The U.S. Small Business Administration announced it is cutting off foreign nationals and noncitizens from all of its loan programs, completing a months-long push to reserve federal small business financing exclusively for American citizens.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the new policy expands restrictions the agency put in place in February, which had already barred foreign nationals from the SBA’s flagship 504 and 7(a) loan programs. The latest action extends those restrictions to the Surety Bond program and the Microloan program.
“Last month, we made it clear that SBA would not allow foreign nationals to access our core small business loan programs — and today, we are expanding that policy to include all SBA-guaranteed loans,” Loeffler said in a statement.
The Surety Bond program helps new or inexperienced contractors qualify for government contracts that require bonding, while the Microloan program provides loans of up to $50,000 to small businesses through approved third-party lenders.
Loeffler framed the decision as a matter of limited resources. “With our lending authority capped annually by Congress and amid record demand for access to capital, our responsibility is clear: the limited resource of SBA financing must prioritize American citizens who are building businesses and creating jobs here at home,” she said.
According to SBA data reported by Fox News, the agency currently holds approximately 3,300 loans tied to small businesses partially owned by lawful permanent residents, most of them issued during the Biden administration. That figure represents about 4 percent of the agency’s 85,000 total active loans.
The expanded restrictions take effect in 30 days.
The SBA has been reorienting its policies since the start of the Trump administration’s second term. In 2025, the agency implemented citizenship verification requirements across its loan programs and announced plans to close offices in sanctuary cities — jurisdictions where local governments have limited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
“The Trump SBA is committed to driving economic growth and job creation for American citizens,” Loeffler said.
In January, the SBA suspended thousands of Minnesota borrowers amid the discovery of “potentially fraudulent pandemic-era PPP and EIDL loans approved in Minnesota,” Loeffler said at the time. The agency “took action to suspend 6,900 Minnesota borrowers amid suspected fraudulent activity,” she added. The borrowers were approved for 7,900 PPP and EIDL loans worth an estimated $400M.
