I'm trying to open an account at a local US credit union as a Canadian international student with no US income. Their terms of service (which appear to be copy-pasted from a template) say
we require you to provide us with your TIN and to certify that it is correct.
However, later the agreement says
There are special rules if you do not have a TIN but have applied for one, if you are a foreign person, or if you are exempt from the reporting requirements
The tellers at the branch refused to open an account without a TIN/ITIN/SSN. I called the manager and she talked all the way up to the CEO. Apparently any idiot can open a credit union without knowing what they're doing, because nobody knows what this means.
Some internet searching reveals that the MIT Federal Credit Union allows international students to open an account using form W8-BEN. I tried presenting this to my local credit union and they claimed they had never seen one before.
My question is: what are the regulations regarding foreign persons and can this bank legally deny me an account because I do not have (and cannot legally get) an ITIN or SSN?
Follow-up: I can legally get an ITIN under Exception 1c, but to do it I need a letter from the bank stating that I have opened an account with them