If your immigration status changes mid-process: mortgage and HUD

A work permit that expires, a green card that finally arrives, a TPS that ends, a parole that is renewed. Immigration status can change right when you are applying for a mortgage, when you already pay one, or when your family receives HUD housing assistance. This guide explains what the FHA, Fannie Mae and HUD rules say today at each of those three moments, what protection you have while HUD verifies your status or you appeal (24 CFR §5.514), and where to get free help.¹⁷ It is a fast-changing subject: the date of the last verification is above.

From case numbers assigned on this date, FHA no longer accepts non-permanent residents

May 25, 2025²

To appeal if HUD's verification does not confirm your status

30 days¹⁷

To receive the informal hearing decision in writing

14 days¹⁷

Of delinquency, as a general rule, before a servicer may make the first foreclosure filing

120 days¹⁰

Three moments, three different rules

The rules are not the same if you are applying, if you already signed, or if you receive HUD assistance. First find which one you are in.

Which rule applies at each moment

Before closing

You are applying for a mortgage

• FHA: the lender determines your status from the application and documentation; only permanent residents and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau.¹
• Fannie Mae: accepts lawful non-permanent residents; each lender decides which documents prove legal presence.³
• The lender may ask about your status and consider it.⁶⁷

After closing

You already pay the mortgage

• The residency rules cited speak of the application and of delivering the loan when it is originated.¹³
• Regulation X revolves around payment: contact if you fall behind and, with exceptions, no foreclosure filing before 120 days of delinquency.⁹¹⁰
• Refinancing is a new application: the residency rules apply again.²

Section 8, public housing

You receive HUD assistance

• Only citizens and noncitizens with eligible status; mixed families have options.¹³
• Verification goes through SAVE and then a manual search.¹⁶
• While verification or an appeal is pending, assistance may not be delayed, denied, reduced or terminated because of status.¹⁷

In all three cases, what matters is which document you hold today, what date it carries and whom you must tell.¹⁵

If you are applying for a mortgage

FHA. The FHA Handbook says citizenship is not required, but the lenderlenderThe lender is the financial institution that lends you the money for your mortgage. The mortgage is the agreement that gives the lender the right to take your home if you do not repay what it lent you. After closing, it is common for another company, the loan servicer, to collect your payments and keep track of the loan; it may be the same company that lent you the money or a different one. On the Loan Estimate, the lender's name appears on the first page, and the last page lists it as "Lender" with its NMLS or license number.See the full definitionClose must determine your residency status from the information on the application and other documentation. Today only lawful permanent residents are eligible, under the same terms as citizens, along with citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau. The file must include evidence of permanent residence, and a Social Security card is not enough to prove status.¹ That change comes from Mortgagee Letter 2025-09, which eliminated eligibility for non-permanent residents for case numbers assigned on or after May 25, 2025.² If your green cardPermanent Resident Card (green card)The Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551, known as a green card) is the document that shows a person is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, meaning they have the privilege of living here permanently as an immigrant. Under federal regulations, it serves as evidence of registration and shows the person may work without limits on location or type of job. The expiration date only shows when the card must be renewed; it does not mean the person's work authorization has ended. For the IRS, having this card makes you a resident for tax purposes.See the full definitionClose arrives mid-process, bring it to the lender and ask in writing how it goes into the file. If you had TPSTPS (Temporary Protected Status)Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a status created by a federal law, 8 U.S.C. 1254a. The government may designate a country, or part of one, when there is armed conflict, an environmental disaster or other extraordinary and temporary conditions that keep people from returning safely. The designation is published in the Federal Register and lasts a limited period that can be extended or ended. While a person has TPS, the law says they may not be removed and are authorized to work. Being from a designated country is not enough: the law sets other requirements.See the full definitionClose, paroleparole (immigration)In immigration, parole is permission to enter or stay in the United States temporarily. Federal law, 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5), lets the Secretary of Homeland Security grant it at their discretion, case by case, for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. The law says parole is not an admission to the country. When its purpose has been served, the person returns to the situation they were in and their case continues like that of any other applicant for admission. Under the regulation, parole ends automatically if the person leaves the country or the authorized time expires.See the full definitionClose or only a work permitEmployment Authorization Document (EAD)The Employment Authorization Document (EAD, Form I-766) is a photo document issued by the federal government to show that a person is authorized to work in the United States. Federal regulations say some people may work because of their status and others must apply for permission; in those cases USCIS decides and, if approved, the document is valid for a specific period. The EAD is one of the documents an employer may accept on Form I-9. When it expires, the employer must reverify that you can work. It is not the same as a permanent resident card.See the full definitionClose, the guide on TPS, parole and work permits explains what remains open.

