No, you do not have to be a citizen to buy a house in the US. Federal law lets anyone hold title to residential real estate in any of the 50 states, whether you are a permanent resident, a temporary visa holder, or someone without lawful immigration status paying cash. What changes for non-citizens is the paperwork around identification and funds, the range of mortgages you can qualify for, and a set of tax rules that can cost heirs hundreds of thousands of dollars if no one plans ahead.
What Owning a Home Does and Doesn’t Give You
Buying property is not an immigration benefit. A deed in your name does not produce a visa, a green card, or any path toward residency, and losing your visa does not force you to sell property you already own. The two systems run on separate tracks.
What you do get is protection against discrimination in the transaction itself. The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for sellers, agents, and lenders to refuse to deal with you because of your national origin.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC Ch. 45 – Fair Housing That protection covers every immigration status.
Restrictions Worth Checking Before You Make an Offer
Federal law leaves residential purchases open, but three narrower rules can affect specific buyers or specific properties.
A growing number of states have passed their own limits on foreign ownership of real estate. Most target agricultural or rural land rather than homes, and many single out buyers tied to countries the state considers adversarial. As of 2025, Texas, Idaho, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Utah have enacted or expanded laws restricting purchases by individuals, businesses, or governments connected to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Some of these laws are broad enough to reach all categories of real property. The trend is accelerating, so checking your target state’s current rules is worth doing before you sign anything.
Purchases near military installations get a second layer of review. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has authority over any purchase, lease, or concession by a foreign person that gives them property rights over land within defined zones around sensitive military sites.2eCFR. Part 802 – Regulations Pertaining to Certain Transactions by Foreign Persons Involving Real Estate in the United States “Close proximity” generally means within one mile of the installation boundary, though some bases trigger review at greater distances. If CFIUS identifies a national security risk, it can negotiate conditions or require changes to the deal. CFIUS publishes appendices listing the installations and geographic areas that trigger review.
Farmland has its own reporting rule. A foreign person who acquires any interest in U.S. agricultural land must file Form FSA-153 with the Farm Service Agency within 90 days of purchase. Penalties for late filing run at one-tenth of one percent of the land’s fair market value per week, up to 25 percent of the property’s value, and false or misleading reports draw an immediate 25 percent penalty.3eCFR. Part 781 – Disclosure of Foreign Investment in Agricultural Land
Identification and Proof of Funds
Every closing requires valid identification, but you do not need a Social Security Number. Non-citizens who are not eligible for an SSN use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead. You apply on Form W-7 with original documents like a valid passport to verify identity and foreign status.4Internal Revenue Service. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Processing runs about seven weeks, and stretches to nine to eleven weeks during tax season (January 15 through April 30) or from overseas applications.5Internal Revenue Service. How to Apply for an ITIN Start early.
Expect to document where your money comes from. Lenders and title companies want bank statements showing the source of your down payment and closing costs. Financial institutions handling international wires must comply with Bank Secrecy Act reporting, which includes filing on cash transactions over $10,000 and flagging suspicious activity.6Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The Bank Secrecy Act Title companies also screen every party against the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list. A match blocks the transaction entirely.7Office of Foreign Assets Control. Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) and the SDN List
Cash purchases above $10,000 trigger a separate filing. The person or business receiving the cash files IRS Form 8300 within 15 days, and real estate transactions are explicitly covered. If you have no SSN or ITIN, the filer still completes the form using your name and address.8Internal Revenue Service. IRS Form 8300 Reference Guide
Mortgage Options by Immigration Status
Your status determines which loans you can access, and the range is wider than most buyers expect.
Permanent Residents
Green card holders qualify for the same mortgages as citizens. Fannie Mae purchases loans made to lawful permanent residents on the same terms, which means conventional 30-year fixed-rate loans with standard down payments and competitive rates.9Fannie Mae. Non-U.S. Citizen Borrower Eligibility Requirements You still need to clear normal credit and debt-to-income thresholds.
Work Visa Holders
Non-permanent residents on valid work visas, including H-1B and L-1, can qualify for conventional and government-backed loans if they can show a likelihood of continued U.S. employment. FHA-insured loans are available to non-citizens who have lawful residency, use the property as a primary residence, and hold a Social Security Number, with a minimum down payment of 3.5 percent. Non-citizens without lawful residency are not eligible for FHA loans.10U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Revisions to Residency Requirements
Non-Resident Foreign Nationals
If you don’t live in the U.S. and have no domestic credit history, conventional and government-backed loans are off the table. Portfolio lenders fill the gap. These banks and private lenders hold the loan on their own books instead of selling it to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so they set their own underwriting rules. The cost is higher: down payments typically run 30 to 50 percent of the purchase price, rates are higher, and lenders usually want several months of mortgage payments in cash reserves. Buyers who first build some U.S. credit history, even through a secured credit card, can sometimes negotiate down payments closer to 20 to 25 percent.
Because domestic credit scores are often unavailable, foreign nationals may need alternative credit references from home. Utility payment records, rent receipts, and letters from international banks can help demonstrate creditworthiness.
The Tax Trap Non-Citizen Owners Need to Plan For
Estate tax is where the biggest surprise hides. U.S. citizens and permanent residents can pass up to $15,000,000 in assets to heirs in 2026 before federal estate tax applies.11Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Nonresident aliens get a credit of just $13,000 against the estate tax, sheltering roughly $60,000 in U.S.-situated assets.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 2102 – Credits Against Tax Anything above that is taxed at rates reaching 40 percent. A nonresident alien who owns a $500,000 house could leave heirs facing an estate tax bill north of $175,000 on that one property.
Some countries have estate tax treaties with the United States that let nonresident aliens claim a proportional share of the larger exemption. Whether you benefit depends on your country of citizenship and the specific treaty terms. Without a treaty, the $60,000 equivalent is all you get. Estate planning before you close on U.S. real estate is critical for foreign nationals.
Gift Tax on U.S. Real Property
Nonresident aliens who give away U.S. real property, or tangible property located in the U.S., owe gift tax on the transfer. The donor pays the tax and files Form 709-NA when gifts to any single recipient other than a spouse exceed $19,000 in 2026. Gifts to a spouse who is not a U.S. citizen have a higher threshold of $194,000 in 2026 before filing is required.13Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions on Gift Taxes for Nonresidents Not Citizens of the United States
If a relative abroad wires you money for a down payment, the gift itself is not taxable income to you. But if a nonresident alien donor gives you U.S.-situated property rather than cash held overseas, the gift tax rules above apply. How funds move across borders can change what the IRS collects.