“I am on a TN visa working in the US and starting a part-time master's degree. I need to cover about $40k in tuition after my employer's contribution and a scholarship. What are my options for getting a student loan in the US while on a TN visa?”
Your TN status does not prevent an incidental part-time master’s. The hard part is lender underwriting, and you have a concrete private-loan route if your school participates and you can supply the required U.S. cosigner.
Your route forks on two facts: whether the school classifies you as at least half-time and whether you have a creditworthy U.S.-citizen or permanent-resident .
This is the broadest verified part-time route. Sallie Mae accepts noncitizens residing and studying in the United States when they apply with a creditworthy U.S.-citizen or permanent-resident cosigner; its current terms allow full-time, half-time, and less-than-half-time enrollment. It can lend from $1,000 up to 100% of , but a direct application cannot exceed that cost minus financial aid received.
Use these only if your school calls your load at least and you have the required cosigner. Ascent expressly lists TN as an acceptable temporary-resident category and requires an SSN; its international graduate product requires an eligible school and U.S.-citizen or permanent-resident cosigner. Citizens likewise requires at least half-time enrollment in a degree program at an eligible institution and that cosigner, and advertises $1,000 up to 100% of certified cost minus other aid.
A payment plan is not a student loan, but CFPB lists it as a way to pay for graduate school. Obtain the bursar’s written installment schedule first; it may reduce the amount you need to finance, although your school-specific dates and fees are unresolved here.
TN is legally temporary entry under 8 CFR 214.6. Federal Title IV aid requires U.S. citizenship/nationality or evidence of a qualifying non-temporary status under 34 CFR 668.33, so TN status alone does not unlock federal student loans.
MPOWER normally advertises no-cosigner loans for international students at eligible schools, but its current page says it cannot offer new loans for 2026 because it has reached funding capacity. The waitlist does not cover a tuition bill now.
Every private-loan route remains subject to credit approval, an eligible/participating school, and school certification of the amount.
These steps establish your certifiable gap first, then send you to the lender branch that matches your enrollment level.
Before applying
Get the school’s three written figures
Ask the financial-aid office for: (1) its official full-time/half-time threshold for this master’s program, (2) your for the exact enrollment period, and (3) your estimated financial assistance for that period after the scholarship and employer benefit. These are the figures needed for lender certification and the private-loan self-certification.
Requirements
Before fixing the loan amount
Price the school payment plan
Ask the bursar for a written plan covering this tuition period and subtract only the installments you can pay from cash flow. Your school is not identified, so its exact installments, deadlines, and fees remain unresolved rather than guessed.
Requirements
After the gap is final
Prepare the borrower and cosigner documents
For Ascent, the TN document must not expire within six months of the end of the enrollment period covered by the loan; its page also requires an SSN and product-specific international terms require the U.S. cosigner. Sallie Mae requires the international borrower to reside and attend school in the United States and apply with that cosigner.
Requirements
Use your school’s classification
Apply through the matching lender branch
If you are less than half-time, use Sallie Mae Graduate School Loan at https://www.salliemae.com/student-loans/graduate-student-loans/graduate-school-loan/; its terms expressly include less-than-half-time students. If you are at least half-time, also compare Ascent at https://www.ascentfunding.com/college-loans/international-student-loans/ and Citizens at https://www.citizensbank.com/student-loans/graduate-loans.aspx. Request no more than the school-certified residual amount.
Requirements
After conditional approval
Submit the self-certification and review disclosures
Give the lender the signed private-education-loan self-certification required by 12 CFR 1026.48(e)(3). Compare fixed versus variable APR, total repayment, in-school payment, deferment, and cosigner-release terms shown in each written disclosure; do not compare only the monthly payment.
Requirements
Before the school’s due date
Accept with enough time for cancellation
You may accept within 30 calendar days after receiving the approval disclosures. After final disclosures, you may cancel without penalty through midnight of the third business day, and the lender cannot disburse until that period ends.
Requirements
You are not the first to go through this. Here is how it went for others who asked the same thing.
u/Worth-Science5995r/InternationalStudentsMar 24, 2026
u/Worth-Science5995r/personalfinanceMar 26, 2026
This answer rests on ICE/SEVP guidance, current eCFR rules, CFPB Regulation Z, and the lenders’ own published eligibility terms.
SEVP, Nonimmigrants: Who Can Study?