Conventional loan. Fannie Mae accepts lawful permanent and non-permanent residents under the same terms as citizens, but it does not set which documents prove legal presence: each lender decides, case by case, and warrants to Fannie Mae that you are legally present when it delivers the mortgage.³ So if your permit expires before closing or your status changes, two lenders can answer differently under the same rule. Ask in writing and compare.

What the lender checks regardless. Each borrower needs a valid Social Security numberSocial Security number (SSN)A Social Security number (SSN) is the nine-digit number on a Social Security card. It is issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA), a federal agency, and you need it to work and to collect government benefits. The IRS also uses it as your taxpayer identification number on tax returns. You apply with Form SS-5 and proof of identity, age and U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status, and the service is free. People who must file taxes but cannot get an SSN use an ITIN. Identity thieves look for this number; the government advises keeping the card in a safe place and not carrying it in your wallet.See the full definitionClose or an ITINITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number)An ITIN is a nine-digit number the IRS, the federal tax agency, issues to people who need a U.S. taxpayer identification number to file taxes and are not eligible for a Social Security number. It is for tax purposes only: it does not authorize you to work in the United States, does not qualify you for Social Security benefits or the Earned Income Tax Credit, and says nothing about your immigration status. You apply with Form W-7, and it expires if it goes unused for several years. Some lenders accept an ITIN for a mortgage.See the full definitionClose, and the lender confirms your identity before extending credit.⁴ Your income must be stable and reasonably expected to continue; a non-citizen gets the same employment and income verification as a citizen.⁵ A work permit with a near expiration date can fall under that question of whether income continues. Gather your papers with the document checklist.

What it may ask you. Regulation B lets the lender ask about your residency and immigration status,⁶ and consider them along with the information it needs about how it would collect the loan; what it may not consider is your race, color, religion, national originnational originNational origin is one of the characteristics the Fair Housing Act protects. According to the Department of Justice, national origin discrimination can be based on the country where you were born or where your ancestors came from. The law prohibits refusing to sell or rent you a home, setting different terms or publishing ads that state a preference based on your national origin. According to the CFPB, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act also prohibits lenders from discriminating against you because of your national origin when you apply for credit, such as a mortgage.See the full definitionClose or sex.⁷ The equal credit law bans discrimination on those grounds in any aspect of the loan.⁸ If you think you were treated differently because of your origin and not your document, the guide on lending discrimination explains how to report it.

If you already pay the mortgage

The residency rules you just read speak of the moment the loan is originated: FHA, of the information “on the mortgage application”; Fannie Mae, of what the lender warrants “by delivering the mortgage”.¹³ This guide cannot tell you more than those sources say. What is written clearly is what happens with payment.

