The Singaporean Overseas Crapbox 3
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Originally posted by Arapahoe:
not sure about spouse visa though the approval come from DHS....U can get a driver license but not sure they will issued SSN...I think you can get a TIN# for tax purposes.
One of the reason between my wify was she got her SSN during her college years.
Hmmmm you are right Arapahoe, SSA change the ruling since 2003.
Lost, IRS issues the TIN#.
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Originally posted by jojobeach:
Hmmmm you are right Arapahoe, SSA change the ruling since 2003.
Lost, IRS issues the TIN#.
yeah the old dazes was whole alot simpler.they won't they still give you the same old number....i was hopping they issued a new number for me but they did not.
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Originally posted by Arapahoe:
yeah the old dazes was whole alot simpler.they won't they still give you the same old number....i was hopping they issued a new number for me but they did not.
Sheesh.. wtf.
According to the Mass driver license requirement, she will need to produce a denial notice from SSA, and they won't accept TIN#.
So, to get a driver license in MA, Lost will need to apply to SSN anyway just to get a denial letter.
For the credit history part, as long as her husband can establish his credit history, they should have no problem getting a loan later. So there is no need for Lost to establish any credit history, she needs to only rely on her husband's.
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Originally posted by jojobeach:
Sheesh.. wtf.
According to the Mass driver license requirement, she will need to produce a denial notice from SSA, and they won't accept TIN#.
So, to get a driver license in MA, Lost will need to apply to SSN anyway just to get a denial letter.
hmm so MASS DL reflect SSN# u know in CA it does not so maybe SSN is not required to get a DL.
It is amazing that this country start up as an immigrant country...
or Lost will get lucky they screw up and gave her a SSN by mistake...
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citibank global transfer. do everything online and its smooth, and no need for SSN( dunno abt MA)
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Originally posted by jojobeach:
Sheesh.. wtf.
According to the Mass driver license requirement, she will need to produce a denial notice from SSA, and they won't accept TIN#.
So, to get a driver license in MA, Lost will need to apply to SSN anyway just to get a denial letter.
For the credit history part, as long as her husband can establish his credit history, they should have no problem getting a loan later. So there is no need for Lost to establish any credit history, she needs to only rely on her husband's.
yup indeed...according to the info provided, i need the SSN denial letter to apply for MASS licence/learner's permit. but when i went to the DMV with the letter...the staff were like "what the hell is this?". geez....
i'm on H4 visa...and am not allowed to work or earn any form of income. so i don't have a SSN. i've applied for a tax number...so far no news...will see how that works out.
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Originally posted by Arapahoe:
Do you have a HSBC USA bank in boston? See if they can work something out.
i dunno. in any case..i'm not so near to boston so it might not be so convenient for me. even citibank is only available in boston area. i suppose we can apply for those credit cards for people with poor credit history....or get those secured cards. i mean...we sure can work around all these...but why these unnecessary restrictions to make immigrants' lives difficult? -
Originally posted by vito_corleone:
citibank global transfer. do everything online and its smooth, and no need for SSN( dunno abt MA)
i spoke to citibank back in singapore. they told me citibank sg and citibank us are separate entities. so i'd still need to open up a citibank a/c in the states. and in MA...they'd require me to have SSN or TaxID to open up a bank account. fund transfers are easy to do..not just with citibank. -
so Lost is now getting Lost-er....heehee
thank god my landlords didn't ask for reference letters/good citizen records etc. i had wanted to go to the singapore police to request for the CNCC but i didn't have time.
does paying my rental/utilities/telephone/cable/internet bills contribute to building up good credit history in anyway?
i was worried that the overdrawing transactions (with the penalty charges) might negatively affect our credit score. would it? in any case, i told the bank AVP to waive the charges and she did.
actually apart from all these admin headaches...everything else is great. we've been driving around checking out new places almost every week. we were in newport RI yesterday and the place was just so beautiful. and it's the scallop festival in buzzards bay this weekend...so we are looking forward to some yummy treats!
