beefsalami

Hey guys,

I am an international and have just graduate from college here in the U.S. I had a F1 student visa and am now on OPT (which gives you work eligibility for a year). I have a SSN, which I used to apply for credit cards in the past year.

There is a good chance I will leave the U.S. and let my visa expire (if I can't get a H1B sponsorship).

My question is - what happens to my SSN and credit history after my visa expires and I leave the country? Will I still be able to apply for credit cards every year?

ThePointsCollector

nothing. two different departments.

MIT_SBM

Agree.

A person's US SSN is theirs for life under most circumstances. So, if said person were ever to need a US SSN again they would use the same US SSN, under most circumstances.

biggestbopper

Getting a new SSN is very difficult. Usually can only be done if you have a long time ID theft issue.

So, as noted above SSN is basically yours for life.

beefsalami

Awesome. This would mean that I'd still be able to churn credit cards for years to come after I leave the U.S!

What about my credit history, Will it still be active once I leave the U.S. and my visa expires?

B747-437B

Yes.

alphaod

Hell, you can only replace your SS card on like 10 times in your lifetime.

worldiswide

The credit history will remain active. Some lenders may ask if you are a citizen or permanent resident and some may want require a US Address before approving a card. It's a little harder to collect outside of the country. It is a different situation when you have the card and change your address to an international one.

beefsalami

I see, thanks everyone for the info.

Can a forwarding PO box in the U.S. count as a U.S. address?

B747-437B

Yes, but make sure the PO Box company is willing to forward bank cards. Many of them will not.

worldiswide

Many banks will not consider a PO Box to be a valid address since they have to confirm identity for patriot act. While I am not suggesting it I believe there are private PO boxes like UPS that will provide a physical address. I would also suggest identity and fraud monitoring if you wish to pursue this.

makos

Your SSN will never expire! Your credit history will be inactive after 2 years of inactivity. It will show past payments, CC accounts, etc but will not show score.

Most Banks will not ask for a US address but some do. You can simply change your address to your non-US address, but you will need to stick to your SSN.

If you can afford I would suggest to buy a small condo/townhouse in the US and rent it out. With this method, you can still "stay in the system."

florin

Your SSN does not expire; to my knowledge the only time you get to change your SSN is if you're in a Witness Protection Program. I know someone whose identity was stolen and she was not able to get her SSN changed. (That may have changed since though; this was 4-5 years ago.)

With credit cards it's tricky. If you open a CC before you leave, you can keep it, but it will be tricky when it comes to renewing the card. Usually there is a policy in place that only allows them to send a new CC to your home (existing) address. This is to prevent fraud; from their perspective it makes sense.

You can continue have a bank account, but again, if you have a debit card attached it can be difficult to get replacement cards in the absence of a US address.

There are some mail-forwarding services that allow you to have a US address that is not a PO box, but AFAIK sending/receiving cards overseas can be difficult. One of my colleagues was visiting from Europe and his company-issued Visa card expired during his visit. They had a really hard time sending him a replacement card. The US requires that the card be deactivated while en route and the company needed to provide a letter from the issuing bank certifying this. I don't know if the rule applies both ways, but this kind of rule would prevent a mail-forwarding company from forwarding you a credit/debit card.

The credit history does not disappear easily. If you have on-going activity (a credit card, a loan that you're paying off or some other debt), this will keep your credit score active.

It's hard to get a credit card in the US without some sort of income statement, and generally they want US tax returns, W2 forms, stuff like that. I don't know if it's possible to get a CC in the US based on income earned abroad, but if it is I can't imagine it would be easy.

B747-437B

As a data point, I have had my Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) bank account registered with a foreign address for >10 years now without any issues. My ATM/debit cards, statements, tax forms, etc.. arrive in Canada without any issues.

Credit cards are another story though. I haven't seen a single US issuer willing to mail to a foreign address (Amex will "transfer" your card to another country though).

florin

I wonder if Canada is treated differently than a country in Europe, for example.