Non-US Citizen, can't get federal loans, what do i do???? Forum

[biglll]

Not really on topic, but you should never ever ever ever cosign for ANYONE!

If you guys are lucky enough to find some sucker to sign his life away for you, I applaud you.

davidr1534,

Any advanced degree from a top US school is extremely valuable when working for a US firm abroad. For me it's more a matter of personal preference--I would enjoy studying law, and I am too young for an MBA anyway. If you concentrate in international/comparative law, it could also be useful for finding jobs with the government.[/quote]

-1 this is bad advice.

I also think it's bad advice.

[/quote]

You're right guys it's highly controversial and really depends on personal situation/country/career goals etc. In no way an advice

[Luis Gomez]

Plus it's an expensive way to have a degree which only looks good in your resume. A good national school can provide you that for a fraction of the cost.

As a Mexican attorney, I find comparative law degrees useless outside of academia.

Going to law school is a great idea if you are going to practice law (even in another country), but not very useful to get government jobs and what not.

[sibley]

You can apply for, and get, a social security number. All you need to have is a job here... at my undergrad we "hire" all the incoming international students for a one-hour focus group, pay them each 10 bucks, and get them each a SSN that way. If you don't currently have a job in the country email your school and see what they can do. If you do, just hop on down to your friendly social security administration office... with all documentation of yourself that you could possibly present, and of your job. and with no plans for the rest of the day.

voila, US loans! crappy rates since you'll have no credit record, but... it's a start?

[Fevsi]

SSN per se will not qualify you for loans which require a co-signer for international students. And those that do not (have anyone ever heard of them, anyways? I have not - any clues would be appreciated) are credit based, so without credit history its no go.

[im_blue]

You can apply for, and get, a social security number. All you need to have is a job here... at my undergrad we "hire" all the incoming international students for a one-hour focus group, pay them each 10 bucks, and get them each a SSN that way. If you don't currently have a job in the country email your school and see what they can do. If you do, just hop on down to your friendly social security administration office... with all documentation of yourself that you could possibly present, and of your job. and with no plans for the rest of the day.

voila, US loans! crappy rates since you'll have no credit record, but... it's a start?

Except...you can't get a SSN until you're in the U.S., but you can't get a student visa to come to the U.S. until you show proof of financial support (bank statements, scholarship/loan offers, etc) for the duration of your degree program.

[creatinganalt]

You can apply for, and get, a social security number. All you need to have is a job here... at my undergrad we "hire" all the incoming international students for a one-hour focus group, pay them each 10 bucks, and get them each a SSN that way. If you don't currently have a job in the country email your school and see what they can do. If you do, just hop on down to your friendly social security administration office... with all documentation of yourself that you could possibly present, and of your job. and with no plans for the rest of the day.

voila, US loans! crappy rates since you'll have no credit record, but... it's a start?

Except...you can't get a SSN until you're in the U.S., but you can't get a student visa to come to the U.S. until you show proof of financial support (bank statements, scholarship/loan offers, etc) for the duration of your degree program.

It's actually the first year - not the duration

[sibley]

You can apply for, and get, a social security number. All you need to have is a job here... at my undergrad we "hire" all the incoming international students for a one-hour focus group, pay them each 10 bucks, and get them each a SSN that way. If you don't currently have a job in the country email your school and see what they can do. If you do, just hop on down to your friendly social security administration office... with all documentation of yourself that you could possibly present, and of your job. and with no plans for the rest of the day.

voila, US loans! crappy rates since you'll have no credit record, but... it's a start?

Except...you can't get a SSN until you're in the U.S., but you can't get a student visa to come to the U.S. until you show proof of financial support (bank statements, scholarship/loan offers, etc) for the duration of your degree program.

