Before you start

Passport, with visa and I-94 where applicable
A Connecticut residential address
An SSN or ITIN if you have one; a passport number if not
An opening deposit, which varies by institution

Step-by-step

1
Open a checking account in branch in week one
Bring passport, Hartford address and SSN or ITIN if issued. The federal Customer Identification Program rule explicitly permits a passport number and country of issuance instead of a taxpayer number for non-US persons. A refusal on that ground is branch policy, not law.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Try a credit union if a branch turns you away
Greater Hartford has a dense credit union sector, several attached to the insurers, the state workforce, the hospitals and the aerospace employers. They are frequently more willing than a national bank's branch to open an account on a passport and an employment offer letter.
In personWho: You
3
Mention a pending ITIN if you have no SSN
Banks may open accounts for people who have applied for but not yet received an ITIN. File IRS Form W-7 and keep the receipt — raising it at the counter can move your banking forward by weeks.
In personWho: You
4
Set up direct deposit and read the deductions
Give payroll your routing and account numbers. Direct deposit waives the monthly maintenance fee on most US checking accounts. Then read the payslip: alongside federal tax, FICA and Connecticut withholding there is a Connecticut Paid Leave employee contribution — a payroll deduction funding the state's income-replacement programme for medical and family leave. It is small, it is mandatory, and it catches every newcomer's eye the first month.
Via employerWho: You and your employerFirst payslip
5
Open a secured credit card in month one
Post a refundable deposit, typically around USD 500, and receive a card with a matching limit that reports to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Length of history counts as much as behaviour, so start the clock the week you arrive.
OnlineWho: YouMonth 1
6
Budget the winter energy bill honestly
Connecticut's electricity prices are among the highest in the continental United States and most Hartford housing heats with gas or oil across a real winter. Ask a landlord or seller for the actual December-to-March bills rather than an estimate, and ask what the heating system is and when it was last serviced. It is the difference between a comfortable budget and a January problem.
OnlineWho: YouBefore winter

Documents you’ll need

Passport, with country of issuance serving as the identifying number if you have no SSN or ITIN
Visa and I-94, where applicable
SSN card or ITIN letter, if issued
Proof of Hartford address
Employer offer letter, accepted by many banks, landlords and utilities as supporting evidence

Things most newcomers don’t know

Your landlord has to pay you interest on the security deposit, at a rate the state publishes every year.

Connecticut's Department of Banking sets the rate annually — for 2026 it is 0.49% — and requires landlords to pay tenants interest on deposits of at least the average commercial bank savings deposit rate. Almost nowhere else in the US does this so explicitly, and most tenants never claim it because they do not know it exists. The deposit itself is capped at two months' rent, and one month's rent if the tenant is 62 or older.

Source: Connecticut Department of Banking — rental security deposits

Twenty-one days, not thirty or forty-five, to get the deposit back.

Connecticut requires a landlord to return the deposit with interest, or give written notice of the damages claimed, within twenty-one days of the tenancy ending. That is one of the tightest windows in the country — Virginia allows 45 days. Photograph everything on move-in and move-out day, keep the dates, and know that the clock is short enough to act on.

Source: Connecticut Department of Banking — rental security deposits

No credit history is treated worse than bad credit history.

American underwriting scores a file, and a file that does not exist cannot be scored at all. A well-paid newcomer can be declined for an apartment, a phone contract and a car loan in the same fortnight while holding a spotless twenty-year record at home. Nothing crosses the border — not the mortgage, not the decade with the same bank.

Source: community-reported

Federal rules let a bank take your passport instead of an SSN.

The Customer Identification Program rule accepts a passport number and country of issuance for non-US persons, and branch staff frequently do not know it. Being refused is common and is not a legal outcome. Print the CFPB guidance, ask for a manager, or try a credit union — waiting weeks for a number you may not be eligible for is the avoidable mistake.

Source: FDIC — Customer Identification Program requirements

Common mistakes to avoid

Waiting for an SSN before trying to open an account, when a passport often suffices.
Never claiming the interest your landlord owes you on the security deposit.
Accepting a deposit demand above two months' rent — or above one month if you are 62 or older.
Signing a summer lease without ever asking what the winter heating cost.
Financing a car in month one with no credit file and accepting a punitive rate.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.