CAN GREEN CARD HOLDER GET STUDENT LOAN?

[Lemonslice 4,922]

ROC are so rarely denied in the end (meaning some people file incorrectly, but so few have to leave the country) that I doubt it is a significant risk for the lender. Certainly much lower risk than losing their job, getting sick and other situation where their income would suffer. I'll try to ask actuary colleague if any historic info has been calculated.

[IguanaCouple 26]

You aren't kidding. $120,000 and still going...I will probably top out at $160,000. UGHHHH I get a knot in my stomach with each quarterly statement that comes in =(.

I see you're in NJ, too. What are you studying if I may ask? Did you apply for NJ state loans? I got lower rates from them. Unfortunately, I only found out about them half way into my master's and they don't finance retroactively.

I'm almost done with my master's and I'm thinking of refinancing the entire amount with private lenders once I start working. The feds are fleecing me at almost 6% on average and NJ is charging me 4.6%

[NikLR 13,230]

Ok, seems it is still not clear.

Member is LPR subject to ROC, in the eyes of the lender, that is a risk they might not want to take. Whether member is granted a loan or not has nothing to do with his/her status, it is all a risk decision in the perceived ability to repay; hence lenders would ask for a co-borrower to mitigate such risk.

Not even saying all lenders would, as ultimately, they also have insurance against that, and given current rates in comparison to current ROI on common instruments, it is still a deal for them.

Again, no one has said member is not LPR, what I said is that member is not permanent (and I did not mean not LPR) 'permanent' and 'legal permanent' are two entirely different things when it comes to commercial terms, and it is worded that way precisely to avoid a sniff of discrimination, which would be illegal.

I deal with contracts every day and what you think it means versus what it actually means should a dispute arises are often two different things. A loan is a contract, with $$ attached. No one gives money without a reasonable way to get it back plus interest, lenders are there to make money.

So, to confirm: member can perfectly and legally apply, the second he becomes approved on his LPR status, regardless of being subject to ROC or not.

We can argue here all day; it is not in the interest of the forum on the fine details of contracts and loans. The question has been answered and we all coincide in that member can apply.

Let's move on please.

You're right. I'm not going to argue with you because it's like smashing my head into a wall and thus completely pointless. Insanity: doing something over and over again in the same manner expecting different results. LOL

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OP you have your answer. Yes you can apply for student loans.

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

In Tennesse if you have GED (Now called HiSET) you can attend a community college tuition free for 2 years. So even though my husband has a 2 year accounting degree he is studying for the HiSET

Also there are agencies such as the Consortium that offer free money for even books and baby sitters

[N and J 88]

This is incorrect. A 2 year green card holder has the same rights as a 10 year green card holder. You ARE a legal permanent resident.

He has the right to apply but who will give him one? You know how hard it is to get a private student loan? And for a Stafford loan it's not much easier. Especially if you have no credit.

[N and J 88]

I see you're in NJ, too. What are you studying if I may ask? Did you apply for NJ state loans? I got lower rates from them. Unfortunately, I only found out about them half way into my master's and they don't finance retroactively.

I'm almost done with my master's and I'm thinking of refinancing the entire amount with private lenders once I start working. The feds are fleecing me at almost 6% on average and NJ is charging me 4.6%

Hey. I have my BA is Psychology and I am currently working on my MA in Social work (clinical social work with a concentration in military social work) I want to work with vets specializing in PTSD and treatment for PTSD. I get my loans through the Federal Loan Program. You are better off consolidating your loans once you finished. It will save you some money not a ton but any amount helps. Your school should be able to help you with that or your loan provider. I am not eligible for anything from NJ. I attend the University of Southern California. It is the distant learning program but you have actual classes. It's cool it is like one big skype session with 10 people lol. So because I attend a CA school NJ won't loan me anything. I am hoping to get a job with the VA because they will pay for me to get my PhD in psych. What is your major? Certain programs make people eligible for loan forgiveness after 20 years of on time payments.

[aaron2020 11,651]

He has the right to apply but who will give him one? You know how hard it is to get a private student loan? And for a Stafford loan it's not much easier. Especially if you have no credit.

Welcome to the world of student loans. Anyone can get one. You don't need a credit history.

[N and J 88]

Welcome to the world of student loans. Anyone can get one. You don't need a credit history.

