
Bryan
I agree, you have a great ear. I'll repeat back exactly what I heard and it's not close. Then I'll see it written out and it's easier to pick out what I didn't hear before.
I started with "Teach Yourself Thai" by David Smyth and mainly got benefit by trying to write Thai characters or words from the book. Otherwise I can only recognize whole words. And that won't work in real life.
Rosetta Stone has a nice section where you have to put the Thai letters to spell what the person is saying. But they group them into small groups, so once you know a few characters it's easy to cheat by eliminating. So once again, writing the characters is the only way I can retain them. It's quite an investment in money and time, but it's helped my pronunciation a lot.
It'd be a slow, boring way to learn for you, but it could help less fluent folks. Wish I could find a live person to kind of prod me along as you're looking to do.
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I don't see how you can open the account without showing up at the bank....
Unless you have given the "power of attorney" to your attorney (in case of business account).....
But for the indidual - you must show up in person!
Until 6 months ago I would have completely agreed with you. But then I opened a Citibank account entirely online. No visit to a branch, no photocopy of my SS card or driver license. I was astounded that I didn't have to go in. They did pull a credit report to double check the info and then called me to verify the phone number, but that's it. I suprisingly used a free e-mail account as the contact e-mail and use this account to wire transfer out of the country. As long as everything checks out, it seems they'll do this.
Looking back, I also opened accounts with USAA FSB by mail, and ING online. And all my brokerage accounts have been through the mail or online without copies of ids. Those accounts have checkwriting and ATM cards.
One bank did ask for a copy of my driver license and a utility bill, but that's been 1 bank out of more than a dozen financial companies.
So while it's going to be harder for a foreign national to do this, it might not be impossible.
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Even is a foreigner can get a EIN, which I'm not 100% sure about, the standard procedure is that you show up in person. We're talking about opening an accoutn sight unseen. From the site of this guy in Malaysia, he doesn't seem to be talking about EIN and he did it all without going to the US...
The more I look at this, the more I think it may be ETrade Bank. From what I've seen on application forms, brokerages seem to be more willing to open accounts without tax id numbers. ETrade Bank is a subsidiary of ETrade Financial which is mainly an online brokerage.
The check looked familiar but I couldn't place it. I had an account several years ago but can't find the checkbook or I'd know for sure. The blacked out part above the date on the check is where I think the E*Trade logo is. Bank account checks don't generally have anything above the date, but I remember an E*Trade logo on their checks.
The other info seems to match up, $7.9 billion current market cap for the parent company, and NYSE traded. $25 wire transfers and Visa Platinum ATM card. No monthly fee with a $1,000 balance. The reason they might be ok without you phyically going in, is they don't really rely on branches. They have them, but since they started as an online brokerage, they did business for years without the person being present.
The 50 check first order was also strange. Banks give you 150 or 200 checks in the first order. But brokerages normally give 25 or 50 in the first order.
Someone who needs an account may want to try contacting these folks directly.
For those interested:
An Employer Id Number (EIN) is for companies. Foreign companies who have workers in the US or pay taxes in the US need one.
An Idividual Tax Id Number (ITIN) is specifically for foreign nationals and others who aren't eligible for a Social Security number, but who need one for tax purposes. So basically only foreign nationals will get get them. But, you have to have some financial tie to the US to be eligible, or a need such as a foreign exchange student needing a bank account.
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For $39 this guy will tell you how to legally open a US bank account within about 2 weeks without a SS number and without a US mailing address. Is this for real or just another scam?
Based on info on the website, I did a stock search for NYSE listed banks in the $4 Billion to $12 Billion market cap range and you end up with 7 US banks. There aren't any close to the $7.2 billion market cap he mentions. By the way, that isn't that big a bank in the US.
I used the description of his account to try to pick out which banks might be the one, but could eliminate only 3. The others didn't have enough info on the websites. The accounts that I could find with Visa Platinum ATM cards, as opposed to regular Visa ATM cards required large balances or had large monthly fees. Same goes for free checks.
I know some of the Texas banks towards the border with Mexico used to be more creative in what documents they required, so it's not impossible for there to be the account described. This was true in some of the more rural smaller banks too. Might not be true anymore.
But if it does exist, I think the monthly fee would be pretty high for those features. He doesn't mention the monthly fee.
Here is the list of banks in case anyone needs to try. If the bank was recently bought or merged, it wouldn't be on this list.
Amsouth Bancorp
Comerica
Synovus Financial
TD Banknorth
These banks didn't appear to be the one described:
Union Bank - Mastercard, not Visa ATM cards
Commerce Bank - $35 wire transfer fee instead of $25
Marshall & Isley - $35 wire transfer fee instead of $25
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... I am in the process of getting my Thai wife an individual taxpayer identification number. It requires filling out a US form W-7. I have to have that in order to be able to file a joint US tax return...
Thanks for mentioning this or I wouldn't have known. I thought it'd take a full Social Security number to start filing a joint return.
