{
  "id": "banking/credit-history-does-not-transfer",
  "signature": "AI assumes a newcomer's foreign credit history counts toward a US credit score",
  "signature_zh": "",
  "regex": "(us|usa|united states|america).{0,50}(credit (score|history|record)).{0,40}(immigrant|newcomer|foreign|moving|arriv)",
  "domain": "banking",
  "category": "financial_system",
  "subcategory": null,
  "root_cause": "US credit scores are built only from US bureau records (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion); credit history from other countries does not transfer. Newcomers start 'credit invisible', which blocks apartments, car loans and some phone plans until a US file is established.",
  "root_cause_type": "generic",
  "root_cause_zh": "",
  "versions": [
    {
      "version": "any",
      "introduced": null,
      "deprecated": null,
      "removed": null,
      "behavior_change": null,
      "status": "active"
    }
  ],
  "os_specific": {},
  "dead_ends": [
    {
      "action": "Apply for mainstream US credit cards or leases citing an excellent foreign credit record",
      "why_fails": "US lenders score from domestic bureau files; with no US history you are credit invisible and mainstream applications are declined regardless of your record abroad, and each hard inquiry can further delay approval.",
      "fail_rate": 0.7,
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/protecting-immigrant-access-to-fair-credit-opportunities/"
      ]
    },
    {
      "action": "Avoid all credit products to 'stay safe' during the first years",
      "why_fails": "A thin or empty file keeps you invisible: without tradelines reporting to the bureaus, no score forms, so future rentals, loans and even utility deposits stay expensive.",
      "fail_rate": 0.6,
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/protecting-immigrant-access-to-fair-credit-opportunities/"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds": [
    {
      "action": "Build a US file deliberately: secured card or credit-builder loan, then 6+ months of on-time payments",
      "success_rate": 0.85,
      "how": "Open a bank account, get an SSN or ITIN where eligible, start with a secured credit card, credit-builder loan, or authorized-user status, and keep utilization low. Lenders may not reject you solely for immigration status under ECOA; complaints go to the CFPB (180+ languages).",
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-and-justice-department-issue-joint-statement-cautioning-that-financial-institutions-may-not-use-immigration-status-to-illegally-discriminate-against-credit-applicants/",
        "https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/protecting-immigrant-access-to-fair-credit-opportunities/"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds_zh": [],
  "transition_graph": {
    "leads_to": [],
    "preceded_by": [],
    "frequently_confused_with": []
  },
  "official_doc_url": null,
  "official_doc_section": null,
  "error_code": null,
  "verification_tier": "ai_generated",
  "confidence": 0.7,
  "fix_success_rate": 0.8,
  "resolvable": "true",
  "first_seen": "2026-07-02",
  "last_confirmed": "2026-07-02",
  "last_updated": "2026-07-02",
  "evidence_count": 4,
  "tags": [],
  "locale": "en",
  "aliases": [
    "banking/credit-history-does-not-transfer/us"
  ]
}