Wells Fargo Bank New US Address Requirement

[captainspoke]

As a non-American this all sounds a bit mysterious. Is a drivers licence and a postbox enough to establish residency? Seems like a system ripe for abuse.

Americans are pretty mobile and the rules for establishing residency in a new state are fairly straight forward and not overly strict. I'm not sure how it could be abused. There aren't many advantages that could be exploited by declaring residency. The biggest advantage I can think of would be in-state tuition at state universities but they ask for proof of residency of at least one year to qualify for that.

I have a niece that went to school in colorado as an out-of-state student, quit school and worked for like two years trying to establish residency, and even with all the accoutrements (paying taxes/tax returns, working there, car registration and DL, it still didn't work. She gave up.

[josephzalli]

to declare the US address of a relative or friend

That sounds like fraud, which can often have unpleasant consequences.

These people seem to have a bank account option for non-residents: https://www.americansabroad.org/

The good news is that I was able to get in touch with Wells Fargo and they say that even if I live abroad, with a US address and US phone number, it is ok. Thanks for directing me to the website, though. Good to know...

Hi there, apologies for the bump on the old thread. I am in the same situation and considering using a friends US address to keep my wells fargo account active. However, would doing this not cause trouble with the IRS? Isn't telling Wells Fargo that you have a permanent address in the US basically saying that you are a US tax resident?

[Teflon]

Hi there, apologies for the bump on the old thread. I am in the same situation and considering using a friends US address to keep my wells fargo account active. However, would doing this not cause trouble with the IRS? Isn't telling Wells Fargo that you have a permanent address in the US basically saying that you are a US tax resident?

There is no problem with having a permanent address in Japan while simultaneously maintaining a permanent address in the US. The only thing that matters for tax purposes is which country you were a tax resident of during the tax year. In any case, you will have to file your taxes with the IRS no matter where you are living but at least you can offset that based on the taxes you've already paid in Japan.

If your friend lives in a high-income-tax state like California then you are much better off getting a virtual mailbox in a no-income-tax state like Texas or Florida. This is perfectly legal to do in the US. You can read more about it here: https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/bl ... ng-abroad/

[Kevin B]

I'm also late to this thread, but WF has discovered my mail forwarding service. I'm considering using my daughter's US address but it occurs to me that it might be simpler to just open a joint account. I'll be visiting her soon.

One of the posts above says that WF is okay with any real US address even if the customer lives abroad, but I wonder how they'd feel about a joint account with one person abroad. I'd keep the total deposit low so as not to earn much interest. (Not a challenge, really!)

Has anyone tried this? I'm interested in your experience.

Thanks!

[ArabikiDavid]

Wells-Fargo kicked me out back in 2019. I went to T.D. Ameritrade with no problems. I was able to keep all of my positions. Make sure you transfer them (don't sell them!). T.D. Ameritrade is about to merge with Charles Schwab (literally in days!). Schwab seems to be foreign resident-friendly. You can open an account from abroad here: https://international.schwab.com/. Be advised that you can't buy US mutual funds but you can buy ETFs and probably other products. Hope all goes well.

[SLW]

getting a virtual mailbox in a no-income-tax state like Texas or Florida. This is perfectly legal to do in the US. You can read more about it here: https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/bl ... ng-abroad/
[/quote]

FYI, this Greenback tax services suggestion is not valid. The compliance departments of most US banks will check addresses to make sure it is residential - it may take several months to be caught, but you will be eventually. If the address comes back as a business (which it will if you use a mail service - just google the mail services address to check), they will demand you provide a residential address or your account will be locked. Practically speaking, you will either need a bank that accepts foreign addresses (I know that Citibank and Bank of America will change your address to a foreign one - but probably won’t open new accounts for foreign residents) or use a second home that you own as the US address (or a relatives address). Credit unions like the State Department FCU and Navy FCU open accounts with foreign address but other options are extremely limited.

[Teflon]

FYI, this Greenback tax services suggestion is not valid. The compliance departments of most US banks will check addresses to make sure it is residential - it may take several months to be caught, but you will be eventually. If the address comes back as a business (which it will if you use a mail service - just google the mail services address to check), they will demand you provide a residential address or your account will be locked. Practically speaking, you will either need a bank that accepts foreign addresses (I know that Citibank and Bank of America will change your address to a foreign one - but probably won’t open new accounts for foreign residents) or use a second home that you own as the US address (or a relatives address). Credit unions like the State Department FCU and Navy FCU open accounts with foreign address but other options are extremely limited.

Okay, well I switched all my financial accounts to the virtual address back in 2021 and it hasn't caused any issues. Do banks have legions of interns googling addresses to see what comes up? Or maybe they use AI these days? In any case, for my primary accounts (Chase for banking, ETRADE for trading), I had originally opened those with a real residential address and only switched to the virtual address later once I got my driver's license with the same virtual address.

[SLW]

Okay, well I switched all my financial accounts to the virtual address back in 2021 and it hasn't caused any issues. Do banks have legions of interns googling addresses to see what comes up? Or maybe they use AI these days? In any case, for my primary accounts (Chase for banking, ETRADE for trading), I had originally opened those with a real residential address and only switched to the virtual address later once I got my driver's license with the same virtual address.

Well, I am just conveying what happened to me and what has happened to many people. See this thread on reddit for example (there are many others - lots of people claiming good success at the beginning, but generally won't last):
https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/c ... s_address/

It was quite scary when they found out since the bank calls in the middle of the night (Japan time) when I had my phone off so it took a couple weeks for them to get ahold of me. By that time, my bank was within days of locking all my accounts which would have shut off my mortgage payment, credit card payments, utility payments etc... If you have been lucky until now, thats great, but I suggest you prepare for what will happen if (or when) they figure it out so you have a plan of action. Using SDFCU or a US registered Wise account is a good work around, but best to have all the accounts linked beforehand so you can immediately transfer your financial life in a few days.