It's actually the first year - not the duration

could come on a tourist visa (it depends on the country but I believe you can work minor temporary things on those) then travel either to Canada or Mexico once you receive the student visa to have it verified.

we're also assuming OP is poor. If the kid went to UG in the US (which is pretty likely if they're committing to law school here) then we can assume he/she was in the same situation then. And that would mean that his/her parents have cash. So they could submit the proof of financial security and then OP could go about getting the loans and not actually use the parental money (since I'm assuming parents agree to pay for UG but not grad as is frequently the case)

[biglll]

You can apply for, and get, a social security number. All you need to have is a job here... at my undergrad we "hire" all the incoming international students for a one-hour focus group, pay them each 10 bucks, and get them each a SSN that way. If you don't currently have a job in the country email your school and see what they can do. If you do, just hop on down to your friendly social security administration office... with all documentation of yourself that you could possibly present, and of your job. and with no plans for the rest of the day.

voila, US loans! crappy rates since you'll have no credit record, but... it's a start?

I have SSN and US income for the last 8 months. Do you mean I can qualify for a loan on my own then? I think this is wrong. I am still a non-citizen without a green card.

[sibley]

You can apply for, and get, a social security number. All you need to have is a job here... at my undergrad we "hire" all the incoming international students for a one-hour focus group, pay them each 10 bucks, and get them each a SSN that way. If you don't currently have a job in the country email your school and see what they can do. If you do, just hop on down to your friendly social security administration office... with all documentation of yourself that you could possibly present, and of your job. and with no plans for the rest of the day.

voila, US loans! crappy rates since you'll have no credit record, but... it's a start?

I have SSN and US income for the last 8 months. Do you mean I can qualify for a loan on my own then? I think this is wrong. I am still a non-citizen without a green card.

I'm not sure about the banking aspect, only the social security aspect. do you have a US cell phone, not pre-paid? you should have at least minimal credit if so.

[Luis Gomez]

You can apply for, and get, a social security number. All you need to have is a job here... at my undergrad we "hire" all the incoming international students for a one-hour focus group, pay them each 10 bucks, and get them each a SSN that way. If you don't currently have a job in the country email your school and see what they can do. If you do, just hop on down to your friendly social security administration office... with all documentation of yourself that you could possibly present, and of your job. and with no plans for the rest of the day.

voila, US loans! crappy rates since you'll have no credit record, but... it's a start?

I have SSN and US income for the last 8 months. Do you mean I can qualify for a loan on my own then? I think this is wrong. I am still a non-citizen without a green card.

A SSN will not qualify you for a loan, it is only part of the documentation an alien resident must provide. If you can't produce proof of legal permanent residency (a.k.a. green card) you will need a credit-worthy cosigner (either a US citizen or resident).

[im_blue]

You can apply for, and get, a social security number. All you need to have is a job here... at my undergrad we "hire" all the incoming international students for a one-hour focus group, pay them each 10 bucks, and get them each a SSN that way. If you don't currently have a job in the country email your school and see what they can do. If you do, just hop on down to your friendly social security administration office... with all documentation of yourself that you could possibly present, and of your job. and with no plans for the rest of the day.

voila, US loans! crappy rates since you'll have no credit record, but... it's a start?

I have SSN and US income for the last 8 months. Do you mean I can qualify for a loan on my own then? I think this is wrong. I am still a non-citizen without a green card.

A SSN will not qualify you for a loan, it is only part of the documentation an alien resident must provide. If you can't produce proof of legal permanent residency (a.k.a. green card) you will need a credit-worthy cosigner (either a US citizen or resident).

Correct, because non-residents with SSNs can still leave the country and their debts behind.

[jman77]

You can apply for, and get, a social security number. All you need to have is a job here... at my undergrad we "hire" all the incoming international students for a one-hour focus group, pay them each 10 bucks, and get them each a SSN that way. If you don't currently have a job in the country email your school and see what they can do. If you do, just hop on down to your friendly social security administration office... with all documentation of yourself that you could possibly present, and of your job. and with no plans for the rest of the day.

voila, US loans! crappy rates since you'll have no credit record, but... it's a start?

Except...you can't get a SSN until you're in the U.S., but you can't get a student visa to come to the U.S. until you show proof of financial support (bank statements, scholarship/loan offers, etc) for the duration of your degree program.

