That I don't know. I didn't prepay, so my bill showed money due.

Hopefully your bill/statement will hit with a $0 balance or something like that, but I really don't know.

Despite what the employee who assured you that he/she had just given you a credit card, it sounds like the card that your are referring to is almost certainly your atm card. Does it say "Access Card" in the upper right corner? If it does, it is JUST an atm card. At my branch in St. Catharines they said that they no longer make the CREDIT cards in house, and I assume that it is the same at all branches. They have to order the credit card separately and have it delivered to your branch in a week or more. It will have a VISA logo and say "U.S. Dollar" in the upper right corner. Here is the TD web site with info on the card and a picture: http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/tdvisa/usd.jsp).

Has any American gotten Neteller open after moving abroad?

After re-scanning my Passport (front and back) and sending it to them (and waiting over a week) they are now telling me I need a Mexican identity document (which I obv don't have and have no way of acquiring) to get my account approved. Sighhhhhhhh. Just wrote a long e-mail detailing the situation and included a lease/utility as well just for fun. Not feeling very optimistic however.

Yeah, it's the "Access Card". I'll go back and try to get the Visa card.

Thanks for the info! I would have given up on TD.

Try CIBC, i got a visa debit from them, same day.

I am working on opening an account and going to Canada in a few days. I plan to have an RBC and HSBC account (HSBC because they are also located in the US) to use both for poker.
Is this wise to use them for poker or should I open a different bank? My goal is to transfer and/or use funds in the US from time to time, somehow. So a checking account and/or visa card would be nice, along with the ability to withdraw/transfer to my US bank.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

So I have moved into Vancouver and am having trouble with getting them a utility. They wont accept my cell phone (prepaid) docs. I am living somewhere that I cant get utilities in my name. How have people overcome this without having to wait 30 days for a cell bill?

Have the bank give you a copy of a voided check, sign it, and stamp it. This was sufficient for me in lieu of a utility bill. It also worked for at least one other poster.

'stamp it'?

What banking setup is best as far as fees go for transfering/wiring USD from
Canadian bank to US bank while at the same time allowing VISA verification
from moneybookers?

They have official bank stamps.

This worked for me as well.

americans can not get neteller regardless of where you live

yea this is the conclusion i have reached as well. i wish they would explicitly just tell me this rather than have me run around and keep writing them e-mails. very frustrating and their customer service is just abysmal.

Whats the max check pokerstars mails out these days?

$50k

Just got set up nicely for USD/CAD checking accounts at a TD in Montreal after being upfront about what I was doing..would have gone with one of the 2 banks that has been mentioned as being good here, but this was the only place open on Saturday so I figured I'd give it a shot and if it didn't work no worries since I'd be waiting til Monday on the others anyway. The guy who I dealt with has a brother who had moved to Vegas to play professionally at some point so he was probably a lot less reluctant to help me out than most people. He had to go speak to the manager and at first said it'd be 30 seconds and it was probably ~10 minutes, but he explained that since I was using 2 US forms of ID instead of Canadian they just had to verify they were real.

I asked for a voided check with my local address for the sites but he explained that he had to use the address on my IDs but he went out of his way to print out another form with my local address so that I'm good there. OneRepublic's "Good Life" came over the bank's speakers right as he told me this. We'll see if everything passes muster with the sites but I think I'm good to go..he also told me to feel free to send any friends that need the same thing his way and gave me a couple copies of his card, so if anyone coming to Montreal needs help on that front let me know.

Hey guys, crossed the border into Vancouver yesterday. I was sent to immigration as expected and the guy gave me a really hard time. The very brief story: I basically explained my situation to him and he said he can't let me in if I have no reason to leave (my lease just ended in California and I'm a poker player which basically meant I'm unemployed to him.) He told me to sit down and think long and hard about why I would leave the country once I'm in, and he said my odds of coming in that day were very slim. During this time they searched my car. About 30 min later he came back and said he would make an "exception" and let me through, but that I couldn't stay more than 2 months or I would be deported.

