Leaving the US After OPT or H-1B: The Money Checklist for Bank Accounts, Cards, Credit, 401(k) and HSA

Close the wrong account first and you can lose your US credit history, your refund route or an easy 401(k) rollover. Here is the order that keeps every door open on OPT or H-1B.

Leaving the US permanently after OPT or H-1B? On a financial checklist, the order matters more than the list. As of November 1, 2026, the sequence that keeps the most options open is: about 90 days out, get your bank's written answer on keeping the account with a foreign address, pick the no-annual-fee card you will keep, and choose your 401(k) path while you still have a US address. About 30 days out, settle the HSA, FSA, phone number and transfer route. In the final week, change your address in person at a Post Office and freeze your credit.

Status as of 2026-11-01. In effect: the 1% federal excise on cash-funded remittances (since 2026-01-01) and the discretionary grace period of up to 60 days for H-1B and other workers. Scheduled for 2027: HSA limits of $4,500 self-only and $9,000 family (Rev. Proc. 2026-24). Not published: 2027 401(k) and IRA limits. Proposed only: eliminating the worker grace period (comments close 2026-11-10; check the Federal Register for the outcome after that date). Blocked: the duration-of-status rule (by a federal court since 2026-09-14; DHS's appeal is pending), so the F-1 60-day grace period still applies.

What is the financial checklist for leaving the US permanently?

Keep one US checking account and one no-fee credit card on autopay, choose a 401(k) path before you lose your US address, keep the HSA for medical costs, download your Social Security earnings record, keep a US phone number for login codes, change addresses with USPS and the IRS, freeze your credit, then file the departure-year return.

Leaving the US permanently: the financial checklist by account (as of November 2026)

How much time do you have before you leave?

Your immigration status sets the window. On F-1 OPT, the 60-day grace period after OPT ends still applies, because a federal court has blocked the duration-of-status rule since 2026-09-14. While OPT is still running, the unemployment limit is 90 days, or 150 days in aggregate on STEM OPT (SEVP unemployment counter page). On H-1B, a discretionary grace period of up to 60 days after employment ends (or until your authorized stay ends, if sooner) is in effect.

DHS has only proposed eliminating the worker grace period (RIN 1615-AD22; comments close 2026-11-10), and the proposal does not cover F-1 or OPT. Because several steps need you in the US, start the 90-day list the week you decide, and confirm your last day with your DSO (OPT) or an immigration attorney (H-1B).

T-minus 90 days: the decisions that need a US address

1. Ask your bank in writing whether your checking account can stay open with a residential address in your destination country. Some banks restrict or close accounts once a foreign address is on file; if yours will, open one at a bank that says yes while you can still visit a branch.
2. Request your 401(k) plan's distribution options and summary plan description. Ask whether former employees can stay, whether small balances are cashed out automatically, and how an outstanding loan is handled.
3. Open a rollover IRA now if you plan to roll over, while you have a US address, and ask the brokerage whether it serves residents of your destination country.
4. Check your HSA custodian's rules on foreign addresses, card use abroad and reimbursements.
5. Download your earnings record from your my Social Security account on ssa.gov and compare each year with your W-2s.
6. Pull your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com; the FTC says all three bureaus have permanently extended free weekly reports there.
7. List every account that texts codes to your US number: banks, cards, 401(k) and HSA portals, payroll, email and your IRS online account.

T-minus 30 days: cards, phone, HSA and moving money

1. Close fee cards and keep one: your oldest no-annual-fee card, with one small recurring charge and autopay in full from US checking.
2. Move logins to an authenticator app where allowed, and port your US number to a low-cost plan you can keep abroad. Some banks refuse internet-based (VoIP) numbers for codes, so test a replacement number with each account first.
3. Spend down your health FSA before coverage ends, and book last US dental, vision and prescription refills; the HSA can pay for these too.
4. Submit the 401(k) paperwork (direct-rollover forms, or confirmation that the balance stays) while plan mail still reaches a US address.
5. Pick your transfer route home. The IRS applies the 1% remittance tax when the sender pays "with cash, a money order, a cashier's check, or a similar physical instrument" (Form 720 instructions); bank-account and card-funded transfers fall outside that. See our guide to the 1% remittance tax.
6. Book a sailing-permit appointment if you need one. The IRS departing alien clearance page exempts F-1, F-2, H-3, H-4, J-1, J-2 and Q-1 holders whose only US income is of listed kinds, such as "income from employment authorized under U.S. immigration laws"; H-1B is not on the list. Appointments: 844-545-5640. You cannot apply earlier than 30 days before departure, and the IRS says to get the permit at least 2 weeks before you leave.
7. Tell payroll where final pay goes and how you will get your W-2, and ask HR in writing about unvested stock, ESPP and accrued time off.