If your income drops because you lost your work permit and you fall behind, Regulation X requires the servicerloan servicerThe loan servicer is the company that sends you your mortgage statements and handles the day-to-day tasks of the loan: it processes your payments, answers your questions, keeps track of principal and interest paid and manages your escrow account, if you have one. It can also offer options if you fall behind and, in certain cases, start a foreclosure. It may be the same company that lent you the money or a different one, and it is common for another company to take over the loan after closing.See the full definitionClose to try to make live contact with you no later than day 36 of delinquency, tell you about loss mitigation options, and send you a written notice no later than day 45.⁹ And it may not make the first notice or filing for foreclosureforeclosureForeclosure is the process by which the lender or servicer takes back the property after the homeowner fails to make mortgage payments. The rules and timelines depend on each state; all of them include advance notices and, in general, time to catch up or ask for an alternative, such as a repayment plan or a loan modification. If you fall behind, call your servicer and a HUD-approved housing counseling agency early: foreclosure counseling is free and exists for exactly this.See the full definitionClose unless the loan is more than 120 days delinquent, with two narrow exceptions (a due-on-sale clause, or joining another lienholder’s foreclosure); if you submit a complete loss mitigation application before that step, it may not take it until it has answered you under the rule.¹⁰ The guide on if you can’t pay your mortgage explains what to ask for and in what order, and the family budget helps you see how much room you have.

If you want to refinance. Refinancing is a new application, so the residency rules above apply again with the status you hold that day. Mortgagee Letter 2025-09 also changed the sections on FHA’s non-credit qualifying Streamline Refinances.² If your current loan is an ITIN loan and you now have a green card, the guide on refinancing from an ITIN loan explains the path.

If your status improved. With legal authorization to work, Social Security can assign you a number.¹¹ And if you paid taxes with an ITIN and now have an SSN, the IRS says you cannot have both: stop using the ITIN, use the SSN and notify the IRS so it combines your records; if you do not, you may not receive credit for all your wages and taxes withheld.¹² Tell your lender too and ask it to update your file.

If you receive HUD housing assistance

Assistance under HUD programs covered by Section 214 is restricted to citizens and noncitizens with eligible status; a family is not eligible unless every member living in the unit has it, or it meets the conditions for mixed families.¹³ The statute lists the eligible categories: among others, permanent residents, refugees and asylees, people paroled under section 212(d)(5), people granted withholding of deportation, and residents under the Compacts of Free Association.¹⁴ The guide on Section 8 and mixed-status families explains which programs these are and how assistance is calculated.

Each member, regardless of age, submits evidence: citizens sign a declaration; noncitizens 62 or older sign a declaration of eligible status and show proof of age; all other noncitizens sign a declaration of eligible status, show one of the immigration documents and sign a consent to verification. Evidence is submitted only one time during continuously assisted occupancy, and if someone new comes to live in the unit, they submit it at the first reexamination after moving in.¹⁵ If your new document has not arrived yet, the housing authoritypublic housing agency (PHA)A public housing agency (PHA) is a state, county, municipal or other governmental entity or public body authorized to operate public housing or rental assistance programs. These are the agencies that locally administer the Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) and public housing with HUD funds: they open and manage the waiting lists, review eligibility and income, inspect units and pay the owner its share of the rent. Each county usually has one or several; your page shows the ones serving your area with their phone numbers.See the full definitionClose must give you more time if you sign the declaration and certify that you will make diligent efforts to obtain it; the extension does not exceed 30 days and the decision comes in writing.¹⁵

Verification has two steps. First, the authority queries the immigration service’s automated SAVE system (the regulation still uses the name INS). If SAVE does not confirm status, it must request within 10 days a secondary verification, which is a manual search of immigration records. Only if the secondary search also fails to confirm it do you receive the notice with your right to appeal.¹⁶

The protection while verification or an appeal is pending (24 CFR §5.514)

This is the central rule. Assistance may not be delayed, denied, reduced or terminated because of a member’s immigration status while primary and secondary verification of timely submitted documents is not complete, while the appeal has not concluded, if assistance is already prorated, or if that member moved out. And a tenant’s assistance also cannot be taken away until the informal hearing is complete.¹⁷

