Josh Collins and wife Jessica Salazar Collins were mystified: Why would the Bank of America, where they’ve banked since the early 2000s, suddenly ask questions about Josh’s citizenship?
He was born in Wichita, Kan.
So this thoroughly American couple ignored a form that the bank mailed them about a month ago asking, among other things, whether Josh Collins was a citizen or could claim dual citizenship with another country.
Jessica said she tossed the letter because she and Josh “thought it was a scam.” – until the bank cut off access to their money.
Bank of America said it was standard practice to ask about citizenship status when opening a new account or updating customer information on an existing one.
“Like all financial institutions, we’re required by law to maintain complete and accurate records for all of our customers and may periodically request information, such as country of citizenship and proof of U.S. residency. This type of outreach is nothing new,” Bank of America said in a statement. “This information must be up to date and therefore we periodically reach out to customers, which is what we did in this case.”
But according to the California Bankers Association, the largest state affiliate of the national association, questions of citizenship are not federally required. “Not to our knowledge,” said the spokeswoman, Beth Mills….