The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced a new rule stopping Green Card holders from owning any part of businesses that seek SBA loans starting March 1. Earlier, non-citizens could own up to 5% of such businesses. This means millions of legal permanent residents will lose access to these loans. Dilawar Syed, a Pakistani-American businessman and former SBA leader, called the move "nothing but bad policy." He said, "Blocking millions of legal permanent residents from SBA loans isn’t pro-growth— it’s bad policy that hurts Main Street." An SBA spokesperson, Maggie Clemmons, told Axios, "The agency will no longer guarantee loans for small businesses owned by foreign nationals." She added that the SBA aims to support U.S. job creators with taxpayer dollars and hopes to offer more capital, pending legislation. Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us, criticized the policy, saying, "The all-of-govt approach to make life worse for immigrants hurts all Americans." Immigration lawyer Greg Siskind suggested the rule may be illegal and worth challenging since permanent residents had access before without Congressional changes. Green Card holders need to get SBA loan numbers before March 1 or will not be eligible if they are business partners.