SBA district offices in District of Columbia
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) operates district offices to serve small business owners with counseling, loan programs, government-contracting assistance, and disaster relief.
⚠️ SBA loan programs closed to non-citizen owners in 2026
Since March 1, 2026 (7(a) and 504) and April 1, 2026 (microloans), SBA requires a business to be owned 100% by U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals. SBA’s “Ineligible Person” list covers undocumented owners — but also lawful permanent residents (green-card holders), asylees, refugees, DACA recipients and visa holders. An ITIN-only owner has no SBA loan path at all.
Two doors are still open: free SCORE / SBDC / Women’s Business Center counseling, which carries no citizenship requirement, and SBA disaster loans, which the 2026 notices did not touch and which still admit “qualified aliens”. Both are explained below, along with the non-SBA lenders that do accept an ITIN.
SBA offices serving District of Columbia
| District | Address | Phone | Counties served |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Metropolitan Area | Herndon 13221 Woodland Park Rd Herndon , VA 20171 | 202-205-8800 | the District of Columbia; Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland; and Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties and cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church in Virginia. |
What SBA district offices help with
- Free 1-on-1 business counseling via SCORE and SBDC partner organizations — open to everyone; no citizenship requirement
- SBA 7(a) loans — general-purpose loans up to $5M — U.S. citizens / U.S. nationals only since Mar 1, 2026
- SBA 504 loans — fixed-asset financing (real estate, equipment) — U.S. citizens / U.S. nationals only since Mar 1, 2026
- SBA microloans — up to $50K for startup costs — U.S. citizens / U.S. nationals only since Apr 1, 2026
- Government contracting — HUBZone, 8(a), WOSB, VOSB programs — 8(a) and HUBZone ownership requires U.S. citizenship (long-standing rule, not a 2026 change)
- Disaster loans — physical damage and economic injury — still open to “qualified aliens”, including green-card holders, asylees and refugees
- Export assistance — for businesses selling abroad
Who can actually use each SBA program (as of July 2026)
SBA rewrote this in 2026. The table below reflects SBA’s current SOPs — not the older guidance that most websites still repeat.
| Program | Undocumented / ITIN-only owner | Green-card holder (LPR), asylee, refugee, DACA | The rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7(a) and 504 loans | ❌ No | ❌ No — all named “Ineligible Persons” | 100% of owners must be U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals — SOP 50 10 8, effective Mar 1, 2026 |
| Microloans (up to $50K) | ❌ No | ❌ No | Same standard — SOP 52 00 B, effective Apr 1, 2026 |
| Free counseling — SCORE, SBDC, WBC | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | No citizenship requirement published (13 CFR 130 and 131; SBA’s counseling intake Form 641 asks no status question) |
| Free technical assistance from an SBA microloan intermediary | ❌ No | ❌ No | SBA grant-funded TA restricted to citizen / national-owned businesses — effective Apr 1, 2026 |
| Disaster loans | ❌ No | ✅ Yes — “qualified aliens” remain eligible | SOP 50 30 9: citizens, U.S. nationals and qualified aliens (8 U.S.C. § 1641(b)) |
| 8(a) / HUBZone ownership | ❌ No | ❌ No — SBA “does not consider holders of permanent visas and resident aliens to be citizens” | 13 CFR 124.105 and 126.103 — long-standing, not a 2026 change |
| Forming the LLC itself | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | No state requires citizenship or an SSN to form an LLC |
The counterintuitive part: a green-card holder is now ineligible for a 7(a) loan but still eligible for an SBA disaster loan. The two programs point in opposite directions. Do not reason from one to the other.
⚠️ Status of the change. On July 1, 2026 the Government Accountability Office found (B-338157) that SBA issued these notices without submitting them to Congress as the Congressional Review Act requires. The notices remain in effect — no court has enjoined them — but this is a live dispute. Confirm current policy with the district office before relying on it.
Where immigrant business owners can still get business capital
SBA’s door is closed, but CDFIs and nonprofit lenders are not — these state on their own pages that an ITIN is accepted.
⚠️ Ask which pot of money the loan comes from. Several of these lenders are also SBA microloan intermediaries. On their SBA-funded products the citizenship rule now binds them too; only their own non-SBA capital is still open to you.
| Lender | Where it lends | What its own page says | Published terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiva | US except NV and ND | “Kiva does not request or require your Social Security number as part of the application process.” | $1,000–$15,000, 0% interest, no fees, no collateral |
| DreamSpring | 27 states | “You must have a Social Security Number (SSN) or Tax Identification Number (ITIN).” | $1,000–$250,000+; 7.58–21.95% APR |
| LiftFund | Nationwide | “Their SSN or ITIN will be required to complete the application.” | Rates vary by product |
| LEDC | MD, VA, DC, Puerto Rico | “Yes, it is possible to access credit using your ITIN and an identity document.” | $1,000–$250,000; rates from 6.50% |
Beyond this list, ask a local CDFI directly: “do you lend to ITIN-only business owners, and is this loan SBA-funded or your own capital?” That second half of the question is the one that matters now.
Related procedural information
- Forming an LLC in District of Columbia — state-specific LLC formation procedure
- ITIN — file taxes without SSN — required for LLC tax filings
- ITIN-friendly business banking — open business accounts under ITIN
- Find an immigration attorney — for visa-tied business cases (E-2, EB-5)
Last verified: 2026-09-01. General procedural information — not legal, tax, or immigration advice.
Recent fee, deadline, and contact context (2025-2026)
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) backed 70,242 7(a) loans worth $31.1 billion in FY 2024 — an average loan size of $443,097 and a median of $150,000, calculated from SBA’s loan-level FOIA file rather than reported by SBA as such — and 78,078 loans worth $37.3 billion in FY 2025. SBA 504 loans (real estate + equipment) totaled $6.7 billion across 5,993 loans in FY 2024 and $7.8 billion across 6,762 loans in FY 2025. SBA Microloans (loans up to $50,000) came to $94 million across 5,800 loans in FY 2024; SBA puts the average microloan at about $13,000.
SBA guarantee fees on 7(a) loans with maturities over 12 months, for FY 2026 (October 1, 2025 - September 30, 2026), are 2% of the guaranteed portion on loans of $150,000 or less, 3% from $150,001 to $700,000, and 3.5% from $700,001 to $5,000,000 plus 3.75% on the guaranteed portion above $1,000,000; loans maturing in 12 months or less pay 0.25%, and SBA Express loans to veteran-owned businesses pay no guarantee fee. SBA physical-damage disaster loans carry a fixed rate that will not exceed 4% for applicants who cannot obtain credit elsewhere, and will not exceed 8% for applicants who can; repayment runs up to 30 years. Apply at sba.gov/disaster.
SCORE, the SBA resource partner that describes itself as the nation’s largest network of volunteer business mentors, provides mentoring that is “always free, for the life of your business”. Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) — roughly 1,000 full-time service centers nationwide — assist an estimated one million small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs each year. Many banks ask for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) before opening a business account; an LLC owner applies on IRS Form SS-4, and an owner who has an ITIN or no SSN can still obtain an EIN — the Form SS-4 instructions at irs.gov/instructions/iss4 set out the application routes. Contact SBA’s Answer Desk toll-free at 1-800-827-5722 Monday-Friday 9:00am-6:00pm Eastern Time (closed on federal holidays). For TTY / Telecommunications Relay Service dial 711; an ASL videophone is available at 855-440-4960.
USCIS Form I-9 employment verification is required for any non-owner employees you hire. State business licenses, payroll-tax registration, and unemployment insurance are administered separately — see your state’s Secretary of State and Department of Revenue.