3 Steps To Getting A Credit Card With No US ID

While making a deposit today at my local Los Angeles Bank of America branch I started to think about the many news stories I’ve read regarding Bank of America’s Los Angeles pilot program to provide credit cards to illegal immigrants. I was thinking about how these stories seemed to focus on the aspects of the potential credit card fraud and how legitimate clients would have to absorb the costs. Additionally I thought about role Bank of America was playing by “aiding and abetting” criminal activity.

I could not help wonder just how difficult it would be for someone who was illegal and had little to no United States identification to receive an official account and credit card with one of America’s largest banking institutions. After making my deposit I sat down and spoke with the Senior Personal Banker and Loan Officer and asked him if I could ask some general questions regarding their new policy to hand out credit cards to Illegal Immigrants.

I started off by mentioning I had a “friend” who heard he could open a bank account and receive a credit card with Bank of America. If this was true that he would be on the road to building credit which would enable him to open additional credit accounts with other businesses and institutions. In essence become a regular consumer.

My loan officer seemed a little jaded talking to me at first about the program and I can not blame him considering they had taken a lot of heat the past few weeks regarding this bold business campaign.

I asked, “So, what does my buddy need to do? How can he get his hard earned money into your accounts earning interest and receive a Bank of America credit card?”

My new Personal Banker broke it down into three easy steps.

1. In order to get a credit card with Bank of America one must first open a bank account.
2. In order to open a bank account, one must show two form’s of identification.
3. One must provide a Social Security Number or Tax ID Number.

I then asked, “Let’s just assume for the moment that my ‘friend’ lacks two forms of identification. What now?”

1. Assuming my friend comes from Mexico he / she should not find a problem picking up a Matricula Consulare ID. There are quite a few places one can get this card with little to no trouble.
2. Upon picking up one a Consulare card, one should have no trouble finding a second legitimate agency to get a second form of ID. A Mexican passport or any official ID would be okay to open an account.

I asked, “Upon showing the bank two forms of ID and getting the Tax ID (which can be purchased over the Internet) what then needs to be done to open an account and receive a credit card?”

1. It is their interest to make it easy as possible to provide Illegal Immigrants the ability to open an account with as little trouble as possible. Its a huge market they want to service.
2. Show Bank of America two forms of ID, a Tax ID # and a deposit of $100 and they will receive a valid bank account.
3. In order to get the credit card one must pay a $300 deposit to “Fully Secure” the card. Give Bank of America $300 and they will have $300 credit to spend on the card.
4. Over time and depending on the underwriter’s discretion the customer may receive a higher “un-secured” credit limit.

I politely thanked my banker for his time and headed home. While heading home I had three questions that needed answering.

1. Assuming I don’t have a Matricula Consulare ID, how hard is it to get one?
2. Upon receiving my Consulare ID, what other ID’s can I secure as my second form of ID?
3. Since illegal immigrants do not have a Social Security Number how hard is it to register for a Tax ID.

With the help of Google it took me no more then a few minutes to figure out where to get all three items required by Bank of America.

• First, just by reading the news there a quite a few places one can get this card with little to no trouble. If all else fails, there is a good chance a Mexican Consulate operates near you.

• Second, if one does not have a passport from their country of origin any other official ID would be okay to open an account.

• Lastly, one can apply for a Tax ID # online in as quick as 10 minutes.

Disclaimer: The content here should not be taken seriously. By reading this post you understand that the information here is not reliable. You agree you will not hold the author of this website legally responsible for anything you choose to do from reading this information. Basically, if you act on any of the foolish information written above, you’re a fool for doing so.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 23rd, 2007 at 6:43 pm and is filed under Shandy Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.