Opening a bank account in the US

[ladyalex]

Hello
My son is about to go to University in the US and needs to have a US bank account. Is there any way that he can possibly open an account in the US before he gets there?
He has an account with Egg which is Citibank,a US -owned bank, if that helps.
I have looked at the Citibank website as well as UK bank websites but without much joy.
If anyone has any information about this, or about moving to the States generally, I would very much appreciate hearing from you.
Thanks.
ladyalex

[magicaltimes]

Barclays and HSBC are both UK banks with branches in the US.There should not be any trouble opening an account here and transfering it to the US when your son needs it.
This site will have all relevant info for travel and staying in the US.
www.usembassy.org.uk

[dr b]

With a passport and a US taxpayer ID (something the bank can help him get) it should be straightforward.

It's probably worthwhile to ask the international student office (or something similar) at his university - surely this is an issue they've dealt with frequently. Students at US universities are inundated with offers from banks when they arrive on campus (lets give credit cards to folks with no jobs and no money!), so he will not want for choices. A visit to your local Citibank branch would also probably be informative.

As for moving to the States, assuming he's moving into a dorm at his college, it should be no problem. Are there any specific questions you have?

[ladyalex]

Thanks for your answers, magicaltimes and Drb.
I'll have another look at the embassy website.

I'm afraid the International Student Office website has been less then helpful, but perhaps I'm not looking at the right parts, I'll try that again too.
As he is a post-graduate student, he does not want to move into a dorm, preferrring to find accommodation to share, so any advice about renting an apartment in the US would be helpful.
Thanks again.

[dr b]

If you don't mind my asking, what city/school will he be moving to?

[ladyalex]

UMasss at Amherst

[dr b]

If he wants to try to find housing himself, he can try Craigslist for Western Mass.:

http://westernmass.craigslist.org/

Most university web sites are completely useless (i know mine's is) so a call into U Mass's international students office might get more results.

He might also do well to call the secretary (or admin. assistant) of the department he's joining. They are the ones who know all the ins & outs, and probably have some good insights into housing; she will also probably know who else is joining the department in the fall and might be able to connect your son to potential roommates. Plus all American women are complete pushovers for British accents (this part of "Love, Actually" is true; it can be the only thing to account for Hugh Grant's otherwise inexplicable success over here). So an actual phone call couldn't hurt in terms of getting some results.

When I went to UCLA in the 80s for my doctoral program, the admin assistant was able to make a phone call and get us into married student housing, something that the school's literature never bothered to mention was even possible.

[ladyalex]

Thank you very much, Drb. We'll try all of that, especially the phone call to the Departmental Secretary. Thanks for the tip about british accents too.....must say I've always wondered about Hugh Grant's appeal.....a dopey floppy haired stammerer certainly doesn't do it for me!
Thanks for craigs list too. It looks useful.
ladyalex