Immigration Credit

I would start with one or two secured cards, keeping utilization below 30% for six months. I would then begin applying for one or two store cards and after another three months of payment history I would apply for a prime Visa, Mastercard or Amex. At that point you should be on solid ground creditwise regarding a mortgage. There is no minimum waiting period (someone correct me if I am wrong) however, I would wait a minimum of a year to build a solid paying history before applying for a mortgage to insure you get the best rates. Good Luck!

 

I relocated from England to the US a couple of years ago with my employer so I know the issues you are about to experience.

Some of the bigger credit card issuers will let you transfer a foreign account in good standing to the US. This is the quickest and easiest way to get a prime card. Amex seem like one of the most geared up. I had a gold amex in the UK and my account, plus membership rewards points etc, were transferred to the US so we had this same card account right from day one. After a year Amex gave me a blue card with a good limit (now close to $15,000 just over a year after opening).

The key thing to remember is that you need to talk to the right people. We bank with Citibank and discovered that they had a special team who could open a Platinum Select account for us notwithstanding the lack of US credit history (they verify some employment info and might pull a foreign credit report). Citi gave a decent starting line too.

We found that mortgage lenders are easier to deal with as they can generally get their hands on an international credit report and verify your prior history. We had offers from Chase after less than one year in the US and after a relocation to Calfornia last year we had no trouble getting a mortgage.

Best of luck!

 

That's right - Amex (and to a lesser extent, Citi) will work with you to convert your foreign Amex or Citi card to a U.S. one.


Saar