Studying in the US - will bank accounts in Hong Kong, Singapore and Europe automatically be jeopardised?

[Jmeery1]

Hi all

I was wondering, if someone becomes a US resident student (on an F visa, which means that no tax will be payable on overseas earnings in the US), what will be the impact on my bank accounts and 100% owned companies?

The person in question has bank accounts with HSBC HK, OCBC Singapore, DBS HK . Also some in Europe with EMIs.

Will these banks automatically become aware of the new US residence (even if no tax is owed)? Is it a major issue?

If all the bank accounts were closed it would wreak havoc on the entire structure, so that the person in question might decide not to study in the US specificially because of that reason.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Sols]

It's not automatic. The DHS doesn't notify financial institutions that you have been granted a visa.

If you don't give any indications to the financial institutions that you are in the US on your temporary, non-immigrant visa, you will probably not be discovered. Keep your home phone number, avoid connecting from US IP, and don't transfer to/from the US.

Technically, you should notify all financial institutions but in reality, if we're talking about non-immigrant visas and you qualify as an exempt person, enforcement of FATCA is fairly relaxed. If you have a good relationship with the bank, having US residency is in and of itself not a reason to close down an account. You'll just be asked to fill in a bunch of papers so that the bank can remain FATCA compliant. EMIs are trickier since most (but not all) outright refuse to offer services to US residents.

If you plan to hide and you're using mobile apps of the financial institutions, either stop doing that or make sure you turn off location sharing.

 

[Martin Everson]

That's good advice from Sols.

So two schools of thought are 1) Say nothing to your home banks and use them as usual but take precautions against geographic indicators that can lead the bank to believe you are resident in US. 2) Tell your banks, EMI's everything about your situation and let them decide what they will do next. Honesty is best policy especially when it comes to anything US so option 2 would be my advice.

There is no harm in asking your banks and EMI's in advance about what you are planning and seeing their reaction. End of the day his education is more important than maintaining banking relationships. I think the banks and EMI's in Europe will potentially tell him to get lost if they don't already offer services in US if he goes for option 2. The Asia banks may be more accommodating.

Bottom line is it don't matter what visa you have if you are going to be physically living on US soil then you will be treated as a US person by the bank so might as well let them know.

 

[Jmeery1]

Thank you for the advice! He might tentatively ask a relationship manager "what would happen if..." and take it from there.