ICE confirms that TN professionals may study incidentally, including part-time, while continuing to obey TN limits.
General Notes and TN row
Nonimmigrants who are attending school incidental to their primary purpose for being in the United States may attend the school of their choice either part-time or full-time (unless otherwise noted). However, these nonimmigrants must abide by the rules of their current status and cannot extend their stay in the United States for the purposes of completing a program of study or a degree.
8 CFR 214.6(b)
TN is a temporary-entry classification, which is why TN alone does not satisfy the non-temporary federal-aid route.
(b), Temporary entry
Temporary entry, as defined in the USMCA, means entry without the intent to establish permanent residence.
34 CFR 668.33(a)
The federal-aid rule requires citizenship/nationality or qualifying evidence of a non-temporary immigration purpose.
(a)(1)-(2)
Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, to be eligible to receive title IV, HEA program assistance, a student must— (1) Be a citizen or national of the United States; or (2) Provide evidence from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service that he or she— (i) Is a permanent resident of the United States; or (ii) Is in the United States for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident;
Ascent FAQ 308747
Ascent expressly accepts TN as a temporary-resident category and lists its identity-document requirement.
Temporary Resident: Required Documents: Unexpired VISA with an acceptable category as follows: F-1, F-3, G-1, H-1B, H-1C, H-2B, H-3, J-1, L-1, M-1, M-3, T-1, TN, T-2, T-3, T-4, T-5, T-6, U, U-1. Social Security Card.
Ascent International Student Loans
Ascent’s international graduate product requires at least half-time enrollment, temporary-resident status, and a qualifying U.S. cosigner.
Graduate loan eligibility
Enrolled at least half-time at an eligible school; Must be an international student who is a U.S. temporary resident or has a Temporary Protected status; Must have a cosigner who is a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident.
Sallie Mae Graduate School Loan
Sallie Mae accepts international master’s students with a qualifying U.S. cosigner and caps borrowing at the school-certified need.
Eligibility and loan amount
Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents who reside in and attend school in the U.S. are eligible with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident) and an unexpired government-issued photo ID to verify identity. Most of our graduate school loans let you borrow from $1,000 up to 100% of the school-certified Cost of Attendance (COA). For applications submitted directly to Sallie Mae, loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school.
Sallie Mae Graduate School Loan Terms
Sallie Mae’s terms keep this route open even if the master’s load is below half-time.
Enrollment eligibility
Enrollment eligibility. This loan is available to students enrolled full-time, half-time, and less than half-time.
Citizens Graduate Student Loans
Citizens is another cosigned route when the part-time program meets the school’s half-time threshold.
Eligibility
International students can apply with a creditworthy U.S. citizen or permanent resident cosigner. The student must be enrolled at least half-time in a degree granting program at an eligible institution. For graduate programs, you can typically borrow from $1,000 up to 100% of your school's certified cost of attendance, minus any other financial aid you receive.
12 CFR 1026.48
Regulation Z sets the acceptance, cancellation, delayed-disbursement, and signed self-certification protections for private education loans.
(c)(1), (d), and (e)(3)
The consumer has the right to accept the terms of a private education loan at any time within 30 calendar days following the date on which the consumer receives the disclosures required under § 1026.47(b). The consumer may cancel a private education loan, without penalty, until midnight of the third business day following the date on which the consumer receives the disclosures required by § 1026.47(c). No funds may be disbursed for a private education loan until the three-business day period has expired. For a private education loan intended to be used for the postsecondary educational expenses of a student while the student is attending an institution of higher education, the creditor shall obtain from the consumer or the institution of higher education the form developed by the Secretary of Education under section 155 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, signed by the consumer, in written or electronic form, before consummating the private education loan.
MPOWER Education Loans
MPOWER’s no-cosigner path is not presently available for a new 2026 loan.
MPOWER offers education loans for international students attending eligible U.S. or Canadian universities. No cosigners or credit history required! We have reached our current funding capacity and are temporarily unable to offer new loans for 2026.
Ask CFPB: Paying for College or Graduate School
CFPB confirms that a school payment plan is a separate way to finance graduate school.
You can pay for college with the help of scholarships, grants, tuition payment plans, work study, and federal and private student loans.
These are the official rules and lender terms as published on the cited dates or fetched on 2026-08-19; rules and credit products change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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