American Entrepreneurs First Act of 2025

The bill would require every application for a Small Business Administration 7(a) loan or 504 loan to include the date of birth of each individual applicant or business owner, a certification that the applicant or all beneficial owners are U.S. citizens, nationals, or lawful permanent residents, and — for lawful permanent residents — the individual's alien registration number. It would also require certification that no direct or indirect owner of an applicant business is an "ineligible person" as defined by the bill.

The bill would make six categories of individuals ineligible for these loans: asylees, refugees, individuals issued a visa to remain in the United States, nonimmigrant aliens under the Immigration and Nationality Act, individuals granted deferred action under the DACA policy announced June 15, 2012, and individuals present without lawful immigration status. Any application submitted after enactment that lacks the required documentation would be automatically ineligible regardless of the applicant's citizenship status.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs who apply for SBA 7(a) or 504 loans — particularly those who are asylees, refugees, visa holders, DACA recipients, or undocumented, all of whom would become newly ineligible. Lawful permanent residents would remain eligible but must provide alien registration numbers. The Small Business Administration would need to update application forms and screening procedures.

Entrepreneurs in the newly ineligible categories — including asylees, refugees, and DACA recipients — would lose access to one of the most accessible forms of small-business financing available to those who cannot obtain conventional bank credit. Because the prohibition extends to any business with an ineligible direct or indirect owner, it would affect not only individual applicants but also businesses co-owned by a mix of eligible and ineligible individuals.

The SBA Administrator would need to update the 7(a) and 504 loan application forms to collect the required date-of-birth, citizenship certification, and alien registration number fields. Lenders and SBA staff would verify that certifications are present and complete before processing applications. The ineligibility prohibition is self-executing upon enactment for any application submitted after that date; no rulemaking timeline is specified, but the bill directs the Administrator to ensure all applications include the required information. No grant cycle, reporting requirement, or phase-in period is established.