BMW Lease with H1B visa

Ask the Hackrs
,
1

Hi folks, my girlfriend plans to lease a BMW with an MSRP of around 70k with 36mo terms. We both came to the States for college ten years ago. Currently, she is in the H1B status with a decent company and salary, while I am working toward my PhD (F1 student visa).

After a quick search in the forum, I found this post, which had a similar situation and leased a BMW with no issues back in 2020. The only differences are that we are not Canadian, and our previous cars were bought in cash during college. This made us initially confident that her visa status would not be a burden for the credit app, and we proceeded with a dealer, where we reached an ok deal, and they had an allocation for the build.

However, the first credit app was rejected immediately, and their system indicated

Due to recently issued SSN, please provide one of the following: Permanent Resident/Green Card, valid US passport, or a Certificate of US Naturalization

I suggested that we can try the Foreign Professional Program, and our SA is kind enough to help with the application for the second time. The application is again automatically rejected and requires multiple documents including:

− Copy of Visa and current I-94 form
− I-94 term must equal or exceed the term of the contract.

However, this becomes impossible because H1B status is renewed every three years by law. Her I94 has less than two years left and will get renewed then. Replies in the previously mentioned post stated they were never asked about their status. Unfortunately, it seems to no longer be the case.

I was wondering if any of you guys have had similar experiences recently. I would appreciate any suggestions!

TLDR. Financially, we can just buy the car with cash, and none of those issues would exist. On the other hand, our initial thought on the lease is that we can allocate the rest of the money for other assets/investments that might cover the interest and are easy to liquidate if things happen. Moreover, status-wise, the odds that she has to leave the US before the lease end is also low due to other personal reasons.

Thanks for your time!

2

probably no useful info provided in my post… will delete… why would BMW take the risk by leasing the car for 3 yrs and speculate on her immigration status being valid for 3 years. From your perspective , its fine … but from their side - you are just a lesse.

3

Hmm, could you get a letter from employer indicating renewal?

I’ve read they might accept that as a conditional?

4

If cash is there just do a 1pay lease. This way you satisfy the lease debt upfront.

5

Why would that help? Renewal isn’t in the hands of the employer. I’m surprised that leasing on H1B is a problem; hell, I know some on OPT who have leased.

1 Like
6

This is precisely what I thought and why I searched the forum before submitting the credit app. The chances that BMW set an automatic threshold to reject anyone with less than three years of valid I94, or know that more than half a million H1B holders renew their status every three years are equal.

7

Yes. We plan to submit a ticket for HR to get this kind of letter. However, it is also subject to her employer’s policy if she can have this kind of letter.

In fact, it does not make sense to me. If one is laid off or switches employer, the employer providing the letter is no longer sponsoring his/her H1B. This letter only shows that provided the applicant sticks with my company for another three years, his/her H1B will get renewed, but it does not mitigate the risk for the lender.

However, if BMW takes it, we are okay with their generosity.

8

In fact, I have told my SA many times that we would do a one-pay lease. However, I am not sure if SA has sent this info to whoever decides the credit app.

9

The OPT is also part of F1 status, and its I94 expiration date is D/S. I am unsure if BMW will ask them for EAD or I-20, where the expiration date appears. This is entirely my speculation.

10

Tbh I vaguely remember that a broker idr who specifically had a client who had to submit a letter like that to get a lease on a visa through.

11

IIRC BMW FS doesn’t care about the status.

Jaguar(Chase) did ask my employer to provide a letter that indicates they intend to keep me around for the duration of the lease.

12

This is my initial impression as well. Interestingly, Chase keeps advertising us with pre-approved car loans, lol. I honestly do not know if we filled in any information incorrectly, but the dealer said the status is the only thing missing.

13

Seems the problem is that your gf’s SSN or say credit history is too short, so BMW asks the additional materials to support. I would recommend to provide your H1B approval notice, proof of employment with salary, passport, etc., and work with your dealership/financial manager to run the credit again.

My experience is, your status should not be a problem, as long as your credit history is long enough (perhaps at least one year?). My friend and I have leased several BMW and MB models, under F1+at school job, F1+OPT/EAD, H1B, no issues so far.

Or, as lucas suggest, 1pay lease is also an option if BMWFS is good with that.

2 Likes
14

I have got a few leases approved from BMW with H1.

It is almost always a manual process for approval. In my case, I try them to pay all inceptions upfront, submit paystubs showing yearly income and even then the finance manager or sales manager has to call their contact in BM FS to pull some favors but it can be done. It is done using the foreign executive program BMW has.

The dealer won’t put the effort for a cheapie loaner but for an expensive car that is not discounted much they have some incentive to put the time and effort to get the approval.

The MF is almost always never base in this situation either and gets bumped up according to finance dept discretion and if your state allows doing MSD it never hurts your cause either.

However, doing some or part of the above doesn’t mean that you will be approved 100% but your chances increase substantially.

3 Likes
15

Before jumping through more hoops, do you want to ask the forum if it’s even a good deal?

16

Thanks for your inputs! It is very helpful!

17

Thanks for your help! Her SSN is about 5 years, and I also have friends with F1/ F1 OPT/ H1B get car loan/ lease with no issues. I am surprised that we do not get it smooth.

18

Haha, I did ask a few brokers advertised on the forum, and the deal this dealer offered to me is align with those brokers (m440, 4% with base MF). Of course, I think now with FPP, the MF may not in our favor. Honestly, I did not go through broker at the first place is worrying this H1B status maybe too troublesome, and not worth the broker fee they would earn.

If I have to say, it is never a good car to lease, but she has been really into this car for a while.

19

Then perhaps you will have to work with dealer closely as HN308 mentioned. 5 years of history is good enough. Anyway you may want to provide the documents as BMWFS requests, even i-94 is less than 3 years. Good luck!

20

Thanks! Hopefully, they would not rip me off with MF too much.