Getting a loan from Sallie Mae Good or Bad?

What is Sallie Mae's recourse on defaulting Internationa Students?

• I am a foreigner living in Asia now. I lived in the USA when I studied there and took a loan from Sallie Mae but I didn't give them collateral and nobody co-signed. I can't repay them any longer and have decided to stop all communication after being rejected a settlement. What is the risk of stopping all communication and repayment for good going forward. What is their recourse? - I travel to the USA very sporadically. Can they stop me at immigration for not paying my loan? Can they  stop me from getting a visa? Can they throw me in jail for defaulting once in the USA? Any recourse? - In the future, can they do anything else than giving me a bad credit  score which would stop me from borrowing in the USA? Is  there a statue of limitation after a few years that will wash out this  bad credit score or the option to rebuild it without ever paying Sallie  Mae back? - My spouse is a US citizen but  lives in Asia (owns property in the US). Can they do anything to her? - Meanwhile, can Sallie Mae come after my parents (Europe, their  property or accounts), my own property (Middle East) or me  personally in any way in Asia (bank accounts)? I would love to hear your personal experiences or advice. Many thanks in advance.

• Answer:

  It is very difficult for a lender that does not have a presence in a country to collect on loans made to borrowers who live in that country. This is one of the reasons why many lenders have stopped making private student loans to international students. However, if the borrower ever returns to the US, the lender may be able to collect the debt then. The debt will likely be much larger due to an extended period of nonpayment (i.e., interest continues to accrue and is added to the loan balance). The lender could sue the borrower to get a judgment against the borrower and then use that to seize the borrower's assets in the US, such as any US bank accounts. The judgment could also be used to get a wage garnishment order to collect payments from a US employer. There are statutes of limitations that still apply to private student loans (but not federal education loans), but these generally a tolled (suspended) when a borrower leaves the US. A bad credit score is enough to prevent a defaulted borrower from getting new credit. Unless a relative is a cosigner on a loan, the lender cannot seek repayment from the relative. However, a relative may still be affected when the lender gets a court order to seize property belonging to the borrower. For example, if the relative jointly owns property with the borrower, the joint ownership may not be enough to prevent the property from being seized. Debtors prisons were outlawed in the US in 1833. However, it is still possible for a borrower to be arrested and incarcerated for failure to appear before a court. I haven't heard of any instances involving unpaid student loans. Immigrant visas can be denied for a failure to pay debts. Non-immigrant visas can also be denied for similar reasons (i.e., financial matters come into the picture because of concerns that the individual may become a public charge) but it is unclear whether this actually happens in practice.