Criterion Basics
As part of the loan application, each and every member of the entity that has to sign the Promissory Note will have to state their citizenship status. All applicants must be US citizens, US non-citizen nationals, or fit into the legal category qualified “alien.” This means that if any member of the applicant entity cannot meet the criteria, the FO loan application will not be approved.
All applicants must provide the FSA with photographic identification to prove their identity. If this document is not a passport, a second document will be required to demonstrate the person’s immigration status. Limited passports issued for periods of less than five years will not be acceptable documentation of immigration status.
A person’s immigration status cannot expire before the end of the loan term, either. Only in the case of a lawful permanent resident with a valid I-551 (green card) will the document’s expiration date have no bearing on the loan application. Otherwise, the immigration status must remain valid for all entity members throughout the period of the loan term.
Qualified Aliens
The law uses the antiquated language of ‘aliens’ to describe this group of immigrants. This diverse group can include green card holders, those granted asylum, refugees, Cuban/Haitian entrants, lawful permanent residents, and others. Each of these has different documentation requirements, but some general principles guide the FSA process.
First, as always, documentation of immigration status must be combined with satisfactory proof of identity. The document itself can establish proof of identity if it includes a photograph. Otherwise, some other form of identification that includes a photograph can be used.
The types of documents acceptable to prove one of the above immigration statuses come in ‘tiers.’ Unless a serious issue arises, FSA officers are instructed to accept the first tier of documents. Of course, the applicant can choose to provide any of these documents to establish immigration status. Just know that the FSA officer has been instructed to accept the first-tier documents and can only move up the tiers in certain circumstances (if first-tier documents are available for the particular immigration status). If the document provided from the first ‘tier’ does “not reasonably appear to be genuine or representative of the person providing the document,” then the FSA officer can ask for further documentation. At this point, the FSA officer can ask for documents in the second tier–registration documents. Once again, this second tier of documents must be accepted unless they do “not reasonably appear to be genuine or representative of the person providing the document.”
If the FSA officer is still unsatisfied, then the final step is verifying the applicant’s immigration status with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration (BCIS). Essentially, FSA would send the registration document provided to BCIS to verify. FSA officers should move through the tiers consecutively–they are not supposed to jump from a tier 1 document to tier 3, verification with BCIS, unless the applicant is unable to provide a registration document (tier 2).
Any decisions made by the FSA officer to ask for a document in the next tier up must be made for non-discriminatory reasons. Applicants working with an FSA officer to establish their status as a qualified “alien” should be familiar with the documentation officers can request. If an FSA officer requests a document in the second tier or even goes on to the third tier of verification, ask them to articulate why they doubt the authenticity of the document previously provided. Memorialize your conversation in some way to create a record of the FSA officer’s actions.
If an owner of the business does not have an immigration status that meets the FSA requirements, that member will need to step down from ownership in the business until the loan is fully paid off.
Table First and Second Tier Acceptable Immigration Status Documentation for FSA Applicants
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First Tier |
Second Tier (Registration Documents) |
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Lawful Permanent Resident |
● Unexpired temporary I-551 stamp in foreign passport |
● Unexpired temporary I-551 stamp on BCIS I-94 form ● BCIS form I-551, i.e., ‘greencard’ |
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Asylee |
● Grant letter from the Asylum Office of BCIS ● Order of an immigration judge granting asylum |
● BCIS Form I-94 annotated with stamp showing grant of asylum under Sec. 208 of INA ● BCIS Form I-688B annotated “274a.12(a)(5)” ● BCIS Form I-766 annotated “A5”
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Refugee |
● BCIS Form I-571 |
● BCIS Form I-94 annotated with stamp showing admission under Sec. 207 of INA ● BCIS Form I-688B annotated “274a.12(a)(3) ● BCIS Form I-776 annotated “A3” |
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Paroled into the US for a Least 1 Year |
N/A |
● BCIS form I-94 with stamp showing admission for at least 1 year under Sec. 212(d)(5) of INA |
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Deportation or Removal Withheld |
● Order from an immigration judge showing deportation withheld under Sec. 243(h) of INA or removal withheld under Sec. 241(b)(3) of INA. |
● BCIS form I-688B annotated “274a.12(a)(10) ● BCIS Form I-766 annotated “A10” |
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Conditional Entry |
N/A |
● BCIS Form I-94 with stamp showing admission under Sec 203(a)(7) of INA ● BCIS Form I-688B annotated “274a.12(a)(3)” ● BCIS Form I-766 annotated “A3” |
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Cuban/Haitian Entrant |
● Unexpired temporary BCIS I-551 stamp in foreign passport ● BCIS Form I-94 with stamp showing parole as “Cuban/Haitian Entrant” under Section 212(d)(5) of INA |
● BCIS Form I-551 (green card) with code “CU6,” “CU7,” or “CH6.” ● Unexpired temporary BCIS I-551 stamp on BCIS form I-94 with code “CU6” or “CU7.” |