Not a U.S. Citizen - How to Get a Credit Score

Reader Question: "I am currently not a U.S. citizen or resident (though my wife is a citizen) and we're looking to buy a home in the U.S. I wanted to find out how I could get a credit score, since I plan on applying for a mortgage from a U.S. lender. If I am a long-time user of a credit card, could I still get a credit score from one of the three U.S. credit-score companies, in the case that they have access to my information?"

My neighbors are non-citizens (from England), and they qualified for a mortgage about a year after moving to the states. They established credit primarily by obtaining credit cards. If you can get a credit card, and you have a Social Security Number, then you can build up a credit score.

Everything within the credit-reporting companies is managed by Social Security Number. So need to have that in order to establish a score. In addition to a credit card, you can establish a score with personal loans, checking / savings accounts, and other forms of credit.

The lender will also take you wife's credit into account, if you apply for a mortgage together. Your credit score is only a small piece of the approval "puzzle." The lenders will also want to know how much the two of you earn each year, relative to the amount you want to borrow. They'll want to know how much debt you are both carrying. And they'll want to know how long you've been employed with steady income.

My advice is to start talking to a lender, if you're ready to move forward with the process. In your situation, I would sit down with a local lender (in person), rather than doing things online. They can tell you what you need to work on, if anything. And who better to listen to than the lenders themselves?

I hope this helps you out some. Good luck.