Could Borat Get An FHA Loan?
June 11th, 2007
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You might imagine that from time to time Borat Sagdiyev – the invented and fictitious commentator from Kazakhstan — has opinions and notions which may get him in trouble with local authorities. He’s not alone, a lot of people would like to leave (or might have to leave) their current country of origin and many would surely like to come to the U.S.
This, of course, raises an important question: Can non-citizens get an FHA mortgage in our fair land?
The answer is that many can, but others not so much. Here’s what the FHA guidelines say:
Citizenship and Immigration Status. Citizenship of the United States is not required for eligibility. When a mortgage loan applicant indicates on the loan application that he or she holds something other than U.S. citizenship, the lender must determine residency status from the documentation provided by the borrower.
Lawful Permanent Resident Aliens: For those borrowers with lawful permanent resident alien status, FHA will insure the mortgage under the same terms and conditions as U.S. citizens. The lender must document the mortgage file with evidence of permanent residency and indicate on the Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) that the borrower is a lawful permanent resident alien. Evidence of lawful permanent residency is issued by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service) within the Department of Homeland Security.
Non-Permanent Resident Aliens: FHA will also insure a mortgage made to a non-permanent resident alien provided that the property will be the borrower’s principal residence, the borrower has a valid SSN, and the borrower is eligible to work in the U.S. as evidenced by an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) issued by BCIS. If the authorization for temporary residency status will expire within one year and a prior history of residency status renewals exists, the lender may assume continuation will be granted. If there are no prior renewals, the lender must determine the likelihood of renewal, based on information from the BCIS.
Although social security cards may indicate work status, such as “not valid for work purposes,” an individual’s work status may change without the change being reflected on the actual social security card. Therefore, the social security card is not to be used as evidence of work status for non-permanent resident aliens; the BCIS employment authorization document is to be used instead.
Non-U.S. Citizens with no lawful residency in the U.S. are not eligible for FHA-insured mortgages.
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June 21st, 2007 at 11:01 am
Great job of putting a contemporary (and humorous) twist on the subject. I like seeing FHA loans being made relevant to all different situations!
July 23rd, 2007 at 3:15 am
Thank you so much.
You see exactly what we’re trying to do here, to make the FHA program understandable.
October 6th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Thanks for the info but where can I find the legal document that supports it? It’s clear that for non-permanent residents the borrower must be eligible to work in the US but, must he also have an EAD? The reason why I ask is because you can be in legal work status (like an L-1 visa) but not necessarily need an EAD to work in US. Please advice
March 29th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
What about someone with an A-1 visa? (diplomat).
June 9th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Is a US citizen married to an undocumented immigrant eligible for an FHA loan?