Top Trump agency cuts off foreign nationals from all loan programs: 'Must prioritize American citizens'

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a new policy that would ban foreign nationals and noncitizens from accessing its loan services — a continuation of efforts to refocus federal resources to ventures that align with American prioritization.

"The Trump SBA is committed to driving economic growth and job creation for American citizens," SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said in a statement on Friday.

The requirement will apply to its Surety Bond and Microloan programs and is an expansion of changes made in February to the SBA’s 504 and 7(a) programs — loans for small businesses looking to finance working capital, equipment or acquisitions. Those earlier reforms prohibited SBA loans from going to businesses that are partially or wholly owned by foreign nationals.

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The Surety Bond helps new or inexperienced contractors bid for government jobs that require bonding. Similarly, The Microloan program looks to offer small businesses loans of up to $50,000 through approved third-party intermediaries.

"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.

SBA’s announcement comes on the heels of other, broader changes the agency has made to re-center its investments on U.S. citizens. In 2025, SBA began requiring citizenship verification across its loan programs and announced that it would move its offices out of so-called sanctuary cities, areas where local governments have instructed law enforcement not to cooperate with President Donald Trump's federal immigration enforcement efforts.

According to data from the SBA, the agency has 3,300 loans on the books for small businesses partially owned by lawful permanent residents, largely under the Biden administration. That figure represents 4% of the agency’s total loans — currently at 85,000.

SBA framed its policy change as a way to protect its limited resources and loan capital.

"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," Loeffler said.

The expanded policy will go into effect 30 days after the agency’s announcement.