Can an H-1B visa holder get an FHA loan in California?

Yes. FHA allows lawful non-permanent residents, including H-1B holders, to get the same 3.5 percent down loan as a citizen when the home is a primary residence. You need a valid EAD or visa and a Social Security number. Terms and rates are identical to any other FHA borrower.

Do I need a green card to buy a house in the United States?

No. A green card is not required. Both conventional and FHA financing are open to non-permanent residents with valid work authorization. Buyers with no work authorization or no SSN can still use ITIN or foreign national loan programs with a larger down payment.

How much time does my visa need before it expires to qualify?

There is no minimum. Agencies removed any specific time-remaining rule and instead look at continuity of income, whether your earnings are likely to continue about three years. A history of renewals or an employer letter supports approval even when your current visa expires soon.

What down payment does an L-1 visa holder need?

The same as a citizen. An L-1 borrower with a Social Security number can put down as little as 3 percent on a conventional loan or 3.5 percent on FHA. Prior employment abroad with the same company usually counts toward the two-year work history.

Can I get a mortgage without a Social Security number?

Yes, through an ITIN loan or a foreign national loan. These use your ITIN or foreign documentation instead of an SSN and typically ask for 15 to 25 percent down at a slightly higher rate. Conventional and FHA both require an SSN, so these portfolio programs are the path without one.

Does DACA status qualify for a home loan?

Yes. FHA now accepts DACA recipients, and many conventional lenders do as well, as long as you have a valid EAD and a Social Security number. You are treated as a non-permanent resident, which means standard low-down-payment financing rather than a specialty product.

Loan Programs · 6 min read

Can You Buy a House on a Work Visa in California? H-1B & L-1 in 2026

By Mike Basti·August 10, 2026

Yes. Visa holders on H-1B, L-1, and most other work statuses can get conventional and FHA mortgages in California on standard terms, same rates and down payments as a U.S. citizen. The one thing underwriters care about is proof of valid work authorization (your visa or EAD) plus a reasonable expectation that your income continues. You do not need a green card, and you do not need two years left on your visa to qualify.

The short answer: work authorization, not citizenship, is what qualifies you

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both spell it out: a non-permanent resident alien is eligible for the same conventional financing as a U.S. citizen. FHA says the same for lawful non-permanent residents who will use the home as a primary residence. In plain terms, if you can legally live and work in the United States and you can document it, a lender treats your file like any other borrower's, same 3 to 5 percent minimum down, same credit standards, same rates.

What trips people up is not the visa itself. It is paperwork and continuity of income. Underwriters want to see current, valid authorization and a sensible reason to believe your job and your right to work will keep going. That is a documentation problem, and it is very solvable in California, where lenders see H-1B and L-1 files constantly.

Which visas can get a mortgage, and how

Different statuses route to different loan programs. Here is the practical map we use when we shop a file.

Status	SSN?	Typical loan options	Down payment
H-1B (specialty worker)	Yes	Conventional, FHA, VA if eligible	3 to 5 percent
L-1 (intra-company transfer)	Yes	Conventional, FHA	3 to 5 percent
O-1 (extraordinary ability)	Yes	Conventional, FHA	3 to 5 percent
TN (USMCA professional)	Yes	Conventional, FHA	3 to 5 percent
E-2 (treaty investor)	Yes	Conventional, some FHA	3 to 5 percent
F-1 with OPT and EAD	Yes	Conventional, FHA	3 to 5 percent
DACA with valid EAD	Yes	Conventional, FHA (FHA now accepts DACA)	3 to 5 percent
Asylee or refugee with EAD	Yes	Conventional, FHA	3 to 5 percent
Foreign national, no SSN	No	ITIN loan or foreign national program	15 to 25 percent

The dividing line is the Social Security number. Have an SSN and valid work authorization, and you are in the conventional and FHA world with low down payments. No SSN, and you move to ITIN or foreign national portfolio loans, which are still available in California but ask for a bigger down payment and price a bit higher.

What documents you actually need

For a conventional or FHA file as a visa holder, plan to hand over:

Your unexpired visa or your Employment Authorization Document (EAD card).
Your most recent I-797 approval notice, and for L-1 or H-1B, the employer petition if asked.
A valid Social Security number and your standard income docs, two years of W-2s or tax returns where they exist, recent pay stubs, and two months of bank statements.
Two years of employment history when possible, though time abroad with the same employer usually counts, which matters a lot for L-1 transferees.

If you are newer to the U.S. and do not have two full years of domestic history, that is not an automatic no. Lenders can bridge foreign employment with the same company, school transcripts for recent OPT grads, or an offer letter plus a start date. We package this so the underwriter sees a clean continuity story instead of a gap.

The 'two years left on your visa' myth

One of the most common things we hear: my visa renews in a year, so I cannot buy. Not true. There is no rule that requires a specific number of months remaining on your visa. Fannie Mae explicitly removed any minimum-time-remaining requirement, and the standard is continuity of income, whether it is reasonable to expect the income to continue for at least three years.

Underwriters treat visa renewals like any other likely-to-continue income. A history of prior renewals, an employer letter confirming intent to extend or sponsor, or a pending extension all support the file. An H-1B with eight months left and two prior renewals reads as stable. So do not disqualify yourself because a renewal is on the calendar.

No SSN: ITIN and foreign national loans

If you do not have a Social Security number, for example you are on a status that does not authorize work, or you are a non-resident foreign buyer, conventional and FHA are off the table, but you still have real options in California.

ITIN loans use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead of an SSN. Expect roughly 15 to 20 percent down, two years of ITIN tax filings, and a slightly higher rate. These are portfolio products, so guidelines vary lender to lender.
Foreign national loans are for buyers who live abroad or have no U.S. credit. Down payments run 25 percent and up, and lenders may accept a foreign credit reference or bank letters in place of a U.S. score.

These are not fringe products. California carries a large share of the country's ITIN and foreign national lending, so pricing is competitive if you know which lenders to shop.

How Save Financial handles visa files

As a broker, not a bank, we are not stuck with one lender's overlay. That matters here, because one lender might want two years of remaining visa time it invents on its own, while the next follows agency guidelines to the letter and clears the same borrower with no fuss. We shop your file to the visa-friendly lenders and skip the ones that pile on restrictions.

We work both coasts of the county, Newport Beach and Marina del Rey, and we serve clients in Farsi out of Marina del Rey. Send us your visa or EAD, your I-797, and your income docs, and we will tell you exactly which programs fit and what your number looks like before you write an offer. Save Financial is a California mortgage broker, NMLS 377740, DRE 01875766.

About this article: Save Financial publishes California mortgage guides and market updates. We are a California-licensed mortgage brokerage (NMLS #377740, DRE #01875766) serving all 58 counties. For a real, personalized rate quote, apply online or call 949-379-5320.