There have been a number of reported cases recently in which foreign nationals have applied for a mortgage to purchase a home and indicated on the loan application that they are U.S. citizens. Unfortunately, even permanent residents, who have the same rights as citizens to apply for these loans, have made the same mistake.
Obviously, if someone is in the United States without status it is clearly a violation of the law and a deportable offense to indicate that he or she is a U.S. citizen. For those who have permanent residence, it is still a fraudulent statement to make a claim to U.S. citizenship and it is even more unfortunate since the loan application form allows for loan application approval if in permanent resident status.
In some cases, it is obvious that the individual did not intend to make a claim of U.S. citizenship. For those of us who have attended the “closing” for the purchase of a home, we all know that there are dozens of documents which require signature and almost none of them are adequately explained and certainly are not reviewed carefully at that time. Unfortunately, a false claim to U.S. citizenship, even if unintended, is still a deportable offense and can also prevent the individual from obtaining permanent residence in the future. Therefore, it is very important to carefully review all loan documents during the purchase of a home to make sure that the information is correct.