How to handle the odd transaction in USD, despite only having a GBP bank account

[Mark Robinson]

On Sat, Mar 11, 2017 at 6:47 PM, Jean-David Beyer
<jeandavid8 at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> Not here in New Jersey. At at least at two banks that I have used.
> My sister, who lives in Canada, has business transactions where it would
> be a lot easier to write U.S. dollar checks and receive them. She could
> not open a bank account in either New York State, or New Jersey. A
> passport is valid id but it does not prove state of residence. Actually,
> the Social Security Administration does not accept the date of birth
> from a US passport. They will accept only a birth certificate for that.
>
> What you say is reasonable, but reasonable is not what low-level
> bureaucrats go by. They must satisfy the rules given them by their
> supervision, and the supervision is not very reasonable. Every one must
> cover his @$$; no thinking allowed.

That's so odd.

I have opened a bank account at Wells Fargo in California with just a
passport.  I've also used RBCBank (affiliated with, but distinct from
Royal Bank) to open a US bank account without even being present in
the US.

Mark