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Mortgage Merlin
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ITIN & newcomer mortgage path finder

Mainstream mortgage tools assume an SSN and a thick credit file. This one doesn’t. Answer seven questions about your status, history, and income — we’ll point you to the programs actually open to you.

Step 1 of 7

What's your immigration / residency status?

ITIN holder — no Social Security number
DACA recipient (have an SSN)
Work visa — H-1B, O-1, L-1, or TN
Green card / lawful permanent resident
U.S. citizen

How this path finder works

There’s no single “immigrant mortgage” — the right program depends on whether you have a Social Security number, how long you’ve been in the U.S., your tax-filing and credit history, and how you earn. A DACA recipient with an SSN has very different options than an ITIN holder with foreign income, even though both are often told “you can’t buy a home.” Usually, you can.

The finder maps your answers to the most likely path: a standard conventional or FHA loan where you qualify for one, an ITIN portfolio loan where you don’t, or a preparation roadmap when building credit and tax history comes first. The logic follows published agency rules (FHA accepts DACA and many non-permanent residents; conventional allows non-permanent resident aliens with work authorization) and common ITIN-program standards.

How it works, in four steps

  1. Identify your status and ID. Note whether you have a Social Security number or an ITIN, and your immigration status (DACA, work visa, permanent resident, foreign national).
  2. Establish time in the U.S. and work authorization. How long you've been in the country and whether you're authorized to work shapes your conventional and FHA eligibility.
  3. Assess your credit and tax-filing history. A traditional credit score plus two years of tax filings open more programs; a thin or foreign credit file points toward ITIN portfolio loans.
  4. Match to your best-fit path. The finder maps your answers to a conventional or FHA loan, an ITIN portfolio loan, or a credit-and-tax-history preparation roadmap.
Educational, not legal advice. Immigration status interacts with lending in ways that depend on your specific documents. Use this to understand your options, then confirm with a licensed loan officer who works with ITIN and newcomer borrowers — and verify any lender on the NMLS Consumer Access database.

Want to see specific program archetypes by criteria? Use the non-QM loan finder, or read the full ITIN mortgage guide.