If verification fails, the notice must explain the reasons, tell you that you may qualify for prorated assistanceprorated assistanceProrated assistance is the reduced housing assistance mixed families receive in HUD programs such as Section 8 and public housing. A mixed family has members with citizenship or eligible immigration status and members without it. With a voucher, the housing agency figures the full assistance using everyone's income, multiplies it by the share of members with eligible status, and the family pays the rest of the rent. Under current rules, a mixed family that asks for it must receive it. HUD has proposed making it only temporary; that is not a final rule, and the rules can change.See the full definitionClose, state your right to appeal to the immigration service and to submit more documents, and your right to an informal hearing, after the appeal or instead of it. For someone applying, the notice makes clear that assistance may not be delayed until the appeal concludes, but may be delayed while the hearing is pending.¹⁷

From the notice to the final decision

1. 1. You receive the notice

   Day 0

   It must carry the reasons, your prorated assistance option and your appeal and hearing rights. Write down the date.¹⁷

2. 2. You request the appeal in writing

   Within 30 days of the notice

   Directly to the immigration service, with a copy and proof of mailing for the housing authority. You can add documents or an explanation.¹⁷

3. 3. The immigration service decides

   Within 30 days of receiving your documents

   If it cannot decide in that time, it must tell you and the authority why. Meanwhile, assistance cannot be touched because of status.¹⁷

4. 4. You request the informal hearing

   Within 30 days of the notice or of the appeal decision

   You can request it even if you did not appeal. You have the right to see the documents in advance, to bring a representative and to an interpreter.¹⁷

5. 5. You receive the written decision

   Within 14 days of the hearing

   Based only on what was presented at the hearing. A decision against you does not stop you from going to court.¹⁷

6. 6. If the result goes against you

   Afterwards

   A mixed family may request prorated assistance; if it does not accept it, or no one has eligible status, it may request a temporary deferral.¹⁸

Example with real numbers

The deadlines if SAVE and the manual search do not confirm status

An example in words with the regulation's deadlines. The exact dates come from your notice.

The authority receives the primary result

Requests secondary verification within 10 days¹⁶

The dated notice reaches you

You have 30 days to request the appeal in writing¹⁷

The immigration service receives your appeal

Must decide within 30 days or explain the delay¹⁷

The appeal decision reaches you

You have 30 days to request the informal hearing¹⁷

Written hearing decision

Within 14 days of the hearing¹⁷

All along that path, assistance may not be delayed, denied, reduced or terminated because of status.¹⁷ You can ask for free legal aid from the first notice and bring an attorney or another person to represent you at the hearing.¹⁷

Run it with your numbersHow much rent can I afford?

If status is not confirmed in the end

Assistance is denied or terminated when evidence is not submitted by the deadline or its extension, or when it is submitted on time but verification does not confirm status and the family does not appeal or request a hearing, or loses.¹⁷ Even so, a mixed family has ways out. After the appeal and hearing are complete, it may receive one of three types of preservation assistance, and prorated assistance must be provided if the family requests it; housing authorities and project owners must offer it to eligible mixed families.¹⁸ The statute calculates it by the number of members with established eligibility.¹⁴

If the family decides not to accept prorated assistance, or if no one has eligible status, it may request a temporary deferral of termination to move in an orderly way to other affordable housing: periods of up to six months, renewable, with a total cap of eighteen months, and at the start of each period the authority must give you referrals to find housing. The decision on preservation assistance comes with its reasons and, for tenants, the appeal rights.¹⁹ To see how much rent your family could pay without assistance or with less, use how much rent can I afford.

HUD’s 2026 proposal

On February 20, 2026, HUD published a proposed rule that would change several pieces of this guide: verify all applicants and recipients regardless of age; make prorated assistance temporary, pending verification of everyone, instead of indefinite; remove the appeal to the immigration service in §5.514(e) and instead have the notice say you may seek a records correction with the agency that issued your documents; and require tenants in mixed families who have not submitted evidence to do so within 90 days of the effective date of a final rule. The comment period closed April 21, 2026.²⁰

A proposal is not a final rule: by itself it does not change the regulation this guide explains.²⁰ If you receive a notice from your housing authority about these changes, read it calmly, note the deadlines and look for free legal aid. Because the subject changes, we review this guide every month.

