Guide 01 — Money
Opening a bank account
with no SSN.
A bank that tells you it needs a Social Security number is describing its own policy, not federal law. The rule that governs what a bank must collect names a passport number as sufficient. Here is the paragraph, and everything else you need before you walk into a branch.
01 — The rule
What a bank must collect.
Every US bank runs a Customer Identification Program under the Bank Secrecy Act. The regulation lists exactly four things it must obtain from you before opening an account: your name, your date of birth, an address, and an identification number.
The fourth item is where the SSN question comes from. For a US person, the identification number is a taxpayer identification number. For a non-US person, the rule offers a choice:
“For a non-U.S. person, one or more of the following: A taxpayer identification number; passport number and country of issuance; alien identification card number; or number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard.” 31 CFR § 1020.220(a)(2)(i)(A)(4)(ii)
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 31 § 1020.220 (Cornell LII)checked 1 September 2026
“One or more of the following” means any one item on the list satisfies the requirement. A passport number and the country that issued it is enough. A bank may still ask for more — the regulation sets a floor, not a ceiling, and each bank writes its own procedures on top of it. But when a branch says we cannot open an account without an SSN, that is the bank’s choice, and a different bank may choose differently.
02 — Address
The address you give.
The rule asks for a residential or business street address. A dormitory or an apartment counts. If you do not have one yet, the rule anticipates that too.
“For an individual who does not have a residential or business street address, an Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) box number, or the residential or business street address of next of kin or of another contact individual.” 31 CFR § 1020.220(a)(2)(i)(A)(3)
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 31 § 1020.220 (Cornell LII)checked 1 September 2026
03 — Verification
How they check who you are.
The same regulation describes how a bank verifies the information you gave. The example it gives for an individual is the document you already carry.
“For an individual, unexpired government-issued identification evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard, such as a driver’s license or passport.” 31 CFR § 1020.220(a)(2)(ii)(A)(1)
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 31 § 1020.220 (Cornell LII)checked 1 September 2026
Your passport, unexpired, is the document. Banks commonly ask to see the I-20 and the visa as well. Nothing in the rule requires that, but nothing forbids it either, and arguing at the counter rarely helps. Bring them.
04 — Why not just get an SSN
Most F-1 students cannot.
A Social Security number is issued for work. Without authorised employment — an on-campus job, CPT or OPT — the Social Security Administration will not issue one, and that is the whole reason the bank question exists.
“In general, only noncitizens with permission to work from the Department of Homeland Security can get a Social Security number.” Social Security Administration, FAQ KA-02178, 11 September 2025
SSA — If I am not a U.S. citizen, can I get a Social Security number?checked 1 September 2026
“Every F and M student who U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) grants employment authorization to needs an SSN.” DHS Study in the States, updated 25 May 2023
DHS Study in the States — Obtaining a Social Security Numberchecked 1 September 2026
Once you do have work authorisation, apply for the number. You will need it for payroll and for tax filing, and you can add it to an existing bank account later.
05 — ITIN
The number for taxes, not for banking.
If you cannot get an SSN but must file a US tax return, the IRS issues an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead. It is worth knowing what it is and what it is not.
“An ITIN is issued by the IRS for federal tax purposes only.” It does not “authorize you to work legally in the U.S.” or “qualify you for Social Security benefits or the Earned Income Tax Credit.” Internal Revenue Service, ITIN page, reviewed 28 October 2025
IRS — Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (Form W-7)checked 1 September 2026
You apply on Form W-7. The IRS says to allow seven weeks for a decision, or nine to eleven weeks between 15 January and 30 April or if you apply from overseas. You do not need an ITIN to open a bank account — the rule in section 01 is satisfied by your passport. You need it when you have US income to report and no SSN to report it under. Your school’s international student office will usually know whether that applies to you.
One more form you may be handed at the bank: W-8BEN. It is not an application for anything. In the IRS’s words, you give it “to the withholding agent or payer if you are a foreign person and you are the beneficial owner of an amount subject to withholding” — it certifies that you are a foreign person for US tax purposes, so that any interest the account earns is reported correctly. Sign it; it does not affect your visa.
IRS — About Form W-8 BEN, updated 1 October 2025checked 1 September 2026
06 — Deposit insurance
Your money is insured like anyone else’s.
Deposits in a US bank are insured by the federal government up to a limit. Your visa status has nothing to do with it.
“A person does not have to be a U.S. citizen or resident to have his or her deposits insured by the FDIC.” … “The standard maximum deposit insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category.” Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Your Insured Deposits
FDIC — Your Insured Depositschecked 1 September 2026
Check that the bank is FDIC-insured before you deposit anything. The FDIC keeps a public lookup: BankFind. Credit unions are insured separately by the NCUA to the same amount.
07 — Before you go
What to bring.
The minimum the rule requires, plus the documents banks commonly ask for on top of it.
- Passport, unexpired required by ruleYour identification document and your identification number in one.
- A street address in New York required by ruleDormitory or apartment. A document showing it — lease, housing letter, school letter — helps, though the rule itself only asks for the address.
- Form I-20 and your visa commonly askedNot required by the regulation. Requested by most banks. Bring them.
- A second ID sometimes askedStudent ID card, or a driver’s licence from home. Some banks want two forms.
- An opening deposit variesAmount and form (cash, card, transfer) differ by bank. Ask before you go.
Two questions worth asking at the counter: whether the account has a monthly fee and what waives it, and whether the bank will open the account with a passport if you have no SSN — asked that way, before you sit down.
08 — What we could not verify
Bank by bank.
The regulation is public and stable. Individual banks’ policies are neither, and we will not print what we have not confirmed.
Not on this page, deliberately
- Which New York banks open accounts on a passport alone, and which insist on an SSN or ITIN regardless of the rule. This changes, and it differs between branches of the same bank.
- Whether any bank requires the I-20 as a condition rather than a courtesy.
- Fee structures and student-account terms. These are marketing, not regulation, and change without notice.
If you opened an account in New York City with a passport and no SSN, tell us the bank and the branch, and what they asked for: info@nyisa.org. When we have enough reports to confirm a pattern, we will publish it here with a date.