Legislation to make Social Security Number As Mortgage Prerequisite
| New legislation on Capitol Hill seeks to curb an increasingly popular mortgage practice: providing home loans to applicants using their Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN), in lieu of Social Security numbers. ITINs are issued by the Internal Revenue Service to immigrant workers who do not qualify for Social Security numbers for use when they report their income and pay federal taxes. |  |
Dozens of banks around the country have begun offering home mortgages to undocumented immigrants using ITINs, but their programs generally have been low-key and small. Bank of America stirred controversy earlier this month when it announced a pilot program in Los Angeles to provide credit cards to resident immigrants who lack Social Security numbers but have ITINs. Some critics charged that the bank was seeking to profit by helping illegal immigrants who should be deported or prosecuted, not extended consumer credit. Bank of America said its program is legal and may be rolled out nationwide if the pilot is successful.
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