text: bad credit question - usa? i may return to the usa after 11 years but i had some payment to shop cards  (jc penney) and one telephone charge that i did not pay.  the amount i owed cards jc penney + telephone is around $1700.  i also had a bounced check. i left us in 1996.  i had other cards that i paid and closed all other accounts.  i checked couple of days back my credit report through experian and i did not have any negative points.  instead, the records that i closed some of my credit cards without being late is however mentioned as good standing.  but there was no mention of my closed bank account.  would this mean that the previous money that i owed is dropped ?    my question is:    1.  if i come back to the us, any problems in opening a bank account ?  2.  obtaining credit cards - will there be any issue ?  3. is experian a reputed agency ?  5.  if i lived in a particular state during my stay in us, would experian not capture the entire history ?  please let me know. thanks suk the bad check would be my biggest worry, it is possible that a warrant for your arrest was issued, depending on local/state laws. which could still be outstanding, i would definitely check, i'd hate to get pulled over for a minor traffic violation or check check upon reentry by customs and find out i had an outstanding warrant for my arrest, even though the charges are minor and would probably only involve paying a fine and/or monies owed, it would be a big hassle. i'd check on it and clear it up before my return, if i were you.  experian is one of the big 3 credit reporting agencies along with trans-union and equifaq. you should check all 3 to get an accurate picture of your credit in the us. also credit scores are available from all 3 (which will vary up to 40 points from place to place) and the average score is 675. anything 675 and up you should have no problem with getting a credit card, bank account, etc.   oh one more place to check is chex systems, they are kind of like a credit reporting agency except the keep records of people who have accounts closed at banks due to overdrafts and similar situations. many large and local banks will not open an account for you if you have been reported to chex systems, although a quick internet search of "bank account no chex systems" will return several internet banks that will open account (usually with less favorable terms and higher fee's) even if you have been reported to chex.  in my opinion most of these problems would have disappeared after 11 years, long ago written off, execpt for the bad check.  good luck.