If you opened a secured credit card with your ITIN to start building U.S. credit history, at some point you are going to ask a very practical question: where does my deposit go, and how do I get it back? For most issuers, your ITIN status changes nothing. There are two standard paths, one issuer-specific wrinkle worth knowing, and specific timelines you should understand before deciding how to proceed.
Do ITIN holders actually get their secured card deposit refunded?
A question we hear often:
Yes, fully. The deposit is refundable whether you applied with an ITIN or an SSN. The issuer held your deposit as collateral while your credit history was being established; once that risk is resolved through graduation or account closure, the money comes back to you.
A security deposit on a credit card is a one-time, refundable deposit that acts as collateral to open the account, and it typically equals the credit limit. What determines whether you get it back is your payment behavior and account standing, not your tax identification number.
What are the two ways to get my deposit back?
Generally, you can get your security deposit back by paying off the balance and closing the account, or by upgrading to an unsecured card. The exact mechanics depend on your issuer’s policies.
Here is how each path works:
Path 1: Graduate to an unsecured card. After a set period of responsible use, the issuer reviews your account and converts it to an unsecured product. On graduation, the deposit is usually returned as a statement credit on your new account.
Path 2: Close the account. Once you have built your credit score with the secured card, you can close the account or upgrade with the same issuer if that option exists. The trade-off with closing is that it shortens your average account age, which can briefly pull your credit score down. Where graduation is available, it is the better move for your credit profile.
How long does it actually take, issuer by issuer?
This one comes up a lot:
Timelines differ meaningfully across the issuers that accept ITINs. The table below reflects current data for 2026.
| Issuer | Graduation Timeline | Deposit Returned How | ITIN Graduation? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital One | Credit-line review ~month 6; account conversion months 11-16 | Statement credit on new card | Yes |
| Bank of America | Periodic reviews, no fixed schedule | Check within 2 billing cycles + 10 days | Yes |
| Citi Secured Mastercard | Minimum 18 months | Check or statement credit | SSN required to graduate |
| OpenSky Secured | No automatic graduation path | Close account to recover deposit | Yes (close only) |
| Self Visa | Deposit freed when credit-builder savings reach threshold | Applied to your credit-builder balance | Yes |
Discover it Secured runs automatic monthly reviews starting at the seventh statement. Most cardholders who pay every statement in full and keep utilization under 30% graduate between months 7 and 13. The account number, opening date, and credit history all carry forward. The deposit comes back by ACH, typically within 7-14 business days.
For Capital One, the first stage is a credit-line increase, which can arrive as early as month 6 and often shows up around months 7 or 8. Account conversion to an unsecured card typically follows between months 11 and 16.
For Citi, a secured card can become unsecured as soon as 18 months after opening. ITIN-only holders face a specific barrier there, covered in the next section.
What is the Citi caveat that catches ITIN holders off guard?
Readers frequently ask:
Citi’s Secured Mastercard lists an SSN or ITIN among the identity fields, making it a workable option for ITIN holders, though applicants without an SSN may be routed to phone or branch verification rather than completing the process fully online. The bigger issue comes later: graduating to an unsecured card requires a valid SSN on file. An ITIN-only holder can open the card and build credit, but the graduation path stays blocked until they obtain an SSN.
That is a meaningful distinction. If you open the Citi Secured Mastercard with only an ITIN and your visa category does not make you eligible for an SSN, your only route to deposit recovery is closing the account. If you do obtain an SSN later, you can update your Citi profile and then request a graduation review once you hit the 18-month mark.
The practical takeaway: if you want the smoothest deposit-recovery experience as an ITIN-only holder, Capital One and Bank of America are safer choices because neither requires an SSN specifically for the graduation step. See our issuer-by-issuer comparison for a fuller breakdown of which banks accept ITINs at each stage of the card lifecycle.
What behavior actually triggers graduation reviews?
Issuers do not graduate accounts automatically after a fixed number of months. They review your overall account behavior. If you have made payments on time consistently for roughly 12-18 months, kept your credit utilization at or below 30%, and built your score to meet the issuer’s threshold, you should have no problem upgrading, assuming your issuer has unsecured options available.
