New Banking Scrutiny for Immigrants and ITIN Holders: What Has Changed—and What Has Not

Updated August 8, 2026

In May 2026, President Trump signed Executive Order 14406, “Restoring Integrity to America’s Financial System,” directing federal financial regulators to increase scrutiny of certain banking and lending activity involving people who are not authorized to work in the United States.

News reports understandably caused concern that immigrants might soon be unable to open bank accounts, obtain mortgages, use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), or even keep existing accounts.

The reality is more complicated.

The Executive Order does not ban immigrants from having bank accounts. It does not prohibit the use of ITINs. It does not require banks to close accounts held by undocumented immigrants. And it does not currently require every bank customer to prove U.S. citizenship.

But the Administration has begun implementing the Order, and immigrants—particularly people without employment authorization who use ITINs or foreign identification documents—may see increased scrutiny when applying for bank accounts, mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, and other financial products.

What Did the Executive Order Actually Do?

President Trump signed Executive Order 14406 on May 19, 2026. Rather than immediately creating a new nationwide banking rule, the Order directed the Treasury Department, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and federal banking regulators to take a series of actions over the following months.

One of the most significant provisions concerns Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, or ITINs.

The Order identifies the use of an ITIN to open a bank account or obtain credit—when the person does not have verified lawful immigration status—as a potential risk factor that may justify additional review by a financial institution. It also directs regulators to consider whether banks should be permitted to obtain information about immigration status or employment authorization when other risk indicators are present.

That is important, but it is not the same thing as saying:

“Anyone with an ITIN cannot have a bank account.”

No such rule currently exists.

An ITIN Is Not Proof That Someone Is Undocumented

This distinction is particularly important.

An ITIN is a tax-processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service to people who need a U.S. taxpayer identification number for federal tax purposes but are not eligible for a Social Security number. The IRS expressly states that an ITIN does not grant immigration status or employment authorization. People may need ITINs for many legitimate tax reasons, including certain nonresident taxpayers, spouses and dependents, students, researchers, and others.

The new policy does not cancel ITINs or change a person’s obligation to file taxes.

If you are required to file taxes using an ITIN, you should continue to comply with your tax obligations.

What Has Already Changed?

Several parts of the Executive Order have now been implemented.

1. Treasury and FinCEN Issued New Guidance to Banks

On June 5, 2026, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory to banks and other financial institutions concerning financial activity involving people without work authorization and employers who unlawfully employ or exploit them.

The advisory identifies a number of potential warning signs involving payroll fraud, identity theft, shell companies, off-the-books wages, labor trafficking, suspicious cash transactions, and similar conduct.

It also specifically discusses ITINs.

Importantly, Treasury did not say that use of an ITIN by itself proves fraud or unlawful immigration status. Instead, the advisory tells financial institutions to consider ITIN use “in light of the totality of other factors and available information to the bank.” When an ITIN is used instead of a Social Security number or employment-authorization documentation, a bank may consider whether additional review is appropriate.

In practical terms, an ITIN may now draw additional questions that it did not generate in the past.

2. Lenders Received New Guidance About Immigration Status

On June 8, 2026, the CFPB issued a Statement on Ability to Repay and Immigration Status.

The CFPB explained that creditors may consider a borrower’s immigration status when evaluating whether the borrower will continue to have sufficient income to repay certain loans. Where information available to a creditor indicates that a person’s immigration circumstances could reasonably cause a future loss of U.S.-based employment income, the creditor may—in some situations—have to take that information into consideration when evaluating ability to repay.

This is especially relevant to mortgages and certain credit products.

The CFPB’s statement itself is guidance and expressly says that it does not have the force or effect of law. But lenders are already being told to incorporate these considerations into existing underwriting requirements.

3. Federal Banking Regulators Followed With Additional Lending Guidance

On July 13, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, FDIC, and National Credit Union Administration issued joint guidance concerning lending to people who are not legally authorized to work in the United States.

The agencies stated that uncertainty regarding employment authorization can affect the stability of a borrower’s income and therefore may be relevant to credit risk. Financial institutions were instructed to incorporate those considerations into underwriting, account management, credit classification, and compliance procedures while continuing to comply with applicable consumer-protection laws.

