Effective March 1, 2026, the SBA tightened its ownership rules again — and this time the change is significant. 100% of a business's ownership must now be held by U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals. Lawful permanent residents (green card holders) are no longer eligible, reversing the earlier version of SOP 50 10 8 that had allowed LPRs to qualify. Any ownership — including a minority stake — held by an ineligible person now disqualifies the entire application.
When SOP 50 10 8 first took effect on June 1, 2025, it required owners to be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or lawful permanent residents. A revised policy notice, effective March 1, 2026, removed lawful permanent residents from the eligible list entirely. Today, every direct and indirect owner must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national, and each owner must maintain their principal residence in the United States or its territories.
The list of owners who are now ineligible includes: green card holders (LPRs), visa holders and other non-immigrant aliens, refugees and asylum recipients, DACA recipients, individuals residing outside the U.S., and any entity organized outside the U.S. Lenders must verify citizenship status and review the complete ownership structure — including indirect ownership layers — before advancing an application.
The requirement applies to all owners — not just those with majority stakes. A business that is 95% owned by a U.S. citizen and 5% owned by a green card holder is now disqualified. There is no de minimis exception and no SBA waiver process. This most directly affects immigrant-owned businesses whose founders are lawful permanent residents but not yet citizens, businesses with foreign or non-citizen investor stakes, and any structure involving visa holders.
If you researched SBA eligibility in 2025, you may have been told green card holders qualify. That was true under the June 2025 rules but is no longer the case as of March 1, 2026. There is active political pushback on this change, so it is worth confirming current status with a lender before assuming you are ineligible.
If your current ownership structure includes an ineligible owner, the practical options are: (1) the ineligible owner transfers their stake to a U.S. citizen or U.S. national before the loan application; (2) an owner who is a green card holder completes naturalization to become a U.S. citizen; or (3) the business pursues non-SBA financing, such as a conventional bank loan or a USDA program where eligibility rules differ. There is no SBA waiver for this requirement.
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