Student Accounts

IV. Qualifying Immigrant Statuses and Non-immigrant Statuses

A. Lawful Permanent Residents (Resident Aliens)

Current Permanent Resident Status

Resident aliens may lawfully reside in the United States on a permanent basis. There are two acceptable methods for verifying status as a resident alien.  The first method is that a student who has requested Federal financial aid, which has been verified by the Federal Financial Aid Central Processor, has his/her status automatically matched by the USCIS, which will be evident through SUNY’s coding of the student as a lawful permanent resident or resident alien.  In that case, there is no need for a student to submit a Permanent Resident Card or any other form of documentation regarding permanent residence.

The second way a student can prove he/she is a resident alien if not confirmed through the above match is such student must present proof of their status by providing the campus with a Permanent Resident Card (formerly known as the “Alien Registration Card” and commonly known as a “green card”) prior to registration.

The following proofs are acceptable:

• Permanent Resident Card: Form I-151 (old) and Form I-551 (new).  Expired cards may be accepted; or
   
• Unexpired Conditional Permanent Resident Card: Form I-551 with a two (2) year expiration date; or
   
• Receipt for USCIS Form I-751: Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence; or
   
• Receipt for USCIS Form I698: Application to Adjust Status from temporary to Permanent Resident; or
   
• I-551 Stamp in Passport indicating evidence of lawful permanent residence.  Expired stamps may be accepted; or
   
• Copy of USCIS Form I-90: Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (old: Alien Registration Card), along with a U.S. Postal Service return receipt or with a cancelled check or money order.

Once a student’s immigrant status has been verified, the student may then establish New York State residency by meeting the criteria set forth in Section III (B).
'Pending Permanent Resident Status.'

A student may also provide a valid application for permanent residency status and upon verification that the application is pending; the student may then also apply for New York State residency status. Proper documentation indicating that a valid application for permanent residency is pending includes:

• A receipt for USCIS Form I-485 (Adjust Status), which must include the petitioner’s name; or
   
• A USCIS Receipt Notice for the Adjustment of Status Application: Form I-797C indicating that the receipt is for an I-485 Adjustment of Status application; or
   
• A USCIS Receipt indicating that the fee for the adjustment application has been received.  This receipt usually lists application type, name of applicant, alien number (“A” number) and the amount paid; or
   
• Employment Authorization Card (I-766) with the code (c)(9) or (c)(24)

Note: Students who filed or have an approved petition (Form I-130 or I-140), but have not yet applied for adjustment of status are NOT eligible for in-state or resident tuition.

Dependent Student’s Parents With Immigration Status Permanently Abandon New York State Domicile

In cases where a dependent student’s parents have established immigrant status but subsequently abandon their New York State domicile, the student also loses New York State residency status and the in-state tuition benefit, unless the student can establish New York State domicile under the criteria specified above in Sec. III(C)- 'Students With Out-of-State-Resident Parents or Guardians'

B. Students In Certain Non-Immigrant Statuses

The United States Supreme Court has held that certain non-immigrant aliens have the legal ability to establish New York as their domicile. Non-immigrant aliens are those aliens who enter the United States on a temporary basis for a specific purpose. Non-immigrants are grouped in categories depending on the type of visa presented at the port of entry. Non-immigrants admitted to the United States in categories which prohibit them from establishing a United States residence would not be eligible for in-state tuition. Non-immigrants included in categories which permit them to establish a United States residence may be eligible for in-state tuition if they meet the criteria set forth in Section III(B)(See lists below for categorization). To seek in-state tuition, persons included in non-immigrant alien categories permitting establishment of U.S. residency must provide documentation of residency in accordance with Section III(B), above.

Non-immigrant Status Eligible for U.S. Residency

The following is a list of the visa categories of non-immigrant aliens who under federal law have the capacity to make New York State their domicile and therefore may qualify for the resident rate of tuition if they otherwise meet the requirements:

• A – Ambassador, diplomats and certain other foreign officials and their families
   
• E – Treaty trader/Treaty investor, spouse and children
   
• G – Certain government or international organization officials and their families
   
• H-1B – Temporary worker in specialty occupation
   
• H-1C – Temporary worker performing essential nursing services
   
• H-4 – Spouse or children of alien classified as H-1B or H-1C
   
• I – Representatives of foreign information media and their spouse and children
   
• K – Fiancé(e) or Spouse of a U.S. citizen and dependent children
   
• L – Intra-company transferee (such as managers who have worked abroad for a branch of a U.S. firm) and their spouse and children
   
• N – Parents and children of certain officers and employees of international organizations who were in turn granted permanent residency as special immigrants
   
• O – Aliens who possess extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, Business or athletics, motion pictures or television (Note: O-1 and O-3 visa holders are eligible, and O-2 visa holders are not eligible).
   
• R – Religious workers and their spouse and children
   
• S – Crime witnesses and their spouse and children
   
• T – Victims of severe forms of human trafficking
   
• U – Victims of serious crimes
   
• V – Certain spouses and children of lawful permanent residents who have a relative petition filed on their behalf before December 21, 2000 which has been pending for at least three (3) years

A student who is in one of the above categories must provide proof of such status by furnishing his/her I-94 Arrival/Departure record with either the notation Duration of Status (D/S) or an expiration date not yet reached.

Note on applications for extension of stay: Where a qualified non-immigrant has made a timely application for an extension of stay as evidenced by a filing receipt for USCIS Form I-539, he/she remains eligible for in-state tuition.  To “timely” file an application means that a person must file the application before his/her current period of authorized stay expires.