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How do foreign students do it then?
They apply for (and receive) a tax payer ID number. It's really not a big deal and anyone can do it. The ID comes in the form of what looks like a social security card, but the card is overprinted 'Not Valid for Employment.'
The original poster here was inquiring about opening an account in the US without either a social security number or a tax payer ID number. Ever since then the thread has degenerated into confusion over whether a visitor to the US can or cannot open a bank account. The answer is yes, but proper ID (essentially the same as a US citizen is required to have) is still needed.
A social security id is NOT a tax payer ID. You are the one being confused here. Tax payers do require a social security ID to pay their taxes though.
They don't apply for a tax id, they apply for a social security number, that's how they can open the account.
If you are a foreigner, you have absolutely no reason to request a social security number, and plus you will not get one as a non-US resident and foreigner national not living in the US.
And yes the Patriot Act and the Bush administration have put pressure on US banks to close down foreigner national accounts. I know this for a fact. My private banker of 15 years asked me to shutdown all my accounts in the US because they received some "memos" from the US treasury specifically threatening bankers of liabilities if they failed to shutdown foreigner national accounts. There was a crackdown on non-US accounts last year and I was told by my good friend, and private banker, to have my money transfer outside in the US.
So much for a global economy
One set rule for the US, another set of rules for the others. This is how the US play their games.
I think you've misread the post. It doesn't say a Social Security number is a tax id number. It says the card looks like a Social Security card. These are both 9 digit numbers.
An individual who is not eligible for a Social Security number (which includes foreign nationals as you noted) would request an Individual Tax ID Number (ITIN) from the IRS. Then, with a valid picture id, they could open a bank account. That's not any different from what it takes a US citizen to open an account so I don't see how that's a different set of rules for others.
Your bank chose to get extreme in it's requirements, but that's the bank's choice, not the law. Some banks overdo their requirments for public relations reasons. I guarantee there are banks who will open accounts with just the required information.
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Everyone has raised good points in this thread and the bottom line is obvious which is that properties with pics rule.
... I’ve had a few offers from individuals wanting to take pics for those properties without any, but to be honest these quotes were way out of my budget.
Additionally, I’ve even attempted to visit a handful of apartment buildings myself and was politely refused access to rooms and facilities with my camera as the offices in question viewed me a little suspiciously despite an introduction to my presence. ...
Aitch,
I agree that pics make a huge difference, mainly in looking at ads in the first place. The pics basically grab my attention and the text sells the place. But a good pic can make up for a poor description as well. Text alone would only work for me if I had a lot of free time and wanted to try to find a bargain.
I've had my girlfriend take pics of the apartments she wants to move to. She hasn't had any problems, but she's actually interested in renting and she may be telling them that she's sending them to her boyfriend to look at. She's a student so these places aren't at the high end of the range and that may make it easier for her.
You may want to try university students. They'll be fairly cheap and if you screen well enough, you'll get responsible workers. Maybe several in different areas so they could actually get to the places without too much trouble or expense. You probably wouldn't get pro quality results, but it'd be a start and you could see if they actually made a difference.
For a panorama shot from multiple pictures, Canon PhotoStitch software does this surprisingly well. It came with my camera and probably comes with other models. My Canon SD550 (Ixus 750 in Asia?) has features to help out in the process, but I've done it with old pictures taken with a 4 year old digital camera too.
So you could buy a nice camera for yourself and still have people use their own cameras to take the pictures.
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This is my first post - Thai wife of 20 years - Lived in LOS on & off for years.. Years ago. Any way Mom in law came over on a 6 month visa. We live 40 miles from Mexico. I've searched for info on what we need to do to go to Mexico for a day trip. No info on the net regarding Thai citizens in Mexico. The wife has a green card and we usually just walk across and back with no problem. Mom in law has her passport with the visa in it. I asked the border guards on my last trip down there and they told me to "take my chances".
I don't want the old girl to get hung up in Mexico trying to get back to Arizona (She cooks for me!) Does anybody have any experience taking a Thai across the U.S. border into Mexico? Or maybe someone knows of the visa requirements between Mexico and Thailand? I know Mexicans can go to Thailand for 30 days no problem... But does it work the other way around?
Don't tell me to ask the local gendarmie... I know enough not to give those nice fellas a heads up that a money making opportunity is in their midst.
Any info will be greatly appreciated.
Probably too late for your situation, but there are several websites that list requirements of different nationalities. Just takes a regular web search for "visa Mexico".
Requirements are fairly extensive for Thai nationals, but that's mainly because they're written as if the person is coming directly from Thailand. From a practical standpoint, I think the real issue, as noted by others, is being eligible to get back into the US.
On a weekend there is so much traffic into Mexico that I doubt there'd be issues going south, unless you go past the border area. In Baja the border area goes all the way down to Ensenada (70 miles?), but it's not so far south from Arizona. Past the border area they will check for docs. Of course if she were stopped by any police without proper docs anywhere in Mexico it'd be a problem.
