You can start seeking an apartment without an SSN or U.S. credit score, but the best route is to find a landlord willing to review your passport and proof of income rather than assume every property must accept them.
“I am moving to the US on an E1 visa in a couple of weeks and don't have an SSN, credit score, or US documents yet. What is the best strategy for renting an apartment, and what documents are required?”
Summary
You do not have to wait for a U.S. credit score before asking landlords to review your application. The hard part is finding a property willing to assess your passport and financial evidence instead of relying on an SSN-based screen.
Your practical choice is whether a landlord will review your alternative documents now or whether you need a short-term place while you build a post-arrival application packet.
Ask whether the landlord will review your foreign passport, E-1 visa, employer letter or contract, recent income or bank records, and references without a U.S. SSN or credit score; add your after entry. California’s official renter guide expressly describes a passport as an alternative when an applicant cannot provide an SSN or driver’s-license number, while SSA says a private requester can still decline service. [California DRE](https://www.dre.ca.gov/publications/ResourceGuidebook/gb05_lookingfor.html); [SSA](https://www.ssa.gov/faqs/en/questions/KA-02232.html)
If a property will not review your present file, use temporary accommodation while you obtain your , approach a property willing to consider your documents, or ask whether it permits a . A co-signer is a possible landlord condition, not a federal requirement; verify the listing before you sign or pay. [CBP](https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/help); [FTC screening](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/using-consumer-reports-what-landlords-need-know); [FTC scams](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/rental-listing-scams)
Neither route guarantees approval: ask what the particular property accepts before paying an application fee, and treat California’s passport guidance as a useful example rather than a rule for every state.
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Watch out for
Next steps
These steps let you begin the search before departure and finish your documentation after admission without treating an SSN as the first task.
Before you travel
Assemble an alternative-document packet
Present these as proposed evidence, not a nationally required checklist. Ask a property directly whether it will consider a foreign passport and income documents without an SSN or U.S. credit file before paying its application fee; California’s renter guide expressly describes a passport alternative, while SSA makes clear that a private requester may still decline. [California DRE](https://www.dre.ca.gov/publications/ResourceGuidebook/gb05_lookingfor.html); [SSA](https://www.ssa.gov/faqs/en/questions/KA-02232.html)
Requirements
Before an application payment
Verify the listing before sending money or sensitive records
Compare the listing against the rental company’s own listing and, if possible, see the unit yourself, ask a trusted person to visit, or take a live video tour before signing or paying. FTC advises looking at the property before you sign or pay. [FTC](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/rental-listing-scams)
Requirements
After you enter the U.S.
Retrieve your I-94 after admission
At https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/home select “Get Most Recent I-94/I-95,” enter the biographical details from your entry passport, and print or save the result. Offer this with your rental packet and use it for your SSN application; the visa alone does not establish that CBP admitted you. [CBP](https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/help); [State Department](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/frequently-asked-questions/about-basics.html)
Requirements
When the property confirms its screening approach
Submit to a property that accepts your packet
State plainly that you do not yet have an SSN or U.S. credit history; provide the agreed alternatives and request the property’s fee and deposit terms in writing before paying. If a report partly causes a denial, higher deposit, or co-signer requirement, request the adverse-action notice; it must explain how to obtain the report free within 60 days and dispute inaccuracies. [FTC](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/using-consumer-reports-what-landlords-need-know)
Requirements
After admission; not required to start looking
Apply for your first SSN after arrival
As a work-authorized principal E-1, begin at https://www.ssa.gov/number-card/request-number-first-time, then take your original documents to a Social Security office or Card Center within 45 days of starting the online process. The SSN application is free. SSA recommends waiting 10 days after arrival if you cannot or choose not to use its other application methods; that recommendation is not a deadline for renting. [SSA E-1 classification](https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0110211420); [SSA noncitizen instructions](https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10096.pdf)
Requirements
Legal sources
This guidance draws on SSA, CBP, the State Department, FTC, DOJ, California’s Department of Real Estate, USCIS, and the federal bank-identification regulation.
SSA FAQ KA-02232
Not having an SSN does not guarantee that a private landlord must accept another identifier.
Anyone can refuse to disclose his or her number, but the requester can refuse its services if you do not give it.
