US bank account

Options for opening a US bank account are very limited, but also very clear, and it is possible. Difficult bu possible.

You have 3 options:
1) Go there yourself and open a bank account.
2) Use a setup service such as Valis Savings
3) Open an account from your armchair.

Option 1 has the most possibilities. Chase, Bank of America, HSBC USA, maybe Fleet Bank, maybe Signature Bank NY, and possibly other banks. But let's assume that this is not your option.

Option 2 is the easiest one. You pay David Gendron, the owner of Valis Savings (aka Valis International) a fee, and he sets up an account for you at the bank he teamed up with, Mount Morris Savings & Loan, Illinois. For you the bank will be called Valis Savings. Very good and professional service, but check the account terms first.

Option 3 is the cheapest, but most cumbersome. Only few banks still enable you to open an account "long-distance" without being there in person. Courtesy of the US Patriot Act, an Act of Congress (a US federal law) to curtail money laundering and funding of unlawful activities from abroad and by non-US persions.
You'll need to identify yourself in all kinds of ways, submit supporting documents about yourself, bank reference(s), ID's, etc.
Wells Fargo lets you open an account in that manner. A detailed checklist of requirements is on their website.
HSBC USA too, but they do not accept withdrawing PayPal funds to your HSBC bank account. But their opening procedure is quite straightforward, because if you have an HSBC representative in your neighbourhood, all legalization of your documents is done by themn, and that's a breeze.
Pacific National Bank Miami (PNB.com) also opens non-US accounts, but their service is still untested. They also have a detailed checklist somewhere on their website.
AEA Bank also accepts non-US customers. They even invite you to join...
This is more or less the complete list. But America is a huge country, and there may be many more banks out there who would like your money. But they are unknown to us.

If you need more specific info, I'll be glad to contribute my experience. I opened my account with Wells Fargo, and succeeded. So, if you can meet their opening requirements, there is no reason why you shouldn't too.

Success!

for setting up a US mailing address you need a middleman, who'll ask for a setup fee. And then there is the possible forwarding of mail from that address to your own. That doesn't come cheap either.
If you have relatives or friends who would "lend" you their street address, that may be an option to check out.

The cost of setting up a bank account, that all depends on how you setup the account.

With Valis you pay a setup fee. The easy way costs money, of course.

If you can open an account all by yourself, for instance with Wells Fargo (WF), it only costs you the postage of sending the required docs + the SWIFT fee from your local bank to their International Personal Banking (IPB) dept. With WF, if you keep at least $1,000 in your account, there are no monthly fees.

AEA Bank is also free, but you need $5,000 minimum in your account, to avoid paying a monthly fee.

Opening an account all by yourself isn't really that difficult, if you can meet the documentation requirements set by each bank. That may vary somewhat, but basically the same core documents are required.

版主能够帮忙翻译成中文啊！谢谢！

非常有用的信息，不过对大多数中国卖家似乎有点遥不可及，首先就是这个美国邮寄地址，一定要在美国有亲戚或泽朋友，类似担保人的概念，仅这一条，估计90%的卖家就要刷下，另外就算你开了美国银行的账户，到时候你怎么把美国银行账户里的钱转到国内呢，这确实是个问题

我的E文很烂的,也不知道为什么,初中就开始补考,成绩稳定在50多分,死活就是不及格. 高中就更下一层楼,变成30多了@%^$%^!#, 可是也居然让我上了大学的分数线,实在是让很多老师郁闷了一阵子.
看看这个帖子,^_^,还是可以知道个大概的...

现在没有太好的方法。 我再帮大家查一下，如果有第一时间帖出来。
这些都是我再网上找的，不是自己写的。 现在很多外国人也再找有关开美国帐户的方法。

似乎找到一个可以让外国人开账户的美国银行是个好生意啊~~~~~

我什么时候去打听打听~~~~

有消息回来向大家汇报~~~~

http://www.consumer-action.org/English/library/banking/2000_CheckingAccounts/index.php

http://chinese.scottrade.com/formscenter/w8/faq.asp