Opening a US bank account with no US address

[Viper_Larry]

I'll be travelling out to Santa Clara in 3 weeks and would like to open a bank account while I am there as I hear you really need to do it in person. Nationwide in the UK don't seem to have an international option.

What do I need to do this if I walk into the local Wells Fargo branch - just passport? Is it also right I can do this without an SSN?

[Viper_Larry]

Geoff Stilwell said:

Go to HSBC and they can set u up with a US bank account. I did mine a few years ago very easy. You can then get debit cards, credit cards and i have a checking account. I also use the HSBC online banking to move money from the UK to the USA. All done by the laptop from anywhere.

Turns out you need a UK account for at least 3 months prior to this, which I don't have, thanks for the advice though...

[Viper_Larry]

As it happens, we are currently in California and opened an account each with Chase yesterday - preferred their colour scheme to Wells Fargo! Took a couple of hours to get it all sorted but very easy. Unfortunately the branch in Sunnyvale didn't have a card printer so we couldn't get the Debit card on the spot, but will get that next time we're over.

Handy I have a US account now as I have a parking ticket to pay! :-(