Citizenship

• U.S. citizen or national;
• U.S. permanent resident;
• Citizens of the Freely Associated States:the Federated States of Micronesia and the republics of Palau and the Marshall Islands; and
• Other eligible non-citizens.

The term "U.S. Citizen" includes citizens of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. All U.S. citizens are considered to be U.S. nationals. However, not all nationals are U.S. citizens: natives of American Samoa and Swain’s Island are not U.S. citizens, but are nationals and therefore may receive federal financial aid.

A definition of "eligible non-citizen" is provided under the Important Terms section of the U.S. Department of Education's Funding Education Beyond High School. For specific information on verifying a student’s status and gathering the appropriate documentation, including a Summary Chart of Acceptable Documentation, see Volume 1 - Student Eligibility of the Federal Student Aid Handbook.

Verifying Status – Social Security Number Match

The Department of Education (ED) performs matches through the application process to verify the student’s citizenship status. All Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSAs) are automatically matched with Social Security records to verify name, date of birth, U.S. citizenship status, and the Social Security Number (SSN). The result of this match is reported under Social Security Administration (SSA) of the match flags on the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) and "SSA Citizenship Code" on the Student Aid Report (SAR).

If the SSN match doesn’t confirm that the student is a citizen, the SAR/ISIR will include a comment explaining that the student either needs to provide documents proving citizenship or make a correction to show that he/she is an eligible non-citizen.

Verifying Status – Match with DHS Records

To verify the immigration status of U.S. permanent residents and other eligible non-citizens, ED collects Alien Registration Numbers on the FAFSA. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assigns these numbers to all legal immigrants. The information from the FAFSA is automatically sent to the DHS for "Primary Verification". An automated "Secondary Verification" is performed if the results of the primary verification indicates further resolution is required. The results of the match are shown by a match flag in the FAA information section of the output document, under the heading "DHS" on the ISIR or "DHS Match Flag" on the SAR.

If the DHS match doesn’t confirm the student's immigration status, there will also be a comment on the output document (ISIR/SAR) about the results and the documents the student must submit to verify his or her status.

Replacing Lost DHS Documents

If a student can not locate official USCIS documentation, the student must request that the documents be replaced because non-citizens who are 18 years and older must have immigration documentation in their possession at all times while in the United States. Requests for replacement documents should be made to the USCIS District Office that issued the original documents.

The student must complete a Form I-90, "Application to Replace Alien Registration Card" or a Form I-102, "Application for Replacement/Initial Non-immigrant Arrival-Departure Document." PDF versions of these forms can be downloaded from the USCIS web site at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis. A temporary I-94 may be issued while the replacement documents are pending.

If a student is in urgent need of the documents, the Freedom of Information Act allows the student to obtain photocopies of the documentation. The student may submit Form G-639, Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Request or simply send a letter of request to the appropriate district office. The address for the district office that serves Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin is:

USCIS Chicago District Office
101 W. Congress Pkwy
Chicago, IL 60605
312.239.5900

A complete list of USCIS offices is available on the USCIS Web site

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