More Than 100 Organizations Call on SBA to Reverse Loan Ban for Green Card Holders

Washington, D.C. — Small Business Majority, alongside more than 100 state and national organizations serving small businesses, recently sent a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) opposing the agency’s recent policy changes barring small businesses that are not 100% owned by U.S. citizens or nationals from participating in SBA-backed loan programs. This change blocks permanent legal residents, including green card holders, from accessing capital.

In its letter to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Small Business Majority wrote that it “strongly supports reforming our national immigration laws to ensure that entrepreneurs of all backgrounds can continue to contribute to our thriving economy legally. To do this, we must maintain access to the privileges that proceeding through the legal immigration system provides to [legal permanent residents] and prospective new citizens including in their ability to access key programs at SBA. We are urging SBA to reconsider its decision to impose sweeping restrictions that will undoubtedly impact our economic growth for years to come.”

“Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities are a vital part of America's small business community as well as our nation's economy as a whole,” said Seema Agnani, CEO at National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development. “In fact, immigrants are twice as likely as U.S.- born citizens to start a small business. SBA must recognize the role immigrants play in job creation as it evaluates changes to small business support programs, including loan eligibility.”

SBA’s new restrictions, which represent an unprecedented escalation of previous guidance issued in 2025, further solidify barriers to responsible capital for immigrant-owned businesses, including those owned by green card holders. What’s more, the timing of SBA’s tighter lending eligibility criteria could not be worse as small businesses were already struggling to access critical capital. In fact, Small Business Majority’s research found that among entrepreneurs who pursued funding for their business, just 36% secured a loan of any size with most receiving $50,000 or less. Nearly one-quarter (24%) reported that the funding they received was insufficient to meet their needs.

“SBA is supposed to be dedicated to helping Main Street create jobs but its effort to bar green card holders from accessing loans is inconsistent with that mission,” said Small Business Majority Senior Director of Government Affairs Alexis D’Amato Falvey. “Someone’s place of birth should not automatically disqualify them from pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams, and SBA should immediately reverse its decision.”