T-minus 7 days: address, credit freeze and records

1. File your USPS change of address in person. USPS is explicit: "If you're going to move outside the United States, before you leave the U.S., you must go to a Post Office location to verify your identity and submit your change of address request in person" (USPS).
2. File IRS Form 8822 once you know your new address; the IRS says you use it "to notify the Internal Revenue Service of a change to your home mailing address" (About Form 8822).
3. Update your address everywhere else. Do not list a friend's US address as your residence unless the account terms allow it; a wrong residence can get an account closed.
4. Freeze your credit at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The FTC says a freeze costs nothing to place or lift and "doesn't affect your credit score"; while it is on, "nobody can open a new credit account in your name, including you." Save each bureau's login so you can lift it from abroad.
5. Download records: statements, pay stubs, past returns and W-2s, 401(k) and HSA statements and receipts, and your I-94 history. Keep recovery codes offline.

After you land: the from-abroad checklist

1. Log in to every account in your first week abroad and confirm the codes arrive.
2. Give US banks and brokers a Form W-8BEN once you are a nonresident alien; it goes "to the withholding agent or payer if you are a foreign person" (About Form W-8BEN). Ask a tax professional when your residency ends.
3. Watch for tax forms that arrive after you leave: the W-2, 1099s, a 1099-R for any 401(k) payout, and HSA forms.
4. File the departure-year return the following year; it often splits the year between resident and nonresident status; see our guide to your last US tax return after you leave.
5. Check whether an FBAR is due for a year in which you were a US person (resident aliens count) and your foreign accounts topped $10,000 in aggregate; it is due April 15, with an automatic extension to October 15 (IRS FBAR page). Our FBAR and FATCA guide for visa holders explains who counts.

Can I keep my US bank account after leaving the US?

Often, yes, but the bank decides, and the answer can depend on which country you move to. Ask in writing before you leave and keep the reply.

The reason to keep one is practical: the IRS says a refund "should only be deposited directly into a United States bank or United States bank affiliated accounts" (IRS direct deposit page), and final pay, 401(k) or HSA payments and your card's autopay need one too. An account left untouched long enough can be classed as dormant and handed to a state unclaimed-property program, so keep something moving through it.

Should I close my US credit cards before moving abroad?

Close the cards with annual fees and keep your oldest no-annual-fee card. Closing every card leaves your file with no open, active account, so a return on a new H-1B, an L-1 or a green card would start from a thinner history. A US credit file is tied to your SSN and generally does not carry over to another country's bureaus. Ask the issuer whether a foreign address is allowed before you change it; if it is not, closing the card on your own terms beats having it closed for a residence mismatch.

How do I keep my US credit score alive from abroad?

Keep the one card in use. Put a single small subscription on it, pay the full statement by autopay from your US checking account, and log in every month or two so the issuer sees activity and you see any fraud. Check your reports at AnnualCreditReport.com a few times a year, and keep the freezes in place until you need new US credit. Our guide to building US credit history as an international explains which habits feed the score.

What should I do with my 401(k) when I leave the US?

Leave it in the plan, roll it to an IRA, or cash it out. The first two defer tax; the third usually means income tax plus a 10% additional tax before 59 1/2, unless an exception applies. On rollovers, IRS Topic 558 says: "Distributions that aren't taxable, such as distributions that you roll over to another qualified retirement plan, aren't subject to this 10% additional tax" (IRS Topic 558).

Withholding is a prepayment, not necessarily the final tax; a return reconciles the difference, and a tax professional can say whether you need one. Treaty rates are covered in our guide to what happens to your 401(k) when you leave the US. If you have a 401(k) loan, ask the plan for its repayment deadline before your last day.

What happens to my HSA after I leave the US?

It stays yours. IRS Publication 969 says: "An HSA is 'portable.' It stays with you if you change employers or leave the work force" (Publication 969). It still pays qualified medical expenses, including some abroad: Publication 502 allows a prescribed drug you "purchase and consume in another country" if it is legal there and in the US.

Other withdrawals are taxed as income and may owe an additional 20%, with no additional tax after you are disabled, reach 65, or die. New contributions need HDHP coverage, which usually ends with the job. Limits are $4,400 self-only and $8,750 family for 2026, and $4,500 and $9,000 for 2027 (Rev. Proc. 2026-24), prorated by the months you were eligible. Your new country may not treat an HSA as tax-free, so ask a tax professional how both countries tax withdrawals before you rely on it abroad.

What happens to my Social Security record when I leave?

Nothing closes; the credits stay on your record. One credit takes $1,890 of earnings in 2026 and $1,970 in 2027 (SSA notice, 2026-10-26). SSA assigns credits from the year's total earnings (POMS RS 00301.230), and fully insured status takes no more than 40 credits (POMS RS 00301.105). If your SSN was first assigned on or after January 1, 2004, the credits support benefits only if an SSN was issued to you for work purposes (or you were once admitted as a B-1 visitor or D crewman) (POMS RS 00301.102); in our reading, an SSN issued for H-1B or OPT work meets that test.

