The Equal Credit Opportunity Act was established in 1974 by the United States Government to help ensure that all individuals are treated equally by creditors and lenders. Under the act, all financial institutions and other various establishments that offer credit must not take factors such as race, gender, color, religion, marital status or age into consideration when determining credit eligibility. Therefore, potential clients may only be evaluated based on credit history, financial stability and other "neutral" factors.http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/supmanual/cch/200601/fair_lend_reg_b.pdf

However, a creditor may still take into consideration the immigration status of an individual, as they will want to know that a borrower will be permitted to remain in the United States long enough to fully repay the loan.http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre15.shtm

Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, a creditor or lender may not deny you a loan or impose different conditions on a loan based on your ethnicity, creed, relationship status or age (although you must be legally old enough to sign a contract).http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/supmanual/cch/200601/fair_lend_reg_b.pdf In addition, creditors may not act in such a way to discourage those in certain groups from applying for loans (this applies to advertisement as well). They may not inquire as to whether you have had a divorce, and no information may be asked about your spouse unless this directly applies to your specific loan.http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre15.shtm

If you feel that you have been discriminated against, there are several steps that may be taken. First of all, you can confront the creditor with your concerns and hope that they correct their actions. If this does not work, contact the Attorney General’s office in your state to make sure that a law has indeed been broken. If this is the case, you might consider taking your case to court and suing the creditor. You can also file a complaint against the creditor, who is required to give you the contact information of the appropriate government agency that will handle the matter.http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre15.shtm