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Office of International Services
      • Student Visa Types
      • Applying for Your Visa (Students)
      • Transferring to USC
      • Planning Your Arrival (Students)
      • Arriving at USC (Students)
      • Living in the United States (Students)
      • J-1 Exchange Visitor Funding Requirements
      • J-1 Non-Degree Students
      • J-1 Fulbright Students and Researchers
      • Limited Status Students
      • Applying for Your Visa (Scholars)
      • J-1 Exchange Visitor Funding Requirements
      • Planning Your Arrival (Scholars)
      • Arriving at USC (Scholars)
      • Living in the United States (Scholars)
      • J-1 Fulbright Students and Researchers
      • Obtaining Visa Documents for Dependents
      • F-2 Dependents
      • J-2 Dependents
    • Entering the United States
    • Renewing Passport or F/J Visa
    • Requirements for Reentry
    • Automatic Revalidation
    • Research or Study Abroad
    • Invitation Letters for Family Members
      • Guidelines for Maintaining Status
      • Change of Status to F-1
      • J-1 Bars
      • Extending Your Program (Students)
      • Adding a Progressive Degree Program
      • Attending Another Institution
      • Reduced Course Load
      • Leave of Absence
      • Program Completion (Students)
      • J-1 Bars
      • Extending Your Program (Scholars)
      • Incident Reporting Obligations for J-1 Exchange Visitors
      • J-1 Exchange Visitor Transfer Out
      • Program Completion (Scholars)
      • F-1 Student Employment
      • J-1 Student Employment
      • Additional Forms of Employment
      • On-Campus Employment
      • Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
      • Optional Practical Training (OPT)
      • Pre-Completion OPT
      • Post-Completion OPT
      • STEM OPT Extension
      • STEM OPT Extension Based on a Prior Degree
      • Cap-Gap Extension
      • Academic Training
      • Social Security Number
      • Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
      • U.S. Taxes
      • Offsite and Non-USC Employment
      • Social Security Number
      • Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
      • U.S. Taxes
      • J-2 Dependent Employment
    • Change of Address Form
    • F-1 Student Forms
    • J-1 Degree and Non-Degree Student Forms
    • J-1 Degree Student Only Forms
    • J-1 Non-Degree Student Only Forms
    • J-1 Scholar Forms
    • Resources and Policies
    • Selecting a J-1 Category
    • J-1 Exchange Visitor Funding Requirements
    • Early Access NetID for J-1 Exchange Visitors
    • DS-2019 Requests for J-1 Scholars
    • DS-2019 Requests for Non-Degree Students
    • Correction Requests and Cancellations for Exchange Visitors
    • Incident Reporting Obligations for J-1 Exchange Visitors
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  • Getting Started
  • J-1 Scholars
  • Living in the United States (Scholars)
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    • Student Visa Types
    • Applying for Your Visa (Students)
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      • Avoiding Scams
    • J-1 Exchange Visitor Funding Requirements
    • J-1 Non-Degree Students
    • J-1 Fulbright Students and Researchers
    • Limited Status Students
    • Applying for Your Visa (Scholars)
    • J-1 Exchange Visitor Funding Requirements
    • Planning Your Arrival (Scholars)
      • Getting From the Airport to USC
      • Immigration Status Verification
      • J-1 Scholar Orientation
      • Finances (Scholars)
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      • Transportation
      • Safety and Support Resources
    • J-1 Fulbright Students and Researchers
    • Obtaining Visa Documents for Dependents
    • F-2 Dependents
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Finances (Scholars) — USC OIS

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Finances (Scholars)

How to Open a U.S. Bank Account

There are many banks with branches near the USC campus to choose from, including the USC Credit Union, Chase Bank and Bank of America. We recommend researching different banking institutions to see which one best fits your financial needs.

To open a bank account, international J-1 scholars will need:

  • Valid passport
  • J-1 visa
  • Valid USC Form DS-2019
  • I-94 printout

A Social Security number (SSN) is not required to open a bank account in the United States.

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