[paxys]

The root of the problem seems to be that the account has a non-functional phone number and you don't actually reside at the address listed on it (or even in the same state or country). I'm not surprised that it is raising red flags in their system. I'm pretty certain that they are running afoul of plenty of reporting and tax regulations by letting you continue to bank there.

I can't offer you advice for your present situation, but after it is resolved you need to move your money to a bank that lets you open an account with your up-to-date European address and phone number. Offering services to non-residents is a very complex topic for any financial institution, and many/most will not support it at all.

[tyoma]

I wish the OP a speedy return of their money but this sounds spot on. This is an edge case the Marcus customer support state machine does not handle and it will need the assistance of someone empowered to make Serious Decisions to resolve.

Right now they are probably trying to figure out when exactly they banked someone who was no longer a US person and what the consequences are.

[sherlock_h]

Yea that seems about right. My situation is similar to a US citizen living abroad though. They would face the exact same issues.

It‘s actually not the phone number that caused this issue, more likely doing a large withdrawal and not being able to „identify“ myself by having a US registered phone number.

[yieldcrv]

He’s only running afoul of a skittish company interpretation of reporting and tax regulations. That neither you can cite or anyone at the company because they don’t exist in that form.

All banks that inconvenience you “for security reasons” are like that.

[paxys]

Just because one doesn't know or understand all the banking regulations doesn't mean they don't exist. Tell me, did the OP file form W-8BEN with Goldman when they left the country, and was it forwarded to the IRS?

[rendaw]

W-8BEN doesn't appear to have anything to do with this. AFAICT it's a form to qualify for a lower withholding rate for US income.

[paxys]

Nope, every foreign resident with a US bank account has to file it with their bank. E.g. https://www.bbamericas.com/en/forms/w8-form-instructions/

[csomar]

There are no rules/laws that prohibits non-us persons from opening an account. Offshore banking is a thing in the US.

This is a tech problem where banks have very local support only. (ie: only US phone numbers).

[idontwantthis]

That’s not the core problem. OP accepted that fact and travelled to the US to fix it. The core problem is that the bank won’t send him a damn letter in the US.