Yes, H1B visa holders can buy a house in the United States. No federal law ties property ownership to citizenship or immigration status, and your visa category has no bearing on your right to own real estate. What changes on an H1B is the paperwork around financing, the tax treatment when you eventually sell, and the risk calculus if your employment ends. Getting those pieces right before you shop can save you thousands of dollars and months of frustration.
Mortgage Options on an H1B
Most H1B holders finance a home the same way U.S. citizens do: a conventional or government-backed mortgage. Fannie Mae, which sets the underwriting standards most conventional lenders follow, explicitly allows loans to non-permanent resident aliens who can demonstrate lawful residency and meet the other eligibility rules.1Fannie Mae. Non-U.S. Citizen Borrower Eligibility Requirements In practice, your H1B status and a valid I-94 clear the residency hurdle.
FHA loans are also open to you. HUD eliminated the requirement that H1B applicants obtain a separate Employment Authorization Document for an FHA mortgage. You now need your I-94 showing H1B status and evidence of at least one year of employment with your H1B-sponsoring employer.2Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mortgagee Letter 2021-12 – Eligibility Requirements for Certain Non-Permanent Resident Borrowers FHA loans allow down payments as low as 3.5%, which is often the deciding factor if you haven’t had years to save in the U.S.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. FHA Loans
A smaller set of lenders offer ITIN loans for borrowers without a Social Security Number, but as an H1B worker you have an SSN through your employment authorization, so these programs are more relevant to a spouse or dependent on your visa than to you.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Can I Get a Mortgage With an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Instead of a Social Security Number?
Credit and Down Payment Expectations
Your credit score drives the interest rate you’ll be offered. Fannie Mae removed its longstanding 620 minimum credit score requirement for loans run through its Desktop Underwriter system, effective November 16, 2025.5Fannie Mae. Selling Guide Announcement SEL-2025-09 Individual lenders still set their own floors, and a score in the mid-600s or higher opens meaningfully better rates. If you’ve been in the country less than two years, your credit file may be thin. Opening a card, keeping utilization low, and paying every bill on time is the fastest way to build a usable score.
Conventional down payments typically run 3% to 20% of the purchase price. Some lenders ask non-permanent residents to put down 20% or more even when their guidelines allow 3% for citizens. It isn’t universal, but it’s common enough to budget for. FHA keeps the 3.5% minimum regardless of visa status, which is one reason the program is popular with H1B buyers.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. FHA Loans If a large share of your down payment is coming from overseas, keep careful records of the transfer. Underwriters trace source of funds, and a clean paper trail matters.
Documents You’ll Be Asked For
Expect more paperwork than a citizen would face. The lender has to verify two things citizens don’t have to prove: your legal right to be in the country and the likelihood your income will continue.
For immigration status, lenders typically ask for your I-94 arrival/departure record showing current H1B status, your I-797 approval notice from USCIS, a valid passport, and your H1B visa stamp if you have one. Not every H1B holder has a stamp, since those who adjusted status inside the U.S. may not have been to a consulate.
For income, you’ll generally provide recent pay stubs, W-2 forms or tax returns for the prior two years, and an employer letter confirming your position and salary.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Can a Lender Make Me Provide Documents Like My W-2 or Pay Stub in Order to Give Me a Loan Estimate? If your H1B petition expires within the next year, many lenders also want a letter from your employer stating they intend to file for an extension. That’s the lender gauging continuity of income, not an immigration requirement.
You’ll also need bank statements showing enough for the down payment, closing costs, and several months of reserves. If part of the money is wired from abroad, be ready with wire records and foreign bank statements documenting where the funds originated.
Taxes While You Own and When You Sell
Resident Alien Status Is What Actually Matters
The IRS doesn’t key its rules to your visa. It keys them to whether you’re a resident alien or nonresident alien for tax purposes, and that classification controls which homeowner deductions and exclusions you can claim. Most H1B holders become resident aliens under the substantial presence test after their first full calendar year in the country.7Internal Revenue Service. Taxation of Alien Individuals by Immigration Status – H-1B
The test counts your physical presence over three years: all days in the current year, one-third of the days in the prior year, and one-sixth of the days from two years back. Reach a weighted total of 183 days (with at least 31 days in the current year) and you’re a resident alien.8Internal Revenue Service. Substantial Presence Test An H1B worker who spends at least 122 days in the U.S. each year will clear the threshold by their third calendar year.7Internal Revenue Service. Taxation of Alien Individuals by Immigration Status – H-1B
Once classified as a resident alien, the IRS treats you the same as a U.S. citizen for income tax purposes.9Internal Revenue Service. Publication 519 – U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens If you itemize, you can claim the mortgage interest deduction and deduct state and local property taxes under the same $10,000 SALT cap that applies to everyone else.
