Foreign National loans: documents and steps.
A Foreign National loan is a home loan program for a buyer who is not a U.S. citizen. OriginPoint lists Foreign National loans among its loan options. This page covers two things only: the documents a lender generally asks for, and the steps from the first call to closing. It quotes no rates.
Sam Batayneh is a mortgage loan originator (NMLS 332474) and VP of Mortgage Lending at OriginPoint (NMLS 1598647). Sam has originated mortgages since 2004 and lends in all of California.
What is a Foreign National loan?
A home loan program for a buyer who is not a U.S. citizen. The loan is a mortgage like any other. What differs is the paperwork that shows identity, income, credit and funds. Sam asks everyone the same document questions, whatever the country.
Most U.S. home loans are documented with U.S. papers: a Social Security number, U.S. tax returns, U.S. pay stubs and a U.S. credit report. A buyer whose records are held outside the United States may have none of those, or only some. A Foreign National loan program sets out what a lender will read in their place.
Which program fits can depend on your residency and visa status. A borrower with U.S. income, U.S. tax returns and a U.S. credit history may be documented much like any other borrower, on a conventional or jumbo loan. A borrower whose income and accounts are outside the United States is more likely to be looking at a Foreign National program. Tell Sam your status at the start, and Sam will tell you which papers apply.
This page describes documents and process only. Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act, a lender may not treat an applicant differently because of national origin. Every applicant is reviewed on the same things: identity, income, credit, funds and the home.
What documents does a lender ask for on a Foreign National loan?
Papers for four things: who you are, what you earn and hold, your credit record, and where the money to close comes from. This is a general list, not OriginPoint’s requirements.
Identity
A valid passport, and a visa where one applies. The name on every document should match the passport.
Income and savings
Documents from the United States or from outside it: pay records, a letter from an employer or an accountant, tax filings and account statements.
Credit
A U.S. credit history if you have one, or other records the lender accepts, such as a credit report or bank reference letters from outside the United States.
Funds to close
Statements that show where the down payment and closing costs come from, who owns the accounts, and how the money reaches the United States.
The home
The purchase contract, an appraisal, and how the home will be used: a main home, a second home or a rental.
Translations
Documents in another language usually need a translation the lender accepts. Ask before you pay for one, because lenders differ on who may prepare it.
Lenders differ on what they accept from outside the United States. Sam will tell you what OriginPoint needs for your situation.
What are the steps of a Foreign National loan?
The same steps as any home loan, with more time allowed for documents and for moving money. Six steps, in order.
A first conversation
Tell Sam your residency and visa status, where your income and accounts are, and what you want to buy. Sam tells you which program applies and what it reads.
Collecting documents
Passport and visa, income and account papers, and any translations. Documents from outside the United States take longer to gather, so this step starts first.
Application
You apply through Sam’s page at OriginPoint. The lender reviews the file and tells you what else it needs.
The home
With an accepted offer, the lender orders an appraisal and reviews the property and the title.
Moving funds
The down payment and closing costs are moved to the United States, with a paper trail from the account they started in.
Closing
You sign the loan papers. Ask early whether you need to be in the United States to sign, because the answer depends on the lender and the title company.
How do funds from outside the United States get to closing?
By bank transfer, with statements that show the money at each step. Allow extra time, because transfers between countries are reviewed along the way.
A lender follows money backward. It wants to see the funds in an account that is yours, for a period it sets, and then each move from that account to the escrow or title company handling the closing. A statement before and after each transfer is the usual evidence.
The value of one currency against another moves, so the amount that arrives in U.S. dollars can differ from the amount that was sent. Leave a margin. Banks on both sides can also hold a large transfer while they review it.
Money given by a relative is treated as a gift and has its own papers. Money borrowed elsewhere is a debt, and the lender will count it. Tell Sam where every part of the funds comes from, so that nothing comes up late in the file.
Tax and immigration questions are outside the loan. For those, ask your own tax adviser or immigration attorney.
Program names are OriginPoint’s. Which one fits depends on your own file, and naming a program here is not a promise that a loan will be approved. OriginPoint publishes its own conditions and disclosures for each program, and those apply in full: ask Sam for them.
Plain answers about Foreign National loans.
What is a Foreign National loan?
What documents does a lender ask for on a Foreign National loan?
Do you need a U.S. credit history for a Foreign National loan?
Can the down payment come from an account outside the United States?
Does a lender treat applicants differently by national origin?
General education only. Each lender sets its own rules, and they change. Nothing here is a promise that a loan will be approved or of any terms. This is not tax, legal or investment advice: for those questions, ask your own CPA, attorney or business manager.
Not sure which documents apply?
Tell Sam your residency and visa status and where your accounts are. Sam will give you the list, in plain words.