The US has 31 totalization agreements, the newest with Romania from 2026-09-01, and none with India or China (POMS GN 01701.005). Leaving does not turn H-1B Social Security tax into a refund. OPT differs: F-1 students who are still nonresident aliens are exempt from FICA on authorized work, and tax withheld in error is reclaimed from the employer first, then with Form 843 and Form 8316 (IRS foreign student FICA page). Our guide to Social Security credits and totalization agreements covers claiming benefits from abroad.

Do I need to tell the IRS I moved abroad?

There is no general move-abroad notice. The IRS needs a current mailing address (Form 8822), a sailing permit if you are not exempt, a W-8BEN with US payers once you are a nonresident, and your returns.

Leave early in 2027 and you file two returns from abroad: the 2026 return, then the 2027 departure-year return in 2028. The form depends on your residency that year: an H-1B worker who met the substantial presence test for 2026 usually files Form 1040 for it, while a nonresident files Form 1040-NR. For tax year 2026, a 1040-NR filer who had wages subject to US income tax withholding files by 2027-04-15, and one who did not files by 2027-06-15, by our arithmetic from the current Form 1040-NR instructions (the 2026 edition is not posted yet). A tax professional who handles nonresident returns can confirm which applies to you.

A worked timeline: an H-1B worker flying out on January 30, 2027

A hypothetical worker: last day Friday 2027-01-22, flight Saturday 2027-01-30.

Common mistakes

• Closing every card, including the oldest. You lose the account that would anchor your file on a return.
• Cashing out the 401(k) on the way to the airport without checking the 10% additional tax and the nonresident withholding.
• Waiting until you are abroad to change your USPS address or open a rollover IRA.
• Letting the US number lapse. One lost text code can lock you out of payroll, the 401(k) portal and your bank at once.
• Assuming leaving ends US filing. H-1B is not on the sailing-permit exemption list, and US wages in the departure year usually mean a return for that year.

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep my US bank account after leaving the US?

Often yes, but it depends on the bank and your new country, so ask in writing before you leave whether the account can stay open with a foreign address. One US checking account is worth keeping because the IRS direct-deposits refunds only into US bank or US bank-affiliated accounts, and your final pay and any 401(k) payments need somewhere to land.

Should I close my US credit cards before moving abroad?

Close cards with annual fees, but consider keeping your oldest no-annual-fee card open with one small recurring charge paid in full on autopay. That keeps your US credit history active for a future return. Ask the issuer first whether a foreign address is allowed, because some issuers restrict or close accounts without a US address.

What should I do with my 401(k) and HSA when I leave the US?

A 401(k) can usually stay in the plan, roll to an IRA or be cashed out; a rollover avoids the 10% additional tax that generally applies before 59 1/2 unless an exception applies, and a nonresident's cash-out generally faces 30% or treaty-rate withholding. An HSA stays yours for qualified medical expenses, but non-medical withdrawals before 65 generally owe income tax plus a 20% additional tax. The 2027 HSA limits are $4,500 self-only and $9,000 family (Rev. Proc. 2026-24).

How do I keep my US credit score alive from abroad?

Keep one no-annual-fee card active with a small recurring charge on autopay from a US bank account, and check your reports at AnnualCreditReport.com, where the FTC says all three bureaus offer free weekly reports. A credit freeze at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion is free, stops anyone, including you, from opening new credit in your name until you lift it, and does not affect your score.

Do I need to tell the IRS I moved abroad?

There is no general move-abroad notice. The IRS uses Form 8822 for a change of mailing address, US banks and brokers ask for Form W-8BEN once you are a nonresident, and the departure-year return still falls due. H-1B is not on the IRS list of visa classes exempt from the sailing permit, which cannot be requested earlier than 30 days before departure.

Sources

• IRS, Topic 558, additional tax on early distributions
• IRS, Publication 969, HSAs, and Publication 502, medical expenses
• IRS, Rev. Proc. 2026-24 (2027 HSA limits)
• IRS, Instructions for Form 720 (remittance transfer tax)
• IRS, Departing alien clearance (sailing permit)
• IRS, About Form 8822, About Form W-8BEN, FBAR, direct deposit of refunds, Form 1040-NR instructions
• SSA, 2027 cost-of-living and earnings notice; POMS RS 00301.230, RS 00301.105, RS 00301.102, GN 01701.005
• IRS, Foreign student liability for Social Security and Medicare taxes
• SEVP, Unemployment counter (SEVIS Help Hub)
• FTC, Free credit reports and Credit freezes and fraud alerts
• USPS, Change of address
• Federal Register, Eliminating the discretionary 60-day grace period (proposed)

How we checked this: we read the IRS, SSA, SEVP, FTC, USPS and Federal Register pages listed above on 2026-11-01. The due-date and timeline arithmetic is ours and is labelled as such.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your own I-20, I-94 and approval notice govern; ask your DSO about F-1 and OPT dates, an immigration attorney about H-1B status, and a tax professional who handles nonresident returns about your filings.

If you would rather make one more focused push for a sponsoring employer before you book the flight, F1Jobs works with OPT, STEM OPT and H-1B candidates on targeted job searches.