Establishing a Credit Rating

Many Canadians with an excellent credit rating in Canada move to the US and are shocked when utility companies want payment in advance before starting service or they can't get a US credit card or they can't qualify for a mortgage.  This is commonplace because you do not have any kind of credit rating tied to your Social Security Number in the US credit agencies.  To resolve this, there are things you can do.

We have seen success in transferring a credit rating to the US by asking for your entire credit card file in Canada (American Express, Visa, Mastercard) to be transferred to the US subsidiary (Visa and MasterCard seem to be the most difficult).  This will take many phone calls to both the Canadian and US sides of your credit card company before you are successful in moving your credit rating and membership rewards points (exchanged at the prevailing exchange rate) to the US.  This will allow you to get a US credit card and begin establishing our credit rating in the US.

Second, when you seek credit , tell the underwriter you have an established credit rating in Canada.  Provide your Social Insurance Number and ask them to pull a Canadian credit report from the major credit reporting agencies in Canada (like Equifax Canada or TransUnion).  This should be weighed heavily in the underwriting process that should more than satisfy the US mortgage underwriter or credit card company and result in a favorable interest rate and mortgage terms for you. 

Another alternative is to deposit a fairly large sum of money into a certificate of deposit or money market account at your local bank.  With this money as collateral, the bank is happy to issue a bank credit card through Visa or MasterCard for your use.  As you begin using it, be sure to pay off your balances in a timely fashion to establish a credit rating in the US.  You should draw your US credit report annually for the first few years to confirm that your credit rating is getting established in the US.