Selling: Section 121 and FIRPTA
Sell your primary residence after owning and living in it for at least two of the five years before the sale, and you can exclude up to $250,000 of capital gain from income, or $500,000 if married filing jointly.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 121 – Exclusion of Gain From Sale of Principal Residence Resident aliens are eligible, so if you’re still on H1B and meeting the substantial presence test when you sell, you can use it.
The problem shows up if you’ve left the U.S. and are no longer a resident alien at the time of sale. Then the buyer must withhold 15% of the sale price under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act and remit it to the IRS.11Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA Withholding That’s 15% of the gross amount realized, not of your profit, so the withholding often far exceeds your real tax liability. You can file a return to claim a refund, but recovery takes months.
Two exceptions help. If the buyer intends to use the property as a personal residence and the sale price is $300,000 or less, FIRPTA withholding doesn’t apply.12Internal Revenue Service. Exceptions From FIRPTA Withholding You can also apply for a withholding certificate that reduces the amount withheld to match your actual expected tax, which is especially useful if you still qualify for the Section 121 exclusion as a nonresident.11Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA Withholding Selling before you leave is far simpler than selling after.
Foreign Account Reporting
If you keep bank accounts in your home country with a combined balance over $10,000 at any point in the year, you must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) with FinCEN.13FinCEN. Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts The duty exists regardless of whether you’re buying a house, but home purchases often trigger it. Wiring a down payment from abroad can push a foreign account over the threshold earlier in the year or draw attention to accounts you hadn’t previously reported. Penalties for failing to file are steep.
If You Lose Your Job or Leave the Country
This is the risk that keeps H1B homeowners up at night, and it deserves honest attention. If your H1B employment ends, federal regulations give you a grace period of up to 60 days to find a new sponsoring employer, change to another visa status, or depart.14eCFR. 8 CFR 214.1 – Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status The 60-day window can’t extend past the end date on your I-94. If your authorized stay expires in 30 days, you have 30 days, not 60. You also can’t work during the grace period unless a new employer has filed an H1B transfer petition.
The good news: losing your job or even leaving the country doesn’t force you to sell. No law requires you to divest real estate when your visa status changes. You can keep the house, rent it out, or leave it empty. The hard parts are practical. Managing a property from abroad, paying the mortgage without U.S. income, and dealing with FIRPTA if you sell as a nonresident alien. Rental income you earn after leaving still has to be reported on a U.S. tax return.
Some H1B buyers build a reserve of six months or more of mortgage payments specifically to cover a gap in employment. That buffer gives you time to find a new sponsor or arrange an orderly sale instead of a forced one. If you’re early in your H1B and don’t yet have a green card petition in progress, factor this into whether and when to buy.
State Restrictions Tied to Nationality
A growing number of states have enacted laws restricting property purchases by nationals of countries designated as foreign adversaries. These laws primarily target agricultural land, but in some states they extend to all categories of real estate. As of 2025, roughly a dozen states had such restrictions on the books, with others considering similar legislation. The restricted countries typically include China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and a handful of others identified in federal national security assessments.
The laws generally turn on nationality or country of origin, not visa type. An H1B holder from a restricted country could be barred from certain purchases even with valid work authorization. Penalties in some states include forced divestiture and civil fines. If you’re a national of one of the commonly restricted countries, check your state’s rules before making an offer, and consider consulting a real estate attorney who knows the local framework.
The Buying Process in Brief
Once your finances and documents are in order, the process follows the same path any U.S. buyer takes. Start with mortgage pre-approval. The lender reviews your income, credit, and documentation and tells you how much they’re willing to lend. A pre-approval letter makes your offers more competitive because sellers know you can close.
With pre-approval in hand, work with a real estate agent to find properties in your range. When you find one, you submit an offer. If the seller accepts, you sign a purchase agreement and enter closing, which usually runs 30 to 45 days. During that window you schedule a home inspection, the lender orders an appraisal, and both sides work through the remaining paperwork. At closing you sign the mortgage, pay your down payment and closing costs, and get the keys.
Buyer closing costs typically run 2% to 5% of the purchase price and include lender fees, title insurance, the appraisal, and prepaid property taxes. These sit on top of your down payment, so budget them separately. Some lenders will let you roll closing costs into the loan, but that raises your balance and your monthly payment.