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Old 03-19-2011, 03:37 AM
 
5 posts, read 7,904 times
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My partner and I are moving to Palo Alto (from England) at the end of the summer. How easy is it to get an iphone contract? I am concerned that we will have no credit history in the US. We both work in the UK where we have an excellent credit history. My partner has a job lined up and will be working on arrival, so he will get SSN etc., whereas I wont. In the UK if someone is working then they can get an extra cell phone on their contract. Is this the case in the US? I've tried to find this out via the AT&T website but to no avail. I am hoping that other members on here might be able to offer some advice. Also, will I be able to open a US Bank account in my name (same issue - not working and dependant on partner)?

Thank you
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Old 03-19-2011, 03:59 AM
 
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I believe you will need a SSN in order to open American bank account.
As for the cellphone, you can probably get a prepaid cellphone using a credit card.
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Old 03-19-2011, 11:48 AM
 
Location: San Jose, CA
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Bank of America is known for opening bank accounts for immigrants. I would try them first.
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Old 03-19-2011, 03:18 PM
 
Location: South Korea
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They shouldn't check your credit to open a cell phone account, though I've never had an iphone...but I really doubt they'd care about your credit. If one person has an account you should be able to get another phone with the same account but it depends on providers. I think Verizon has the iphone now, AT&T is universally derided for their iphone service.
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Old 03-20-2011, 04:19 AM
 
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Thanks Sonarrat - I'll check them out.
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Old 03-20-2011, 04:21 AM
 
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Cheers Mayorhaggar, thanks for the speedy reply. Very excited about the move, roll on August!
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Old 03-21-2011, 07:55 AM
 
Location: A bit further north than before
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Speaking from experience, you'll need at least a temporary SSN to get a bank account.
Your work visa will come with one, so you should be OK.
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Old 03-21-2011, 10:51 AM
 
70 posts, read 157,287 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mayorhaggar View Post
They shouldn't check your credit to open a cell phone account, though I've never had an iphone...but I really doubt they'd care about your credit. If one person has an account you should be able to get another phone with the same account but it depends on providers. I think Verizon has the iphone now, AT&T is universally derided for their iphone service.
This is incorrect, at least with AT&T. They most definitely DO check your credit when you apply for any type of cell phone account. If you don't pass the credit check, you are required to put down a deposit of $500-800 that you get back at the end of the first year of your contract if you pay all your bills on time, every time. I don't know about companies that aren't AT&T.
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Old 03-21-2011, 01:08 PM
 
177 posts, read 398,797 times
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Just get a Go Phone. They sell them at 7-11.
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Old 03-21-2011, 01:45 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gone down south View Post
Speaking from experience, you'll need at least a temporary SSN to get a bank account.
Your work visa will come with one, so you should be OK.
The OP's poster mentioned it's their partner that has the work visa. It really depends on what type of VISA the OP is coming in with..if it's a dependent visa (H4) then they should be able to get a SSN.

Getting a credit history can be a pain. When I relocated, my company has some relocation arrangement with Citibank. It included a credit card. The limit was low, but enough to get credit history going.
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