Riches in Niches – Going Against The Grain
Part VI in a series: Resident and Non-Resident Aliens

According to the US Census Bureau, our great nation accepted nearly 1.27 million new Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) in 2006! 

"If you can dream it, then you can achieve it. You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want."
~Zig Ziglar

By Grant C. Robin
Nationally Recognized Mortgage Expert

If you’ve been ignoring the news, then it’s time to wake up and smell the immigrants (not literally, please!).  We’re talking legal here, not the controversy over illegals that has set the media on fire as of late.  While it is common knowledge that this great country was built on immigrants from other nations, it is not common knowledge just how many make it to our borders and cross over (with the blessing of U.S. Customs) to become productive members of society. 

Because of the specialized knowledge and effort required, most of you are NOT marketing to this special niche.  In an effort to condense a tremendous volume of data and research, I’ve segmented the information into a few, easily accessible and readable sections.  This will give you a huge advantage over your rivals.

The Basics – Definitions

Alien - Any person who is not a United States citizen. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) classifies aliens as either non-residents or residents.

Permanent Resident Alien - A non-US citizen who has made the U.S. their permanent home and is recognized as such by being issued a “green card” by the US government (essentially a permanent visa). Many lenders treat permanent residents as US citizens when applying for a mortgage loan.  This means no restrictions as long as the borrower meets all other qualifying guidelines.

Non-Permanent Resident Alien – Also known as “non-perms”, these borrowers work and reside legally in the US.  They are NOT illegal aliens.  Their residency and work status are established by the type of visa they possess.  Know your visas!  Some of the main classifications are as follows:

• Series (A-1, A-2, A-3)
• Given to officials of foreign governments, immediate family members and support staff.
• H-1, Temporary Worker
• The most common visa given to foreign citizens who are temporarily working in the United States.
• L-1, Intra-Company Transferee
• Given to professional employees whose company’s main office is in a foreign country.
• E-1, Treaty Trader
• Very similar to the H-1 or L-1; the title refers to the foreign country’s status with the United States.
• G series (G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4, G-5)
• Given to employees of international organizations that are located in the United States.
• TN, NAFTA visa
• Used by Canadian or Mexican citizens for professional or business purposes.

Source: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/temp_1305.html (click the link to NonImmigrant Visa Applications, then click link to Printer Friendly Version)

Non-Resident Alien - An alien who meets neither the IRS's green card test (i.e. a lawful permanent resident) nor the Substantial Presence Test.  Often referred to as “Foreign Nationals”.  Remember, the IRS needs to classify all persons for tax reasons, what else!  The Substantial Presence Test basics are as follows:

1. 31 days during the current year, and
2. 183 days during the 3-year period that includes the current year and the 2 years immediately before that, counting:
1. All the days you were present in thecurrent year, and
2. 1/3 of the days you were present in the first year before the current year, and
3. 1/6 of the days you were present in the second year before the current year.

For more information: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf

Many non-resident aliens are often wealthy individuals or business owners with corporate offices/branches located in the USA.  They may often visit the United States and desire to purchase a home in which to stay while visiting.  Caveat – it is your responsibility to determine if the Foreign National borrower can enter the US legally.

Important Advice: Pursuing individuals with partial or full diplomatic immunity will most likely be a waste of your time when dealing with domestic lenders.  Due to the highly protected status of these individuals, many lenders will not lend to them.  Why?  Very simple – there is no recourse if the borrower defaults on the loan.

Top 3 Reasons To Capture the Minds of This Niche

Perhaps you’re under the impression that this niche is way too time intensive, requiring overwhelming knowledge, understanding and training.  Below are the top 3 reasons you can be the “go-to guru” in this market:

1. Most brokers believe this niche is small in comparison with some of the others we’ve discussed previously.
2. Most brokers believe it requires too much time and effort to learn how to effectively capture this market.
3. Few if any brokers know the potential referral numbers of this niche

Let’s begin by addressing the above Top 3 reasons.  If we can knock down some of the barriers and reveal some of the little known secrets to this niche, it will become that much more inviting – especially since fear of the unknown is a mental block we all have to some degree.

Small Niche?  If this was your perception, I have to say that you’ve been highly misinformed.  According to the US Census Bureau, our great nation accepted nearly 1.27 million new Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) in 2006.

Source: http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/

Time and Effort?  True!  Of course it takes time and effort to become a specialist.  Remember the old saying for hitch-hikers that ends in “…nobody rides for free?”  This niche is no different.  However, you already have many of the necessary tools to succeed by simply working in the business.  You may have a distinct advantage if you have specialized language skills and/or unique cultural background.  However, many American high school graduates have learned another language to some degree.  Chances are you were one of those amazing students! 

Brushing up on your skills in the next 30 days will do wonders for your new specialty niche.  In the time many spend at the water cooler each day (or checking spam emails), you could be well on your way to mastering a new language (hey, nobody said it would be easy).  There are several excellent online and software courses available.

