Does a non-permanent resident of the US have to close their credit cards before they leave the US?

Question

The background is the same as in my previous question:

I'm in the US on an F1 visa (and this will be the case for the next two years). I'm not sure whether I will take the path of staying in the US further or not; I may leave the US for good at the end of my studies, or I may leave the US for a few years for work and then return to the US for work (and subsequently find a way of staying here for good), or I may just continuously stay in the US after graduation (first for work, then finding a way toward permanent residency).

I was wondering what happens to the credit cards that I opened with US banks (specifically, with Chase) if I leave the US, especially if it's just for several (say 2-5) years. Am I supposed to close them before leaving the US? (I wouldn't like to do this, since if I end up moving to the US later, I'd have to build my credit history from scratch again; but I don't know what the rules are as to whether I can keep the cards, hence this question.)

Answer 1

There's no requirement that you close your credit cards, but there's also no requirements for banks to allow you keeping them. Closed credit cards stay on your credit history for 10 years (if positive history) or 7 years (if negative history), so just by closing the account the history doesn't immediately disappear.