Here's one:
www consulmexny org/eng/visas_fmt htm
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Regardless of how you may feel about providing 40k per month if you do the math it as 7 x 40k = 280k and account but only has 200k now - what would you think? She has no real business income and will probably not return to Thailand?
Well if you do the math, she's only used up 80,000 baht in 7 months which is pretty tough to get by on. I assume her expenses total more than 11,429 baht per month, so clearly she has income of her own outside of the money being sent. And what percentage of Americans or Europeans would have saved as much of what they received or even earned?
It seems a bit judgemental to make assumptions with such limited facts. Maybe she's just finally built a new house for her parents. Maybe she's sending siblings to school. Maybe someone was sick. And even if her money went for frivolous things, it annoys me when people judge what others "should" be receiving without even knowing the person. I know people I'd give my last dollar to if they needed it, and I know people I wouldn't give anything to.
Yes, it's possible to live on much less than 40k baht, but we are talking about a girlfriend so why should she have to just get by when it's not a burden on him? She's clearly responsible with her money.
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This thread is kind of old, but here's a bit of my experience on the banking issue. I've been to LOS 4 times in 2005.
Bangkok bank has a New York branch (and branches in 11 countries), so that may help if someone is moving a large amount of money over there or doing business over there. But that's just for info, I haven't asked. Their website has contact info.
Citibank has one branch in Bangkok and they charge a smaller than normal fee for international transfers from Citibank to Citibank accounts. They also provide the ability to enter regular wire transfer information on the web and not go into a branch for this. Very convenient if you send money regularly to someone regardless of their bank, but they currently charge $30 for wires. For money to your own account, the fee is much less.
I've wired money using Citibank, Washington Mutual, and Fidelity. Exchange rates for Citibank and Washingon Mutual were about 99% of the current foreign exchange rate, so not too bad. www. xe .com has current rates.
Not sure of the exchange rate at Fidelity yet, but with their ATM card, I get basically 100% of the current foreign exchange rate. They charge an ATM fee if you don't have it waived due to balances with them. Their wire transfer fee is half of Citibank's but that may be based on my balances so could be higher for others. It also requires a visit to their offices to make the wire.
For money in Thailand, I get the best rates with ATM cards. USAA bank charges nothing extra and I get 99% of current foreign exchange rates. Rates at Thai banks for currency and traveler's checks are normally less than I can get from the ATM, about 99% when rounded, but lower than the ATM rate. With Fidelity giving higher than 99.9% of the current rate, it's about 1% less. Not much of a difference, but if you're changing $300, it's a couple taxi rides worth.
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Well thats a promising statistic. There seems to be a lot of negative feedback on the Internet about high refusal rates which makes it hard to believe. I assume that the majority of people who post threads are people who have been refused and you dont hear too much about the successes
I hope your odds are that good in the UK. For the US, the decline statistics are said to be distorted because they rarely outright turn applications down, they just wait them out.
The claim is that they don't want to turn down too many applications to avoid discrimination claims, so they just keep asking for more and more information until people give up on the application. This is of course for the ones where they doubt the sincerity. Since it is done in writing, they ask for one piece of information, then after that's been filed, they ask for something else. It's several weeks or months of delay each time.
I'm really torn myself between my girlfriend trying for a tourist visa or waiting for a fiance visa if it gets that far. Don't want to have to check the previously declined visa box.
Good luck.
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I have a GF in Thailand who is about to try and obtain a tourist Visa...
Sounds like the facts in your case are pretty strong. I spoke to an actual lawyer in Thailand and he said odds are very low for a tourist visa to the US unless they work for a large multinational or have substantial assets. I think he was overstating the difficulty, but he does fiance/marriage visas and refuses to do tourist visas so it wasn't a marketing spiel for his services.
The USCIS (old INS) basically assumes people from 3rd world countries are going to overstay their visas unless there's strong evidence otherwise. A Filipino friend's relatives had to photocopy land deeds, paystubs, etc. to get visas, but they got them. The USCIS lists things like apartment leases as being proof of return, but I doubt that's enough on its own.
I think those visa assistance places are mainly for cases that aren't as strong as yours. Some of them will provide made up job histories and such, so I'd stay away since you don't want the consulate to think the stuff is made up. But if you find a really good visa place, let me know.
Us Bank Account For Non-us Citizen
in Jobs, Economy, Banking, Business, Investments
Posted · Edited by Carmine6
Since you have an Etrade account, is that an Etrade check that the guy has at the top of his website? My account was a brokerage account, but from what I remember, that's what my checks looked like.
I called them and the person was not at all familiar with this, but after being on hold, he ended up saying you had to have a US address and US SS Number or tax id. The funny thing is, he initially asked which country as he went down his screen, then said it had to be a paper application, which was available on the website, so I think there may have been this capability before. If it is an Etrade check, then it'll confirm that people would be wasting their money with this guy.