It's actually the first year - not the duration

could come on a tourist visa (it depends on the country but I believe you can work minor temporary things on those) then travel either to Canada or Mexico once you receive the student visa to have it verified.

we're also assuming OP is poor. If the kid went to UG in the US (which is pretty likely if they're committing to law school here) then we can assume he/she was in the same situation then. And that would mean that his/her parents have cash. So they could submit the proof of financial security and then OP could go about getting the loans and not actually use the parental money (since I'm assuming parents agree to pay for UG but not grad as is frequently the case)

- A recipe for getting into summary deportation proceedings and never being able to get back into the US again. B1/B2 (tourist) visa holders in the US should never engage in any form of employment and will certainly be deported if caught. Of course, this does not prevent some tourists/visitors from working "under the table".

As far as proof of finances... If you could get a relative or friend to write you a letter of sponsorship, stating that they will cover the COA for your first year, this would suffice to satisfy the requirements. Of course, said friend/relative would have to submit documentation, i.e. tax returns, bank statements, etc., evidencing that they actually have the funds.

As for actual financing, OP would definitely need a resident/citizen co-signer to qualify. I was fortunate enough to get the letter of sponsorship from a cousin, then have an aunt willing to co-sign, when I first came to the US as an international MBA student.

[PapantlaFlyer]

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

I can't get a SSN because I don't have a job and I can't get a job unless some company sponsors a visa for me (trust me, that's almost impossible right now). I also can't get a job at my school because I graduated last year, international students can work at their colleges only during the time they are enrolled. And as someone mentioned, even with a SSN you can't get a loan unless you have a permanent resident or citizen co-signer.

Jman, about the co-signer, is the only requirement that he/she be a permanent resident or US citizen? They don't need to meet a certain financial threshold? My gf is a perm res and will get her citizenship soon but she has a mid 30s salary and not a lot of credit history, does that matter?

I think the only option left for me now would be to take the 20k loan from the law school and to get a loan for the rest from my home country.

Luis, (I'm gonna speak to you in English, we don't wanna alienate anyone here) what type of loan did you get from Mexico? A student loan? From the research I've done, student loans in Mex are capped at about 20k, is that right? I can't seem to find anything else and 40k is just not gonna cut it.

Anyway, thanks for all the help guys. I know I should have probably does some more research before applying...

[Luis Gomez]

Yeah, low-interest student loans are capped at 20K, but you get that for every year of the program's duration. 60K might just cover COL for me.

By the way, you have the ugliest tar in TLS. I might just contact Ken to see if it can be removed.

[jman77]

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

I can't get a SSN because I don't have a job and I can't get a job unless some company sponsors a visa for me (trust me, that's almost impossible right now). I also can't get a job at my school because I graduated last year, international students can work at their colleges only during the time they are enrolled. And as someone mentioned, even with a SSN you can't get a loan unless you have a permanent resident or citizen co-signer.

Jman, about the co-signer, is the only requirement that he/she be a permanent resident or US citizen? They don't need to meet a certain financial threshold? My gf is a perm res and will get her citizenship soon but she has a mid 30s salary and not a lot of credit history, does that matter?

Didn't you apply for and get an OPT (Optional Practical Training)? I worked for a year and a half after I graduated from B-school on the strength of an OPT, prior to obtaining an H-1B. It's basically an extension of the F-1 and allows you to work for a certain period, typically 1 year, in a field related to your studies.

Yes, the only requirement for the co-signer is for him/her to be a permanent resident or citizen. However, he/she will be evaluated in the same manner that anyone applying for a loan would be evaluated, i.e., credit history and score, source of income, etc. She will probably still be able to help you get the loan, but the interest rate may not be so favorable due to her limited credit history, and I assume a relatively low credit score due to the limited history.

[Andreeai]

You can apply for, and get, a social security number. All you need to have is a job here... at my undergrad we "hire" all the incoming international students for a one-hour focus group, pay them each 10 bucks, and get them each a SSN that way. If you don't currently have a job in the country email your school and see what they can do. If you do, just hop on down to your friendly social security administration office... with all documentation of yourself that you could possibly present, and of your job. and with no plans for the rest of the day.

voila, US loans! crappy rates since you'll have no credit record, but... it's a start?

I have SSN and US income for the last 8 months. Do you mean I can qualify for a loan on my own then? I think this is wrong. I am still a non-citizen without a green card.