For ITIN holders building credit from zero, the score threshold is a real consideration. A first FICO score typically appears after about 6 months of activity. VantageScore can appear sooner, but most lenders still rely on FICO. That means the earliest you can realistically expect a graduation review is around month 7, once a FICO score exists for the issuer to evaluate. Keep utilization below 30% on your ITIN credit card, pay the statement balance in full each month, and confirm your card is reporting to all three bureaus. Check our guide on does your ITIN credit card report to all three bureaus if you are unsure.
What happens to my deposit if I miss payments or the account defaults?
You will lose your money if the account defaults. The issuer closes the account and applies your deposit to the unpaid balance. If the balance is smaller than the deposit, you get the difference back, but the account closure and any delinquencies will show up on your credit file.
If the balance exceeds the deposit, you owe the difference, and the damage to your credit profile is real. Protecting the deposit is straightforward: pay at least the minimum on time every single month.
Can I speed up graduation by adding more money to my deposit?
No. A larger deposit gives you a potentially higher credit limit, but it does not move up the review timeline. What the issuer evaluates is your payment behavior and creditworthiness, not the size of the collateral.
That said, a higher credit limit does make it easier to keep utilization low, which does help your graduation odds. If that is the goal, adding to your deposit is a legitimate tactic for that specific reason. With the Citi Secured Mastercard, for example, you can choose a deposit between $200 and $2,500. A larger deposit means a higher limit, which makes staying under 30% utilization easier even with regular spending.
How is the deposit actually returned when graduation happens?
When you upgrade or close your account, the issuer refunds your deposit as a check, a statement credit, or a bank account credit. The specific method varies by issuer:
Capital One: On graduation, the deposit is credited directly to the new unsecured card account within a few billing cycles.
Bank of America: If you pay your balance in full and close the account, the deposit is returned by check. This can take up to two billing cycles plus ten days.
Discover: Once you qualify, Discover processes the refund within 4-6 business days, then mails a check. Most cardholders receive it within 7-10 business days.
In all cases, any unpaid balance is subtracted from the refund. Clear the balance to zero before initiating a closure so you receive the full amount.
Should I close my secured card or graduate it once I qualify for an unsecured card?
A question we hear often:
Graduating is almost always the better move. Closing a secured card decreases your overall available credit and shortens your credit history, both of which can pull your score down. When you graduate, the account number and opening date stay the same, so your length of credit history is preserved. Your available credit goes up and your utilization ratio typically improves.
If your issuer does not have an unsecured product you want, or if graduation is blocked (as with Citi for ITIN-only holders), closing and applying elsewhere is perfectly reasonable. Just make sure you have already been approved for a replacement card before closing, so there is no gap in your credit profile. You can explore the best options in our guide to upgrading from a secured to unsecured credit card with an ITIN.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does having an ITIN instead of an SSN delay my secured card deposit refund? No. The refund timeline is governed by your issuer’s graduation policy, not by whether you used an ITIN or SSN. Once you meet the issuer’s requirements (on-time payments, low utilization, good standing), your deposit is refunded on the same schedule as any other cardholder.
Can I get my Capital One secured card deposit back with an ITIN? Yes. Capital One reviews accounts for a credit-line increase as early as month 6 and typically converts eligible accounts to unsecured cards between months 11 and 16. The deposit is refunded as a statement credit on graduation, or by check within 2 billing cycles if you close the account instead.
Will Citi refund my secured card deposit if I only have an ITIN? Citi allows ITIN holders to open and use the Citi Secured Mastercard, but graduation to an unsecured card requires a valid SSN on file. If you never obtain an SSN, your only path to a deposit refund is to close the account once your balance is zero.
What happens to my secured card deposit if the issuer closes my account for missed payments? If your account goes into default, the issuer applies your deposit to the unpaid balance. Any remaining amount may be refunded, but if the balance exceeds the deposit, you will owe the difference and your credit profile will take a serious hit.
How long does it take to receive a secured card deposit refund after closing the account? Refund timing varies by issuer. Discover typically processes a refund within 4-6 business days of approval, then mails a check within 7-10 business days. Capital One sends a check about 2 billing cycles after account closure. Bank of America can take up to 2 billing cycles plus 10 days.