California DRE, California Tenants guide
California’s official renter guide gives a concrete passport alternative when an applicant cannot provide an SSN or driver’s-license number; it does not set nationwide landlord policy.
The Rental Application
In such cases, an applicant may provide a “government-issued” photo identification such as a passport or a foreign driver license instead which would allow the landlord to verify the applicant’s identity without inquiring about the applicant’s immigration status, which is prohibited under the law.
California DRE, California Tenants guide
A landlord can evaluate an applicant’s ability to pay rent; income documents in the proposed packet respond to that question.
The Rental Application
The landlord may ask you questions about your employment, your monthly income, and other information to establish your ability to pay rent.
Department of State, About Visas—The Basics
An E-1 visa is not itself proof that the traveler has been admitted to the United States.
A visa does not guarantee entry into the United States.
CBP I-94/I-95 FAQ
CBP identifies the online action for obtaining the latest entry record after arrival.
To begin, select “Get Most Recent I-94/I-95” from the I-94 Menu.
SSA POMS RM 10211.420
SSA lists the principal E-1 treaty trader among the admission classes it treats as work-authorized.
RM 10211.420, work-authorized classes table
|E-1* |Treaty trader (principal). |
SSA, Social Security Numbers for Noncitizens
SSA states what a work-authorized noncitizen must present to establish identity and immigration status for an SSN.
Documents you need
To prove your identity and work-authorized immigration status, you will need to show us your current U.S. immigration documents and your unexpired foreign passport.
SSA, Social Security Numbers for Noncitizens
Starting an SSN application online does not eliminate the required in-person document visit.
Applying for an SSN
To complete the application process, you must visit your local Social Security office or Card Center with the required documents within **45 days of starting the process** .
SSA, Social Security Numbers for Noncitizens
SSA’s 10-day post-arrival wait is a recommendation in the circumstances stated, not a requirement to delay apartment shopping.
Applying for an SSN
If you are unable or choose not to apply for an SSN using one of the methods above, we recommend you wait 10 days after arriving in the United States to apply for an SSN.
SSA, Social Security Numbers for Noncitizens
SSA does not charge for the first SSN application.
Applying for an SSN
Applying for an SSN and card is free.
FTC, Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know
A negative rental decision based partly on a consumer report triggers a notice, including when it takes the form of a higher deposit or co-signer.
Adverse action notices
If you reject an applicant, increase the rent or deposit, require a co-signer, or take any other adverse action based partly or completely on information in a consumer report, you must give the applicant or tenant a notice of that fact in writing, electronically, or orally.
FTC, Using Consumer Reports: What Landlords Need to Know
The screening-report notice must explain the applicant’s right to dispute information and obtain a free report within 60 days.
Adverse action notices
a notice of the person’s right to dispute the accuracy or completeness of any information the CRA furnished, and to get a free report from the CRA if the person asks for it within 60 days.
Fair Housing Act, DOJ guidance
Federal fair-housing law protects against discrimination because of national origin, but this is not a general guarantee of approval without screening documents.
Discrimination in Housing Based Upon National Origin
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based upon national origin.
FTC, Rental Listing Scams
FTC recommends seeing a rental before committing money or a signature when possible.
If you can, look at the property before you sign or pay.
31 CFR 1020.220
Federal bank-identification rules permit a non-U.S. customer’s passport number and issuing country as an identification-number option, though banks still verify identity.
(a)(2)(i)(A)(4)(ii)
( _ii_ ) For a non-U.S. person, one or more of the following: A taxpayer identification number; passport number and country of issuance; alien identification card number; or number and country of issuance of any other government-issued document evidencing nationality or residence and bearing a photograph or similar safeguard.
USCIS, E-1 Treaty Traders
USCIS identifies both the usual E-1-spouse work-authorization rule and a specific exception.
Family of E-1 Treaty Traders and Employees
Spouses of E-1 workers in valid E-1 or E-1S status are considered employment authorized incident to status, except for spouses of employees of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) and Taipei Economic and Cultural Offices (TECO), who continue to be required to apply for employment authorization per 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(2).
These are the official rules reflected in the cited publications and the banking regulation current through October 7, 2026; rules and local rental requirements can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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