cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?

tag
DantGwyrdd
Frequent Contributor

Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?

I've found out the hard (inquiry) way that F1 non-immigrant aliens pretty much cannot get personal loans from US banks (some banks would extend loans, but only with US resident co-signers; some WILL extend them to H-1Bs though, but that's pretty much it). On the other hand, I know for a fact that a lot of the banks (not all apparently), however, WILL extend revolving credit (major CCs, store cards) to F1 aliens without much difficulty (aside from them having to overcome the fact that they have no prior credit rating).

So, my question is the following: will banks extend auto loans to F1 aliens (with credit history, of course) on their own (i.e., without US resident co-signers)?

Message 1 of 12
11 REPLIES 11
emily504
Established Member

Re: Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?

I was an F1 student 11 years ago when I apply auto loan. Took almost a week for dealer to find a local bank that willing to give me auto loan without co-sign at that time with the reason short credit life. I have a job at that time thouugh co-op (which is a full-time co-op). 

It was my first auto loan

Message 2 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?


@DantGwyrdd wrote:

I've found out the hard (inquiry) way that F1 non-immigrant aliens pretty much cannot get personal loans from US banks (some banks would extend loans, but only with US resident co-signers; some WILL extend them to H-1Bs though, but that's pretty much it). On the other hand, I know for a fact that a lot of the banks (not all apparently), however, WILL extend revolving credit (major CCs, store cards) to F1 aliens without much difficulty (aside from them having to overcome the fact that they have no prior credit rating).

So, my question is the following: will banks extend auto loans to F1 aliens (with credit history, of course) on their own (i.e., without US resident co-signers)?


 

I was on F1 when I cosigned my best friend (also on F1) to get 24000 auto loan from Mazda American credit that was in 2007 and the best part was I wasn't even working. Today it might be a bit difficult mainly due to the economy out there.

 

Did you check with dealer since my couple of friends have got auto loans through dealers (some where on F1 and some on H1) at pretty decent rates. I think dealer is the way to go OR try to speak with you bank and see what they have to say

Message 3 of 12
DantGwyrdd
Frequent Contributor

Re: Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?

Thanks to both of you for your answers! They make me hopeful that it's possible to do it. Smiley Happy

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes if I apply for financing, although it won't be soon (I probably won't be in the market until September or October).

Message 4 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?

I bought my car five month after comming to US and I was on F1 visa. I had 2 credit cards but there was no score at that time. I was able to get a loan from a credit union, I paid 5k for down payment and financed the rest which was 6k. You should also go to credit unions, the banks have more restrictive conditions.

Message 5 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?

Hi There

 

Thanks for the answer. Could also tell us how much interest did you receive?

 

Thanks,

Message 6 of 12
pontevecchio
Established Member

Re: Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?

The post is 3.5 years old and hence you should possibly start a new thread if you need any input. This is in reference to the previous post.

Message 7 of 12
jhtrico1850
Regular Contributor

Re: Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?

I tried through many banks like Bank of America, BB&T, and even though I was a citizen, because the primary applicant was not a citizen, but had a work permit as a part of the DACA program, no one wanted to grant a loan, or at least a reasonable one. Santander was offering 25%. We got lucky, and the car dealer told us Ally Bank doesn't ask for citizenship. They offered us 7%. I think you can get a loan from Ally with 2 years of good credit, even without citizenship.

Message 8 of 12
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?

Hi,

I was kinda in the same situation as you one year ago. I wanted to finance a Japanese car say Toyota Camry, Honda Accord or Mazda-3, but I was not eligible for any of their in-house financing program (they could not offer financing to international students, but I heard some German makes do offer OEM financing for foreign studengs and you could check it out). I was referred by my classmate that Westbon serves specifically for international students. It did not require credit history or SSN, nor did it require co-signer. I only paid 30% as down payment for my 2013 Honda Accord LX, which was super acceptable for people like me whose budget was really limited. So I strongly recommend you to try WestbonSmiley Happy

Message 9 of 12

Re: Can foreign nationals with F1 (student) visas get auto loans (on their own) in the US?

I was in a similar situation but I had a job at the time + credit history so wasn't an issue. It's less about your status and more about if you have a paycheck coming in and if you have a credit score (which will then set your interest rate). Given F1 students can't have full time jobs - your best bet would be if you had a part time position that you could show could potentially pay for the car payment.

Message 10 of 12
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.