A student must be a citizen or eligible non-citizen to be eligible for federal and state financial aid programs, as determined by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The general requirement for eligible non-citizens is that they be in the U.S. for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of being a citizen or lawful permanent resident. The specific eligible statuses are:
- 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.
For specific information on verifying a student’s status and gathering the appropriate documentation, including a Summary Chart of Acceptable Documentation, see Volume 1, of the 2006-07 Federal Student 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”. 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. There will also be a comment about the results on the output document (ISIR/SAR).
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.
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
10 W. Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60604
312.385.1500
A complete list of USCIS offices is available on the USCIS Web site.
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