Can a new US resident safely open a bank account as a non-resident?

Question

Fresh US immigrants that want to open up a bank account as soon as possible generally face impediments like needing to profile a proof of address/residency. This comes in the form of utility bills or other contracts older than 30/60 days, which immigrants who just landed for a few days, have no way of providing those.

Asking other people who have faced the same challenge, they said to try open up an account with a "non-resident" status and update the status after some time (few months). The reasoning behind this being that the conditions for opening an account as a non-resident are more relaxed.

I'm asking if declaring yourself to the bank as a non-immigrant when you are an immigrant, is safe from a legal point of view? *For example, LPR (Lawful Permanent Residents) must not declare themselves as non-residents when filling tax returns! (it's grounds for deportation).

Answer 1

No, you should certify your correct tax status when you open a bank account. I have never been asked to provide any proof of address, and I've opened several bank accounts. What you need to do is probably to shop around and consider opening in person in the branch and not online.