By Elisabeth McBride, Feb. 4, 2015, Crainsnewyork.com

Small-business lending platform Biz2Credit turns away hundreds of loan applications a year from entrepreneurs in New York and other states who lack legal immigration status, says President Ramit Arora. Without it, they aren't eligible for bank financing and assistance from the Small Business Administration.

That could change under President Barack Obama's executive order on immigration, depending on how the measure is implemented and the effects of pushback by the new Republican Congress.

As it stands, New York City potentially could see a surge of hundreds or thousands of new small businesses run by owners with legal status, according to experts. Many entrepreneurial immigrants who are already operating businesses—from food carts to cleaning services to home-based tech startups—would be able to formalize their companies or expand.