Mortgages by visa & residency status
Your immigration status decides which loan programs are open to you, how lenders read your income and credit, and what down payment to expect. These guides go status by status — for work-visa holders, permanent residents, and newcomers building a life in the U.S.
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Mortgage for h-1b visa holders
Specialty-occupation workers with an SSN can usually get conventional loans on standard terms — the question is visa continuity, not eligibility.
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Mortgage for l-1 visa holders
Intracompany transferees with an SSN qualify like other work-visa holders — strong W-2 income, with continuity tied to the sponsoring employer.
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Mortgage for o-1 visa holders
Artists, founders and researchers on an O-1 often have an SSN but irregular or self-employed income — which decides the loan path.
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Mortgage for tn visa holders
Canadian and Mexican professionals under USMCA have an SSN and mainstream loan access — with renewal frequency the main lender question.
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Mortgage for green card holders
Lawful permanent residents are treated essentially like citizens — full access to every loan program with no visa-continuity questions.
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Mortgage for daca recipients
With a valid EAD and SSN, DACA recipients can access conventional financing — FHA's brief opening ended with a May 2025 policy change.
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Mortgage for foreign nationals
Non-resident buyers with no SSN use foreign-national loans — no U.S. credit required, foreign income accepted, larger down payments.
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Mortgage for refugees & asylees
Refugees and asylees with an EAD and SSN can finance a home — since the 2025 FHA change, the near-term paths run through conventional and…
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Mortgage for e-2 treaty investors
Every E-2 holder runs a business by definition — so the mortgage question is self-employed underwriting plus visa continuity, stacked.
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Mortgage for h-4 spouses with ead
H-4 income counts like anyone's while the EAD is valid — the underwriting story is the renewal chain: your EAD rides on the H-1B, which rides on…
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Mortgage for f-1 students on opt
Working on OPT with an SSN, a real salary — and a 12-to-36-month authorization window. Honest answer: buying is possible but hard, and timing…
Every visa and status guide above is grounded in these primary sources.