You Can Buy a Home with a Work Permit & SSN — No Green Card Needed
Your immigration status doesn't have to stop you from owning a home. Here's exactly how it works in Texas and Florida.
You've been working in the U.S. for years, paying taxes, building a life — and every time someone mentions buying a home, you go quiet. Not because you don't want one, but because you're not sure you're allowed to. You have a work permit, an SSN, and a job. Is that enough?
Here's the honest answer: yes, it can be. I work with clients in exactly your situation all the time, and I want to walk you through what's actually possible, without hype and without confusion.
The first thing I always tell people is this — you don't need a green card or citizenship to qualify for a mortgage in the United States. What lenders care about most is your ability to repay the loan. Let me show you exactly what that looks like.
What Loan Programs Are Available If You Have a Work Permit and SSN?
The good news is you have real options — not workarounds, actual loan programs designed for this.
- FHA loans are the most common path I recommend for my clients with EADs (Employment Authorization Documents). These are government-backed loans and they explicitly allow non-permanent residents who have a valid work permit and SSN to apply.
- Conventional loans (backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac) also allow non-permanent residents, though the requirements around documentation tend to be a bit more specific.
- Portfolio loans — meaning loans a lender holds in-house — can be another option if your situation is more complex.
For most of my work permit clients, FHA is where we start. It's built for exactly this kind of borrower.
What Documents Do You Actually Need?
This is where people stress out, but the list is pretty straightforward:
- Valid EAD card (your work permit) — it needs to be current or renewable
- Social Security Number
- Two years of employment history in the U.S. (doesn't have to be the same employer)
- Recent pay stubs, W-2s, and tax returns
- Bank statements (usually 2 months)
- Valid government-issued ID
One thing lenders will look at closely: whether your work authorization has a reasonable expectation of continuing. If your EAD has been renewed once before, that helps a lot.
What Does the Numbers Look Like? A Real Example
Let's make this concrete. Say you're looking at a home priced at $320,000 in Florida.
With an FHA loan, the minimum down payment is 3.5% — that's $11,200. Not $50,000. Not 20%. Eleven thousand.
Your monthly payment on that loan (at roughly a 7% interest rate, including estimated taxes, insurance, and FHA mortgage insurance) would be around $2,400–$2,500/month.
To qualify comfortably, you'd want a gross monthly income of around $6,000–$6,500 so your debt-to-income ratio stays under 43%, which is the typical FHA threshold. If you have a car payment or student loans, we'd factor those in too.
Credit score? FHA allows scores as low as 580 with that 3.5% down. If yours is between 500–579, you'd need 10% down instead. These aren't made-up numbers — that's the actual FHA guideline.
Want to know if your income qualifies?
Tell me your situation and I'll run the numbers with you — no commitment, no pressure.
What About If My EAD Expires Soon?
This is one of the most common concerns I hear. If your EAD is expiring in less than 12 months, some lenders will hesitate. But if you have a history of renewals, many will still move forward. The key is documentation — showing the pattern of renewals gives lenders the confidence they need.
It's not a dealbreaker. It's a conversation.
Will Your Immigration Status Be Reported or Shared?
No. A mortgage lender is not immigration enforcement. Your application is a financial transaction. The information you provide stays within the lending process. I say this because I know some clients worry about this — and I want to be direct: your status is not our concern beyond what's needed to qualify you for the loan.
Ready to see what you qualify for?
Start your pre-approval with Liuver — built for buyers exactly like you.
Next Steps: Your Home Is Closer Than You Think
Here's what I want you to take from this: having a work permit and SSN puts you in a real position to buy. You don't have to wait for a green card. You don't have to keep renting while you wait for something that might take years.
What you do need is a loan officer who knows how to structure your file correctly and work with the right lenders. That's what I do every day.
If you're ready to have a real conversation — no pressure, no sales pitch — just send me a message. Tell me where you're at, and we'll figure out the next step together.