You need credit history (a decent credit score) to get a student loan. You cannot have any delinquencies or derogatory marks on your credit history but yes you do need a credit history. If not you need to find a cosigner. I had to get a secured credit card to build my credit (I had none) in order to stop using my mother as a cosigner. Well private loans are hard to get for anyone but federal student loans you have to have a decent credit score. I just got my first one this semester coming with no cosigner YAY =\

[N and J 88]

Welcome to the world of student loans. Anyone can get one. You don't need a credit history.

I am sorry let me correct myself. For a Federal Direct Plus Loan from the government you need credit. They do a credit check for that. Not for the regular Subsidized and Un-Subsidized loans. =)

[pch1 64]

http://www.igrad.com/articles/paying-for-college-when-you-have-a-green-card

[IguanaCouple 26]

Hey. I have my BA is Psychology and I am currently working on my MA in Social work (clinical social work with a concentration in military social work) I want to work with vets specializing in PTSD and treatment for PTSD. I get my loans through the Federal Loan Program. You are better off consolidating your loans once you finished. It will save you some money not a ton but any amount helps. Your school should be able to help you with that or your loan provider. I am not eligible for anything from NJ. I attend the University of Southern California. It is the distant learning program but you have actual classes. It's cool it is like one big skype session with 10 people lol. So because I attend a CA school NJ won't loan me anything. I am hoping to get a job with the VA because they will pay for me to get my PhD in psych. What is your major? Certain programs make people eligible for loan forgiveness after 20 years of on time payments.

Yeah, working in the military or any government job will make paying off student loans a lot easier as they have loans forgiveness programs. I guess you already know about it. I'm getting my M.S. in computer science. I won't be able to get any forgiveness because even if I make the bare minimum payments with the IBR plan, they will take over $100,000 from me (for a $60k loan!) in 10 years as the average income is pretty high for CS grads.

In my case, it's better to just pay it off as soon as I can so I can save on the ridiculous interest rates.

[bkghosh 121]

I have a few friends who are H1 (neither LPR or conditional LPR) visa holders who secured student loans for their graduate studies from credit unions and banks. Of course both of them are studying at reputed and well known schools for their MBA. They did not have any US citizen or PR to cosign their loans.

[heo luoi 206]

'conditional' doesn't negate 'legal' nor does it 'permanent' A K1 on 2 yr GC is a (Conditional) Legal Permanent Resident. The green card doesn't say anything special about being conditional otherwise I'm sure they'd pick another special color and give you a LIGHT Green card. It simply has a shorter expiration date.

The only condition of the 'conditional' is that its 2 yrs vs a 'regular' 10 year. Whether a lender knows this and has any transparency to is quite frankly isn't the borrowers problem nor concern.

Lenders want to get paid back. We get it.

They also make up the TERMS...so they can adjust rates based on their risk tolerance.

This is America. Everyone is welcome to debt.

No one is saying he/she doesn't have the right to apply.

Granting a loan is a risk based decision on the ability to get loan paid, no different than a credit card a car or a home. Actually even non-residents can get a loan as long in some cases as long as someone -a co borrower- is on the hook to repay.

Lenders want to be paid back.

And it all depends on what the loan is for, for example, non residents on a H1-B (which as we all know has a limited validity) can fairly easily get a home loan. Why? Because in the event they leave all of a sudden, they cannot take the house in the luggage and the bank can re-posses and sell, minimizing greatly the risk. A student loan is going to be a lot tougher than a house. Even a car loan, and this last is because some years back, some less than honest individuals would get a car loan, get the car and then ship it to their home countries, leaving no trace and no one to collect from, until lenders caught up to the scheme that is.

The wording in the applications is "permanent" resident, not just "legal" (which would include conditional), lenders have learned their lesson and are smarter now...I happen to know all this first hand because I have worked with immigrants helping in getting them started in the maze of credit history, financial history, etc...

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Perhaps they should take a page from the haircolor industry and call them semi-permanent residents ???

As long as it covers 50 shades of grey

OP go for it and best wishes for your studies.

[HollywoodNorth 22]

Come on people. Stop speculating if you don't know the answers.

Yes, an LPR can get financial aid and student loans. Lenders will not know nor care that you have a conditional green card.

Indeed. If you got a SSN, no bank is going to ask for anything proving citizenship or anything else.

I have had car loans, mortgage pre approvals and lines of credit while on work visas.

Not one bank asked me if I was american or not. Some asked me what state I was a resident of and that was it.

The OP should apply for their program of their choosing and not complicate things by volunteering information that isn't being asked.