I recently opened a Charles Schwab checking account because Iโm sick of paying ATM fees abroad (been about 5 years now so it adds up). I did this online while I was in India. Everything went off fine opening the account online until a week or so later when I received a letter saying my account needed to be verified. No problem I thought, call the people up and answer a few questions. Wrong! Since I opened my account from a non-US IP, my SSN had been flagged. This requires in person verification! There is no way around this now. I asked if I VPNโd with a US IP and tried to open a new account would it work. The CSR said no, my SSN is now flagged and the only way for me to get an account at Charles Schwab is to go branch and verify my identify in person.
So this is word of warning for any US people opening bank accounts while abroad. I suggest you VPN to get a US IP when opening any account. Probably with a less well known VPN as well.
Good luck out there!