Non-immigrant Status Not Eligible for U.S. Residency

The following visa categories of non-immigrant aliens do not qualify for the resident rate of tuition:

• B – Temporary visitors for business or pleasure
• C – Visitors in transit
• D – Crewmen
• E-3 – Certain specialty occupation professionals from Australia
• F – Academic students
• H-2 – Temporary workers performing special services
• H-3 – Trainees
• H-4 – Families of H-2 and H-3 visa holders (Note: H-4 family of an H-1B or H-1C are eligible)
• J – Exchange visitor (student, scholar, professor)
• M – Vocational students
• O – Aliens who possess extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, Business or athletics, motion pictures or television (O-2 visa holders are the only O category ineligible).
• P – Athletes, group entertainers, reciprocal exchange programs
• Q – Participant in international cultural exchange programs
• TN – Temporary workers under NAFTA Trade Agreement

C. Students Admitted As Refugees, Or Granted Asylum, Or Granted Withholding Of Deportation Or Removal

Refugees and asylees may also reside permanently in the United States. Students submitting proof of refugee or asylee status or application pending status should be treated as immigrant aliens and permitted to provide evidence of a New York State domicile (See Related Information for Acceptable Documentation).

It should be noted that a person whose evidence of Refugee or Asylum status has expired is nevertheless eligible for in-state tuition.  The following are acceptable proofs of this status:

• Decision from USCIS or the Immigration Judge granting Asylum or Withholding of Deportation or Removal; or
   
• Refugee Travel Document; or
   
• I-94 Arrival/Departure record with Employment Authorization Stamp and the notation “Asylum granted” or “Refugee granted”; or
   
• Employment Authorization Document (EAD or work permit) (I-766) with the following codes: (A)(3) for Refugee, (A)(5) for Asylee, and (A)(10) for Withholding of Deportation or Removal.

D. Temporary Protected Status

Foreign nationals may also be granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. As long as the individual has TPS, he or she can establish domiciliary status, because the underlying non-immigrant visa status is superseded by the TPS. If the student loses TPS, he or she will revert to the underlying non-immigrant visa status, unless it changed. For example, an F-1 student who has TPS can establish domicile for the time she is in such status. If during the time the student is in school, she loses TPS, then she will revert to F-1 status, and would not be eligible to establish domicile. If her underlying status changed from F-1 to asylee or asylee pending, then she could continue to establish domicile and therefore be considered and in-state resident for the duration of her tenure as a student.    

The following are acceptable proofs of this status:

• A USCIS Receipt of Application for TPS (Form I-821); or
   
• A USCIS letter granting TPS; or
   
• Employment Authorization Document (I-766) with the codes (a)(12) or (c)(19).

E. Undocumented Aliens and Others without Lawful Immigration Status

Pursuant to the Federal Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. §1623), students who are unable to present valid documentation of their alien status are not eligible for in-state tuition rates. Effective July 1, 1998, aliens not lawfully present in the United States are not eligible on the basis of residence within a state for any postsecondary educational benefit unless citizens or nationals of the United States are eligible for the same benefit without regard to state residency. However, certain undocumented aliens or others without lawful immigration status may be eligible for the resident tuition rate pursuant to Section III(D) above.

F. Jay Treaty

The Jay Treaty grants dual citizenship to certain persons for the United States and Canada.  Students with citizenship under the Jay Treaty, however, do not qualify for the resident rate of tuition because they cannot establish domicile in New York if they reside in Canada.
A student may rebut such presumption of ineligibility by providing documentation to establish eligibility for the resident rate of tuition under section III of the policy.
 

G.  Residents of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Displaced by Hurricanes Maria and Irma

In September 2017, the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands disaster areas (“Disaster Areas”).  On October 6, 2017, the SUNY Board of Trustees authorized the Chancellor or designee to amend these guidelines to make undergraduate and graduate students from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who have been displaced by either Hurricane Maria or Irma eligible for resident tuition rates for the 2017/18 academic year at SUNY State-operated institutions.  The Board of Trustees then took the same action to extend this authorization on June 20, 2019 for the 2019/20 academic year.

Accordingly, for the 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 academic years, residents of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who, because of the devastation caused by Hurricanes Maria or Irma, have either been displaced from colleges and universities in the Disaster Areas or are currently enrolled as SUNY students and cannot return to the Disaster Areas.  Affected students seeking the in-state tuition rate will be required to sign a notarized affidavit, attesting that they are residents of the Disaster Areas and that they have been displaced from their homes or institutions of higher education as a result of the devastation caused by the hurricanes. Additionally, students displaced from their schools will be required to show some form of documentation verifying enrollment in an effected institution of higher education.

F. Residents of the Bahamas Displaced by Hurricane Dorian

In September 2019, Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas and destroyed many of the Island’s residences.  On September 24, 2019, the SUNY Board of Trustees authorized the Chancellor or designee to amend these guidelines to make undergraduate and graduate students from the Bahamas who have been displaced by Hurricane Dorian eligible for resident tuition rates for the 2019/20 academic year at SUNY State-operated institutions.

Accordingly, for the 2019/20 academic year, residents of the Bahamas who, because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian, have either been displaced from colleges and universities in the Bahamas or are currently enrolled as SUNY students and cannot return to the Bahamas.  Affected students seeking the in-state tuition rate will be required to sign a notarized affidavit, attesting that they are residents of the Bahamas and that they have been displaced from their homes or institutions of higher education as a result of the devastation caused by the hurricane. Additionally, students displaced from their schools will be required to show some form of documentation verifying enrollment in an effected institution of higher education.