If this is your situation

Mixed family with HUD assistance and a member whose status was not confirmed

Assistance cannot be touched while verification or the appeal is pending.¹⁷ If the result goes against you, prorated assistance must be provided if you request it.¹⁸

You already own the home and lost your work permit

The servicer must contact you if you fall behind and, with exceptions, may not file before 120 days of delinquency.¹⁰ Ask for the loss mitigation options in writing.⁹

You paid with an ITIN and now have a green card and an SSN

Notify the IRS so it combines your records under the SSN.¹² If you want to refinance, it is a new application with the status you hold today.²

You are about to apply for a voucher and a family member just changed status

Each member submits evidence only once; if a document is missing, you can ask for up to 30 more days.¹⁵¹⁵

Costly mistakes

• Mistake: Letting the 30 days from the notice pass because you expect the authority to 'sort it out'.

  Instead: Request the appeal in writing within 30 days, with a copy and proof of mailing; and the hearing within another 30.¹⁷¹⁷

• Mistake: Moving out or stopping your share of the rent as soon as the notice arrives.

  Instead: Assistance may not be terminated until verification, the appeal and the hearing have concluded.¹⁷

• Mistake: Declaring a status you do not have so the assistance is not reduced.

  Instead: A mixed family may request prorated assistance; the family identifies in writing the member who elects not to claim eligible status.¹⁸¹⁵

• Mistake: Assuming your FHA loan stays the same if you refinance with a different status.

  Instead: Refinancing is a new application and Mortgagee Letter 2025-09 also touched Streamlines.²

• Mistake: Still using the ITIN on your tax return after receiving the SSN.

  Instead: The IRS asks you to stop using the ITIN and notify it so it combines your records.¹²

• Mistake: Paying a 'notario' to tell you whether the change affects your case.

  Instead: A notario cannot give you legal advice; an accredited representative or a lawyer can.²²

Where to find free help

• For the mortgage: a HUD-approved housing counselorHUD-approved housing counselorA HUD-approved housing counselor works at an agency HUD has approved to provide housing counseling: independent, expert advice customized to your situation about buying a home, renting, a missed mortgage payment, a foreclosure or credit problems. The agencies usually charge little or nothing; many serve in Spanish and offer the homebuyer education course several assistance programs require. They are not lenders or real estate agents and sell you nothing. Your county page lists the official agencies with phone numbers.See the full definitionClose gives advice on buying, defaults, forbearances and foreclosures, often at little or no cost.²¹ The guide on HUD-approved counselors explains how to find one.
• For the hearing or the appeal: the Legal Services Corporation funds civil legal aid organizations for low-income people in every state and lets you search for the nearest one by address.²⁴ You have the right to bring an attorney or another person to represent you at the informal hearing.¹⁷
• For your immigration case: only licensed attorneys and accredited representativesDOJ-accredited representativeAn accredited representative is a non-attorney whom the U.S. Department of Justice, through its Recognition and Accreditation Program, authorizes to represent people in immigration matters before DHS and, with full accreditation, before the immigration courts. They may only do so through a recognized organization, which must be a non-profit, federally tax-exempt entity. It is the safe way to get low-cost immigration help: the Department of Justice publishes the official roster by state. Anyone who is not on that roster and is not a lawyer is not authorized to represent you.See the full definitionClose can represent you; notarios and immigration consultants cannot give you legal advice.²² EOIR publishes the lists by state.²³ The guide on a notario is not a lawyer explains the difference.

What to do this week

1. Write down in one place the dates of your old document and the new one, and the date of any notice you have received.¹⁷
2. If you are applying for a mortgage, tell the lender about the change in writing and ask in writing how it adds it to the file.¹³
3. If you already pay the mortgage and your income dropped, call the servicer before you fall behind and ask for the loss mitigation options in writing.⁹
4. If you received a notice from the housing authority, request the appeal in writing within 30 days and keep the proof of mailing.¹⁷
5. Look for free legal aid on the LSC list and, if you have questions about your immigration case, an accredited representative on the EOIR lists.²⁴²³