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can i check....apart from the usual car insurance, do you guys buy insurance for the tires? we were offered the coverage but we didn't take it up 'cos we thought it was kinda expensive....but one of our tires just got punctured by a nail and the ford workshop guy said the puncture is located at a position that's impossible to patch up and we'll have to replace our 1-week old tire and it'd cost $208 for a new one! there are alot of potholes on the roads in our area.
sorry for all these questions....but you folks are such wealth of knowledge!
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
i dunno. in any case..i'm not so near to boston so it might not be so convenient for me. even citibank is only available in boston area. i suppose we can apply for those credit cards for people with poor credit history....or get those secured cards. i mean...we sure can work around all these...but why these unnecessary restrictions to make immigrants' lives difficult?Apply shopping card to start earning your credit such as macy or target. But you need your TIN# first.
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
can i check....apart from the usual car insurance, do you guys buy insurance for the tires? we were offered the coverage but we didn't take it up 'cos we thought it was kinda expensive....but one of our tires just got punctured by a nail and the ford workshop guy said the puncture is located at a position that's impossible to patch up and we'll have to replace our 1-week old tire and it'd cost $208 for a new one! there are alot of potholes on the roads in our area.
sorry for all these questions....but you folks are such wealth of knowledge!
Dude....$208? They chopped you because it was an opportunity to take advantage of your situation......but mostly they charge for labor wage, but i am sure they made at least a 100 buck.
Did you guys have Costco or American Tires?
I got mine at American Tires and they have warranty replacement, I had similar situation where nail penatrate thru the side of my tire...Talks about How? and they replace it for free. Free rotation.
Also the lowerest cost of Tires is $55 per tire at American Tires ......china made.
Made sure you keep all those tire coupon....they help....
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
i dunno. in any case..i'm not so near to boston so it might not be so convenient for me. even citibank is only available in boston area. i suppose we can apply for those credit cards for people with poor credit history....or get those secured cards. i mean...we sure can work around all these...but why these unnecessary restrictions to make immigrants' lives difficult?You see most asian banks in state side are seperate entities but HSBC might be able to help asian more...you can't explicitly spell your situation about it.
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
yup indeed...according to the info provided, i need the SSN denial letter to apply for MASS licence/learner's permit. but when i went to the DMV with the letter...the staff were like "what the hell is this?". geez....
i'm on H4 visa...and am not allowed to work or earn any form of income. so i don't have a SSN. i've applied for a tax number...so far no news...will see how that works out.
It's logical that SSN shouldn't be issued to non-working non-immigrants anyway. Because if you don't have a income, there's really nothing to track.
In the past, SSN had been a very convenient way of verifying your identity and making sure you're not a illegal immigrant, thus SSN took on an "off label" role.
Anyway, don't get mad with SSA for some bad habits other organization adopts.
Let's hope your TIN# comes through.
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
i dunno. in any case..i'm not so near to boston so it might not be so convenient for me. even citibank is only available in boston area. i suppose we can apply for those credit cards for people with poor credit history....or get those secured cards. i mean...we sure can work around all these...but why these unnecessary restrictions to make immigrants' lives difficult?The irony is that, all these bureaucratic practises are in place because of abuses from illegal immigrant.
There's a joke among legal immigrants, that life in USA is probably easier as an illegal.
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
so Lost is now getting Lost-er....heehee
thank god my landlords didn't ask for reference letters/good citizen records etc. i had wanted to go to the singapore police to request for the CNCC but i didn't have time.
does paying my rental/utilities/telephone/cable/internet bills contribute to building up good credit history in anyway?
i was worried that the overdrawing transactions (with the penalty charges) might negatively affect our credit score. would it? in any case, i told the bank AVP to waive the charges and she did.
actually apart from all these admin headaches...everything else is great. we've been driving around checking out new places almost every week. we were in newport RI yesterday and the place was just so beautiful. and it's the scallop festival in buzzards bay this weekend...so we are looking forward to some yummy treats!
If you get evicted for non-payment of rental or you destroyed the rental property, refused to pay the damages and get sued, these will be reflected in your credit history.
