Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is preparing banks to collect citizenship data

Key Takeaways

• It has been reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is preparing guidance for banks to collect customers' citizenship or immigration status.
• Collecting citizenship data would be a change to current bank Customer Identification Programs (CIP) that already require name, address, date of birth and taxpayer ID for anti‑money‑laundering (AML) purposes.
• The proposal could affect noncitizens opening or maintaining bank accounts — including green card holders, visa holders (H, L, F, etc.), asylum seekers and DACA recipients — and raises privacy and discrimination concerns.
• Any new rule would likely require formal rulemaking with public comment and take months to implement; banks would need systems and training changes that could slow account openings.

What was reported

It has been reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is preparing the banking sector to begin collecting customers’ citizenship or immigration status, according to coverage in CNBC. The report says the move would expand the kinds of identity data banks gather when opening accounts beyond the existing Customer Identification Program (CIP) requirements enforced under federal anti‑money‑laundering rules. These are early signals rather than a finalized regulation; details on which accounts, customers or data fields would be covered have not been released publicly.

Legal and policy context

Banks already collect identifying information (name, date of birth, address, Social Security or taxpayer ID) under CIP rules administered by FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, part of the Treasury). Adding citizenship status would be a substantive change and, if pursued, would typically require notice‑and‑comment rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act. That process includes a public comment period and can be delayed or altered before any requirement becomes effective. Implementation would also impose compliance costs on banks — new forms, IT changes, staff training and updated vendor processes — which can translate into slower onboarding for customers.

What this means for immigrants and visa holders

For everyday people trying to immigrate or maintain legal status, the practical impacts could be immediate and tangible. Noncitizens often rely on bank accounts to receive wages, pay rent and meet municipal requirements; additional documentation requests could create new administrative hurdles. There are also concerns about privacy and whether citizenship data could be shared more widely or used in ways that deter banking access for immigrant communities. Immigrants and visa holders should be prepared to show identity documents (passport, green card, employment authorization) when opening accounts and ask banks how the data will be used and protected. If a formal rule is proposed, affected individuals, advocates and banks will have the opportunity to comment during the rulemaking period.

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