You need to be a permanent resident to apply for student loans.

[onkafug]

There is a limit to loans in Canada too but for those going into law or med school most Canadian banks will provide additional loans. They must bet lawyers and doctors are safer bets for substantial income post-graduation - we hope. The rate is decent too. Don't know about Mexico or other countries, but maybe banks there will also want to collect interest off a future lawyer.

[ScaredWorkedBored]

Nothing personal to those who are doing it, but someone in a non-marriage relationship should NEVER cosign any debt, let alone student loans. It's literally against every conceivable piece of legal advice they'd get from counsel.

[lostjake]

Nothing personal to those who are doing it, but someone [strike]in a non-marriage relationship[/strike]should NEVER cosign any debt, let alone student loans. It's literally against every conceivable piece of legal advice they'd get from counsel.

FTFY

It worked out pretty well for this guy: --LinkRemoved--

OP: Unless you got into a T6 you shouldn't go to law school in the US.

[ScaredWorkedBored]

Oh marriage lending goes spectacularly bad as well. Usually comes up in the context of the small business, where hubby gets wife to either personally guarantee and/or secure the loan for hubby's business idea with her property (including, of course, the family home in states where you can't encumber that without both spouses consent). Guess what happens when hubby defaults on the bank debt...

Doing it with a person you have NO LEGAL RELATIONSHIP with is just another level of massive stupid on top of that. Doing that with something that you cannot discharge unless you are dying relatively swiftly of terminal cancer or in an iron lung escalates that to about the dumbest thing imaginable.

[creatinganalt]

That thread was terrifying. I feel bad enough about my parents cosigning.

[biglll]

Nothing personal to those who are doing it, but someone in a non-marriage relationship should NEVER cosign any debt, let alone student loans. It's literally against every conceivable piece of legal advice they'd get from counsel.

I am shocked. If people trust no one, event their closest friends, and value money more than relationships.. it is not a society. OK, I'm a foreigner and may have my idiosyncratic representations, but.. if the majority here view it that way--I have to think twice before spending 3 years in this country.

[Aqualibrium]

Nothing personal to those who are doing it, but someone in a non-marriage relationship should NEVER cosign any debt, let alone student loans. It's literally against every conceivable piece of legal advice they'd get from counsel.

I am shocked. If people trust no one, event their closest friends, and value money more than relationships.. it is not a society. OK, I'm a foreigner and may have my idiosyncratic representations, but.. if the majority here view it that way--I have to think twice before spending 3 years in this country.

I think you are a bit confused; you chose not to cosign for anyone BECAUSE you value the friendship/relationship. So many things can go wrong in the course of repaying a loan; I don't think there is a person on the planet that can honestly say they wouldn't be bitter about having to repay 30, 40, 160k that they never even touched.

[ScaredWorkedBored]

Nothing personal to those who are doing it, but someone in a non-marriage relationship should NEVER cosign any debt, let alone student loans. It's literally against every conceivable piece of legal advice they'd get from counsel.

I am shocked. If people trust no one, event their closest friends, and value money more than relationships.. it is not a society. OK, I'm a foreigner and may have my idiosyncratic representations, but.. if the majority here view it that way--I have to think twice before spending 3 years in this country.

I think you are a bit confused; you chose not to cosign for anyone BECAUSE you value the friendship/relationship. So many things can go wrong in the course of repaying a loan; I don't think there is a person on the planet that can honestly say they wouldn't be bitter about having to repay 30, 40, 160k that they never even touched.

You also don't cosign because relationships end. Student loans don't. It's never a good idea to mix responsibility for debt into a relationship, but student loans are uniquely bad because they're completely undischargable in bankruptcy and immune to strategic default (i.e. you can't pay for the house so you mail the keys in, default and vacate).

It's never a good idea to "trust" someone else with a financial commitment of this size. It's just that the combination of an informal relationship and the most relentless type of debt is the worst position you can possibly put yourself in. There are bankruptcy court opinions holding that the cosigner is fully liable for the student loan debt even when the borrower has fled the country and the cosigner has no idea whether she is dead or alive.