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As a US citizen and employee of a US company, my bank accounts are in the US even though I spend very little time (2-3 weeks per year) physically in the US. I'm about to get married to a Guatemalan. We will not (for now) be living in the US. Is it possible to have a joint US bank account even though she's not a US citizen?

My primary concern is issuing a debit card in her name, so that she can make purchases without me physically present.

I did contact my primary financial institution, a credit union serving the city where I used to live, and they told me:

We are only able to open accounts for US citizens or US resident.

Which doesn't directly answer my question, since I'm only wanting to add her to my existing account--but I take that to mean that probably isn't possible, either. I just don't know if this is an institution policy, or law.

If it matters, she has dual-citizenship with Guatemala and Spain.

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    Congrats on the pending nuptials.
    – StrongBad
    Oct 24, 2014 at 18:57

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I have never done this, but there should not be any issues especially since you already have an account. It is possible for a non US citizen who is not residing in the US and who does not have a TIN to open a US bank account (cf. https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/5028/can-i-open-a-us-bank-account-even-if-i-dont-live-in-the-country). The easiest way would probably be to stop by the branch you opened the account at the next time you are both in the States. I am not sure if you can do it by mail. If your account is at a big bank (e.g., HSBC or BoA), they may have international offices that can help you out.

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