Hello all, new form member, 1st post, so if I should do this another way, please let me know.
Unique Situation, I am US citizen but have not stepped foot in the USA IN 24 years, just returned to San Diego, back then lived in La Jolla. So with NO Visible Work/Credit history, how do I get on of these short term leases? T-Mobile signed me up w new iPhone no deposit, as they said the Credit check “looked very good”, which is just because nothing bad shows.
Thank You
RJM
Go to MyFICO.com and pay for your 3 bureau score with Auto Enhancement.
Without a closed car loan/lease and a 24 year ghost you’re going to have trouble getting a lease, your bureau is unlikely to carry the collateral risk.
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Thanks for reply. so even with a verified new job, and a couple grand cash, would that work?
Again, thank you
RJM
If OP can afford, wondering whether one of the cheap one-pays available will help (de-risks it for the captive lender).
OP – when you say “one of these leases.” was there a particular vehicle segment or budget you had in mind? Are you open to EVs or PHEVs?
You have what would be called a very thin file for an auto lease.
TMo’s reaction is neither here nor there as they can shut off your service at no cost if you default (unlike an auto repo) and they probably have data showing that their iPhone is probably the last thing a customer defaults on these days.
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One-pays don’t help much, if at all.
A bit overly simplified, but if the RV is say 64% your financial obligation for the lease itself is 36% of the price car… but you’re renting the entire car.
Plus if the car gets returned with 50,000 extra miles and no windows, the lessor wants to know that you’ll pay the overage when you receive the invoice. The car could have damage that exceeds the value of the entire vehicle.
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I think best would be to have a family member or a very close friend cosign you on either a short term lease transfer from swapalease or a 13 month or 2 yr new lease. Your cosigner would need to have excellent credit history along with some auto loan history.
Believe it or not, employment history goes unchecked with most banks if credit history and auto loan history is excellent and at-least 3 - 5 years.
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Someone I know tried it with Chevy Blazer with a thin credit history but available cash for one-pay lease. The GM denied the application. I doubt @RJM3.0 would be able to lease a GM car.
What does your credit reports say your score is?
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No, unfortunately. Take the cash plus the minimum amount of an auto loan from a credit union 
buy a good used car.
You’ll build up the depth in your credit file needed to get a tier one lease approval in the future.
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Nothing hangs a new lease like a closed/paid-in-full auto loan fermenting on your bureaus.
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I wonder if one of those expat programs might work? the fact that the lessee is a citizen shouldn’t impact anything right?
Let me know how that works when you have time, 20 + years off and on in Costa Rica
There’s a few threads here started by expats in the US on work assignment and some mfgrs like BMW have lease programs specifically for them. Maybe those world work for you as well? I haven’t looked into it in detail myself.
Not my experience. Just 2 weeks ago I helped my son (with rebates and discounts, not co-signing), who is in college with no job, get a lease on an Equinox EV. He has no credit whatsoever, nothing bad or good but literally no credit score. GM refused to approve him for a lease with a $89/month payment, but had no problem approving him for a one-pay.
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There are ways for creditors to price certain risks into the cost of financing, and other factors like some limited influence a dealer has on a finance company..
I didn’t say never. 
Do you have anyone that would be willing to co-sign? That would get you into a lease. Once the lease term is done, you’ll be in a better position to try leasing without a co-signer.