US Citizenship Documentation

March 18, 2025

Bob Coleman
Founder & Publisher

SBA Hot Topic Tuesday — US Citizenship Documentation

by Lance Sexton
Phoenix Lender Services

In response to the SBA policy updates to comply with Executive Order 14159 regarding citizenship requirements for obtaining 7(a) and 504 loans following is a best practice you may wish to use.

Basics:

An applicant for an SBA loan may not be owned in whole or part by undocumented illegal aliens.

Requirements:

  1.  When putting a loan into Etran , We must enter 81% of the beneficial owners including both entity owners and individual owners.  We must certify that no Beneficial Owner is an ineligible person. In Etran there should be a check box for this certification.  If not, we need to do a simple memo that provides this certification and put it into file.
  2. The SBA form 1919 will be updated for a borrower’s certification of no owners being illegal.  In the interim, we need to develop a simple memo to be signed by the borrower that no beneficial owner is illegal.
  3. All SBA Borrowers must be a business located in the United States and its territories and possessions.  If the borrower has international operations, the SBA loan proceeds must be used on the US Based Borrower.
  4. We must comply with CIP (Customer Identification Programs)
  5. We must collect a document that proves that the borrower is a US Citizen.  (Passport, Birth Certificate, etc.)

If a SBA Borrower is a LPR (Legal Permanent Resident)  Green Card Holder we must do the following (This is similar to what was required in the SOP 5010 6):

  1.  Collect a USCIS Form I-551 – It can take up to a year for them to receive their card so if they have been here for less than a year,  we can accept an immigrant VISA with a Custom and Border Protection stamp.
  2. We must have the 551 or an acceptable substitute at the time the application is submitted which means that we need to have it before we input a PLP loan or send a GP loan to Citrus Heights.
  3. We must enter the alien registration number.  If they do not have an alien registration number they should provide a I-94.
  4. We must keep the USCIS information in file.
  5. We need to request document verification from SLPC at the email address Sacramento504Register@sba.gov by submitting the USCIS FormG-845 to Sacramento.  This needs to include a release form the borrower that states the following:
    “I authorize the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to release information regarding my immigration status to [name of SBA Lender], because I am applying for a U.S. Small Business Administration loan.”  We can do this in the form of a memo that is signed and dated by the individual.  This needs to be a simple memo with no letterhead.
  6.  We must receive verification of status from Sacramento prior to submission of a loan using GP or prior to submission of the application in Etran for PLP.