For years FHA was a common first stop for immigrant buyers, including many who were not permanent residents. That changed in 2025. HUD rewrote who can get an FHA-insured loan, and much of the advice still circulating online predates it. This page lays out the rule itself, straight from HUD's own documents.
On March 26, 2025, HUD issued Mortgagee Letter 2025-09 for FHA's main home loan programs and Title I Letter 490 for its Title I programs. Both remove the non-permanent resident category in its entirety, which ends FHA eligibility for borrowers who are not permanent residents. Title I Letter 490 adds a plain statement that non-U.S. citizens without lawful residency are not eligible for FHA-insured loans.
Lenders could apply the new rule immediately. It became mandatory for FHA case numbers assigned on or after May 25, 2025. HUD folded it into its handbook, where it now sits in the borrower eligibility rules at II.A.1.b.ii(A)(9).
Unchanged.
Eligible on the same requirements, terms and conditions as U.S. citizens, with evidence of permanent residence in the file.
Eligible on the same terms as U.S. citizens, with evidence of that citizenship.
Everyone else is outside FHA, including work visa holders, DACA recipients, and people with pending or temporary status. The handbook still says U.S. citizenship is not required - but after 2025 the only non-citizens it lists as eligible are the two groups above.
A Social Security card does not prove status. HUD's text says so directly. The lender determines residency from the application and other documentation.
It reaches beyond purchase loans. The letter applies to all of FHA's Title II forward mortgage programs and to HECM reverse mortgages, and it revised the streamline refinance sections too. Anyone planning an FHA refinance should confirm eligibility first rather than assume the old rules carry over.
Other programs did not follow automatically. Fannie Mae's rule for non-citizens was not changed by HUD's letter. That is why conventional lending is now where most non-permanent residents finance a home. See which programs fit which status, and if you hold a green card, the permanent resident path.
Sources: HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-09 and Title I Letter 490, both dated March 26, 2025; HUD Handbook 4000.1, Update 17 (11/26/2025), II.A.1.b.ii(A)(8) Citizenship and Immigration Status and (9) Residency Requirements. Not legal or immigration advice. Not a commitment to lend.
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