Potential Referrals?  Ok, this is where the niche potential gets staggering.  Building trust with new members of our society takes time.  For some, it could be a few short days or weeks.  For others, months and even years.  However, once you build trust within a cultural niche, the previously quiet population will explode on your doorstep. 

Keep in mind that our society and social influences are often much different that those outside our culture.  We may not be loyal to any one person or product for long, but people who come to the USA are fiercely loyal to those who do right by them – those who treat them fairly, honestly and with respect.  They not only recommend your services, they can often blindly follow the advice of their fellow countryman and use your services as if no other even exists. 

In fact, nearly 2/3 of the Legal Permanent Residents are accepted due to families already in the USA sponsoring their relatives.  If 1.27 million new prospects came in during 2006 alone, imagine how many family members they have who are already here.  Then imagine what the 2007 numbers will be like.  Are these the kinds of clients you want?

Source: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/IS-4496_LPRFlowReport_04vaccessible.pdf

What Are Some Guidelines to Know?

As you’re well aware, this niche is like any other.  There will be specialty lenders catering to the borrowers’ needs, while the majority of lenders will stick to the plain-vanilla, rate-shopper loans.  Below are some guidelines that you will find at those specialty lenders.  Not all will require as much documentation as you see here, but the more familiar you are with the potential stipulations and additional documents, the better.

Permanent Resident Alien Guidelines:

• Evidence of permanent residency
• Alien Registration Receipt Card I-151 with a 10-year expiration date on the front but no expiration date on the back, or
• Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551 (Conditional Residential Alien Card, aka ‘Green Card’) that has an expiration date on the back, as long as its accompanied by a copy of a filed INS Form I-751; or
• An unexpired foreign passport that contains an unexpired stamp which reads “Processed for I-551.” Temporary Evidence of Lawful Admission for Permanent Residence. Valid until (mm-dd-yy). Employment Authorized.

• Completed Certificate of Residency
• If the Borrower is a permanent resident alien, the file must contain evidence of lawful permanent residency.  This certifies the borrower’s Alien Registration information has been reviewed and meets any of the criteria listed above.

• Any other Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services evidence.

Non-Permanent Resident Alien Guidelines:

Since not the same as a US citizen, there requirements must be listed in greater detail here:

• All documentation must be in English, or
• English translation must be provided by a certified third party translator.

• Documentation of a permanent residence abroad, and
•  Must qualify for the admission classification being sought.

• Established credit with a minimum of two (2) years of credit history, which may be supplemented by one year foreign debt history.

• Must have two (2) years of verifiable employment history with a U.S.-based or multi-national company, or
• Foreign Income is acceptable. Qualification ratios using foreign income will be determined by utilizing 75% of the current exchange rate to compensate for potential currency fluctuation.
• If living in the U.S. and earning income, borrower is required to file U.S. tax returns. Income may be earned in the U.S. or a foreign country and may be paid in U.S. or foreign currency.

• If no usable credit score is available (without U.S. sources), the lender may require that the borrower provide
• Non-traditional or international credit report, or
• Three original letters from a lending institution located in the country of origin.

• Assets
• All funds to close must be in U.S. bank accounts or in banks in major industrialized countries.
• Funds recently deposited into a U.S. depository institution are an acceptable source of funds if there is evidence that the funds were transferred from the country from which the borrower permanently resides, and it can be established that the funds were the borrower’s before the date of transfer. In this case, the sources of all funds used for closing should be verified the same as for a borrower who is a U.S. citizen.
• Funds for the down payment, closing costs, and reserves must be verified as being on deposit in a U.S. bank prior to closing.

Caveat – lenders may sometimes view the Non-Perm borrower with traditional guidelines when the borrower has a US citizen as the co-borrower.

Where Do I Find These Niche Borrowers?

Depending on your location, chances are you’re already acquainted with someone who knows a Resident or Non-Resident Alien.  One of the best places to begin is with your own database of clients and other business and friendly contacts.  But suppose your database isn’t in the thousands and you want to really dig in deep and locate these borrowers.  What do you do then?

Below is a list of excellent places to start your search.  Identify your target market, build your lists and let them know who you are and what you do:

1. Immigration Attorneys

• Specialists

http://www.lawyers.com/Immigration/browse-by-location.html

• Free Legal Services

http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/probono/states.htm

2. CPAs, Accountants and Tax Preparers

• http://www.cpadirectory.com/

3. Local U.S. Immigration Offices/Outreach Centers

• https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=LO (scroll to bottom)

4. Religious Centers/Local Churches

• Sorry, you will have to find these on your own!

5. Ethnic Chambers of Commerce – two of the largest immigration populations are of Asian and Hispanic heritage.  Below are links to large organizations in the US with member directories.
1. Asian

• US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC)
• http://www.uspaacc.com/uspac/about/regional_chapters.htm
• The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
• http://www.napaba.org/
• NAAAP: The National Association of Asian American Professionals
• http://www.naaap.org/

2. Hispanic

• United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• http://www.ushcc.com/about.html
• The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA)
• http://www.hnba.com/

3. Bonus: Google Keywords