Overdrawing transactions will reduce your credit rating. Recently CNN talked about this. Because the economy is not too great, too many people are trying to float money. So banks are clamping down on these kind of overdraft with their new "weapon"- overdraft charges and credit rating hits. Unfortunately, banks don't differentiate intentional abusers from innocent acts like yours.
Here's a simple link on how to increase your credit scores. To find out more, you can do some research online.
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
can i check....apart from the usual car insurance, do you guys buy insurance for the tires? we were offered the coverage but we didn't take it up 'cos we thought it was kinda expensive....but one of our tires just got punctured by a nail and the ford workshop guy said the puncture is located at a position that's impossible to patch up and we'll have to replace our 1-week old tire and it'd cost $208 for a new one! there are alot of potholes on the roads in our area.
sorry for all these questions....but you folks are such wealth of knowledge!
If you live in a rugged neighbourhood, it's probably a good idea to insurance cover your tires too. Depending on how much is the add on premium lah.
But in other states where the road conditions are good, insurance for tires are unheard of. So it really depends on where you live.
New tires got warranty. Check with the seller. And please read fine prints as some warranty don't cover every scenario.
An example of a tire warranty. click Vulcan Tire with Road Hazard Warranty.
Make sure you have 24hr roadside assistance.
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
i spoke to citibank back in singapore. they told me citibank sg and citibank us are separate entities. so i'd still need to open up a citibank a/c in the states. and in MA...they'd require me to have SSN or TaxID to open up a bank account. fund transfers are easy to do..not just with citibank.open a college student account if u dont mind the ''student'' label, no charges, no need for ssn(at least here in CA) and CGT only charges 10 bucks per transaction regardless the amt(depends on daily transfer cap i think its 10k)
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Originally posted by lostintransition:
yup indeed...according to the info provided, i need the SSN denial letter to apply for MASS licence/learner's permit. but when i went to the DMV with the letter...the staff were like "what the hell is this?". geez....
Nobody likes the DMVs.
DMV is infamous for being that clueless, inefficient, and messed up. LOL !!
After you are done getting your driver's license, you'd be better off joining AAA.
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Originally posted by vito_corleone:
open a college student account if u dont mind the ''student'' label, no charges, no need for ssn(at least here in CA) and CGT only charges 10 bucks per transaction regardless the amt(depends on daily transfer cap i think its 10k)
no lah student only you.... -
we're asian, its ok to cheat
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Originally posted by Arapahoe:
Apply shopping card to start earning your credit such as macy or target. But you need your TIN# first.
i tried..but SSN is required! =( -
Originally posted by Arapahoe:
Dude....$208? They chopped you because it was an opportunity to take advantage of your situation......but mostly they charge for labor wage, but i am sure they made at least a 100 buck.
well...i'm not sure what they were trying to do...but we called the sales manager who was in charge of our purchase...and he spoke to the car workshop guy...and then, everything was solved...the tire was patched up...they didn't even charge us for it?!! i really have no idea what was going on..... -
Originally posted by jojobeach:
Overdrawing transactions will reduce your credit rating. Recently CNN talked about this. Because the economy is not too great, too many people are trying to float money. So banks are clamping down on these kind of overdraft with their new "weapon"- overdraft charges and credit rating hits. Unfortunately, banks don't differentiate intentional abusers from innocent acts like yours.
the thing is...why do they allow people to withdraw more than what's in their bank accounts?? i thot you can only charge a debit card for as much as what you've got in your account...not more?!! anyway...the bank VP told us that that's how the banks make money!!!??? but we were lucky she agreed to waive the charges... -
Originally posted by jojobeach:
If you live in a rugged neighbourhood, it's probably a good idea to insurance cover your tires too. Depending on how much is the add on premium lah.
But in other states where the road conditions are good, insurance for tires are unheard of. So it really depends on where you live.
New tires got warranty. Check with the seller. And please read fine prints as some warranty don't cover every scenario.
An example of a tire warranty. click Vulcan Tire with Road Hazard Warranty.
Make sure you have 24hr roadside assistance.
our roads here are real bad...so we decided to pay for a 5-yr warranty plan which covers both wheels and rims. and since i'll be learning/driving the car...we figured it might be worthwhile to get it. but it's not cheap...like $300+