So in the end I was happy to be let in but didn't like to hear that last part. I'm not sure if he's bluffing or what since I wasn't given anything and didn't sign anything saying I could be here 2 months only, and once I'm in I am legally allowed 6 months. My passport wasn't stamped either. I do plan to be here 6 months though...now it's time to get a bank account!

This did NOT work for me. They said this document alone was not enough and I needed a utility bill in addition. It was signed/stamped.

They said the same thing when I asked them to verify. If your utilities are included in your rent you can send the following:

I then asked if the minimum lease they'd accept is 3 months (temporary lease to get accounts reinstated etc while you look for something more permanent) and they said:



Party said they needed the same thing: utility bill and valid telephone number (didn't specify landline or not), but I'd imagine they'd accept the same stuff Stars would.

And **** FTP imo

Wow that really sucks. I just relocated to Vancouver and got a 1 month lease ahead of time at this furnished rental and then planned on getting something more permanent for the remaining 5 months. I assumed that I would be allowed to play but would be required to submit another lease agreement once July is up to continue playing. I plan on sending in my documents today, but looks like I might have to go apartment hunting for Aug-Dec to get approved. We'll see.

Just got into Whistler. Crossed into Vancouver. What a ridiculous headache crossing was. The US searched my car as well as Canada. It was a 3 hour process getting across. I honestly couldn't believe the questions they were asking. They wanted to know EVERYTHING. If you plan on lying, you better be certain you can look someone in the eye and answer everything perfectly. And as others mentioned, theyre real sticklers about proving why you'll come back. PLEASE get something to show that you will return to the US. Lease, kids, phone bill, idk, get something. This is for sure the #1 thing to have with you at the border.

I told this lady at the border questioning us I put many of my belongings in storage for 6 months, and I would want to get my stuff.

Her: Why'd you pick 6 months (knowing what I was going to say)?
Me: Well I had planned to be in Canada for 6 months.
Her: HAHAHAHA! ORLY????
....
Her: Well that doesnt mean squat. considering what you made last year gambling I think you could easily just abandon it and buy new stuff. Or get someone to go get it for you.

She just wasnt happy with anything we told her. We were 100% honest, upfront, friendly, polite, college grads, dressed normally, non shady looking etc and they ****ed with us hard.

She did end up letting us in but "she cut us a break" and we definitely shouldnt "make her regret doing such a nice thing for us." The best part of it was at the end after we talked for hours about why we would leave after 6mo and the cutting us a break part, she goes... "oh by the way, if you dont return before Jan 2nd 2012 there will be a warrant issued for your arrest." Like...........OK lady there's all the ****ing reason in the world for me to return to the US after 6mo--I dont want to go to jail? Its like a cop pulling you over and giving you a speeding ticket and before letting you leave he makes you convince him that you'll pay the fine. Want to know why I'm going to pay the fine? Because there'll be a warrant for my arrest if I don't lol. God it was tilting. But man Whistler looks so sick!

Dude, I totally feel you. I just crossed two days ago and the same thing basically happened to me. It was not a fun experience. Maybe the border going into Montreal and Toronto isn't as bad I dunno. I told the border guard I would be there 3-6 months knowing it was probably gonna be 6 instead of 3 and I guess that was a mistake. He did let me in but said I have "only 3 months or a warrant will be issued for my arrest and I will be deported." I mean are they really gonna keep tabs on us? And once let in don't we legally have 6 months? Either way I'm gonna feel a bit paranoid once my 3 months are up if I decide to stay. I guess I need to talk to a lawyer lol.

didn't you get any info regarding length of stay stamped into/attached to your passport?

Nope. My passport wasn't stamped and I didn't sign or receive any document regarding my length of stay. It was just his word basically. Even though my passport wasn't stamped, I'm guessing there is some sort of record in their database showing when I entered the country. Do I really only legally have 3 months now instead of 6 just because a border agent said so? Are they really gonna hunt me down after 3 months based on the word of a border agent? I'm pretty sure they're just trying to put the fear in you to NOT try to live there permanently. Either way I will seek some legal advice to clear this up and help me sleep better at night.