For clients, this means that the credit side of the policy is no longer merely a future possibility. Banks and credit unions have already received federal guidance telling them to consider these issues.

Does This Mean Banks Must Check Everyone’s Citizenship?

No—not under the current rules.

Earlier reports indicated that the Administration was considering a much broader policy requiring banks to collect citizenship information from customers. The final Executive Order stopped short of imposing that requirement.

Executive Order 14406 instead uses a risk-based approach. It directs regulators to develop rules that would allow or require additional customer information when other risk indicators or compliance concerns exist.

There is currently no blanket federal requirement under this Executive Order requiring every existing bank customer to prove citizenship.

There is also no provision in the Order automatically requiring banks to close the accounts of everyone who uses an ITIN.

Individual banks, however, may change their internal identification, underwriting, and risk-management policies in response to the new federal guidance.

Does This Affect All Noncitizens?

No.

“Noncitizen” covers an enormous range of people: lawful permanent residents, temporary workers, students, visitors, asylum applicants, refugees, people with employment authorization documents, people with pending immigration cases, and people without lawful immigration status.

The July banking guidance specifically addresses borrowers who are not legally authorized to work in the United States.

That means a person should not assume that being a noncitizen automatically makes them subject to these restrictions.

Someone who has lawful immigration status or valid employment authorization may nevertheless be asked to document that status, particularly if a bank’s records do not clearly establish the source and expected continuation of the person’s income.

What About Existing Bank Accounts?

At this time, Executive Order 14406 does not direct banks to terminate existing accounts simply because the customer is undocumented or uses an ITIN.

That does not mean nothing can happen.

Financial institutions already have extensive obligations under federal anti-money-laundering laws to know their customers, investigate suspicious activity, request updated identifying information, and sometimes restrict or terminate accounts based on their own compliance policies. The Administration’s new guidance may cause banks to scrutinize certain accounts or transactions more closely.

But there is an important difference between increased scrutiny and a categorical ban on immigrant banking.

We do not currently have the latter.

Could Banking Information Be Shared With the Government?

Financial institutions have long been required to report certain suspicious financial activity to federal authorities.

The June FinCEN advisory gives banks additional indicators to consider when determining whether financial transactions may be connected to payroll fraud, identity theft, unlawful employment schemes, labor trafficking, or other illegal activity. FinCEN has also expanded guidance concerning information sharing among participating financial institutions when suspected fraud or other specified unlawful activity is involved.

That does not mean every person who uses an ITIN will automatically be reported to immigration authorities.

The FinCEN guidance specifically instructs banks to consider the totality of the circumstances, rather than treating ITIN use alone as proof of illegal conduct.

Clients should nevertheless understand that financial institutions are being encouraged to look more closely at transactions that combine immigration-related indicators with evidence suggesting fraud, unlawful employment schemes, identity misuse, structured cash transactions, or other suspicious activity.

The Biggest Changes May Still Be Coming

This is perhaps the most important part of the story.

The Executive Order established several deadlines, and not all of them have passed.

As of August 8, 2026, the Administration has completed much of the initial 60-day work: the FinCEN advisory has been issued, the CFPB has issued its lending statement, and federal banking regulators have issued lending guidance.

But two significant steps remain.

Under the Executive Order, Treasury has 90 days from May 19, 2026—approximately August 17, 2026—to propose changes to Bank Secrecy Act customer-due-diligence regulations. Those proposed changes could determine when and under what circumstances banks seek information concerning lawful immigration status or employment authorization.

The Order also gives Treasury and federal financial regulators 180 days—approximately November 15, 2026—to consider additional changes to customer-identification requirements, including how banks should treat foreign consular identification documents.

As of August 8, I have not located the 90-day immigration-related Bank Secrecy Act proposal contemplated by Section 3(b) of the Executive Order.

So this policy is still developing.

What Should Immigrant Families Do Right Now?

There is no reason to panic or immediately withdraw money from a bank merely because you are not a U.S. citizen or because you use an ITIN.

Instead, immigrants should be prepared for the possibility of additional questions from banks and lenders.

If your bank requests updated information, do not provide false information, another person’s Social Security number, altered immigration documents, or inaccurate information about your immigration status or employment authorization. If you have valid immigration or employment-authorization documents, keep copies readily available.

If you use an ITIN, remember that the ITIN remains valid for its intended federal tax purpose. This Executive Order did not eliminate ITINs or relieve anyone of federal tax-filing obligations.

And if a bank freezes or closes an account, refuses to open an account, or denies significant credit based on questions about immigration status, obtain as much information as possible about the institution’s reason before deciding what to do next.

The Bottom Line

The May 2026 Executive Order represents a significant change in how the federal government wants financial institutions to think about immigration status, employment authorization, and financial risk.

But some headlines have made the policy sound broader than it currently is.

Immigrants have not been categorically banned from U.S. banks. ITIN accounts have not been outlawed. Banks have not been ordered to close every account belonging to an undocumented person. And there is not currently a universal citizenship-verification requirement for bank customers.

What has changed is that banks and lenders are being encouraged—and in some contexts instructed—to scrutinize immigration and work-authorization issues more closely when those issues may relate to identity verification, suspicious financial activity, or a borrower’s ability to repay credit.

And additional rules are still coming.

We will continue monitoring Treasury and federal banking regulators as the remaining provisions of Executive Order 14406 are implemented.

This article is intended for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Immigration and banking issues are highly fact-specific, and federal policies may change quickly.

Sources & Further Reading

Primary Government Sources

Executive Order 14406, “Restoring Integrity to America’s Financial System”
Exec. Order No. 14,406, 91 Fed. Reg. 30,479 (May 22, 2026).
The Executive Order signed May 19, 2026, directing Treasury and federal financial regulators to address customer identification, due diligence, ITIN-related risk indicators, and lending to individuals without work authorization.
Read the Executive Order – White House
Official Federal Register version – GovInfo

White House Fact Sheet: “President Donald J. Trump Restores Integrity to America’s Financial System”
May 19, 2026.
A summary of the Administration’s stated purpose for the Executive Order and the actions directed to Treasury, the CFPB, and federal banking regulators.
Read the White House Fact Sheet

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Advisory FIN-2026-A002
Joint Advisory on Non-Work Authorized Populations and Their Employers and Risks to the Integrity of the U.S. Financial System, June 5, 2026.
The advisory discusses suspicious-activity indicators, ITIN use, identity documentation, payroll and employment schemes, and the circumstances under which financial institutions may conduct additional review.
Read FinCEN Advisory FIN-2026-A002

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “Statement on Ability To Repay and Immigration Status”
91 Fed. Reg. 34,607–34,609 (June 8, 2026).
CFPB guidance addressing when immigration and employment-authorization information may be relevant to a creditor’s determination of a borrower’s ability to repay under federal lending law.
Read the Federal Register text

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, FDIC & National Credit Union Administration, Interagency Guidance on Lending to Individuals Not Legally Authorized to Work in the United States
OCC Bulletin 2026-31, July 13, 2026.
The agencies advise banks and credit unions to account for risks associated with employment authorization when evaluating repayment capacity, underwriting loans, managing accounts, and classifying credit.
Read OCC Bulletin 2026-31
Read the NCUA announcement

Internal Revenue Service, Topic No. 857: Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
The IRS explains the purpose and limitations of an ITIN, including that an ITIN is issued for federal tax purposes and creates no inference regarding a person’s immigration status or right to work in the United States.
Read IRS Topic No. 857

Internal Revenue Service, Additional ITIN Information
Additional IRS guidance explaining that an ITIN does not change a person’s immigration status or provide employment authorization.
Read Additional ITIN Information

Important Note

This area remains subject to change. Executive Order 14406 directs Treasury and other federal financial regulators to consider and propose additional regulatory changes that have not all been finalized. Readers should therefore check the most recent Treasury, FinCEN, CFPB, OCC, FDIC, and NCUA guidance before relying on older reports about the scope of the policy.