Financial Aid for Undocumented Students | BestColleges (2023)

FAQs

Are undocumented students eligible for federal financial aid? ›

Undocumented students, including DACA recipients, are not eligible for federal student aid, but you may still be eligible for state or college aid, in addition to private scholarships. Check with your college or career school's financial aid office for more information.

Yes. Some do. Private colleges often have special funds available. To apply for this financial aid, you may have to fill out the CSS Profile or the college's own forms.

Some of the challenges presented for undocumented students are the lack of financial aid, resources, and citizenship information, and institutional regulations that discourage and constrain them from pursuing higher education.

If you're a citizen of the Freely Associated States and don't have an SSN, enter 666 in the first three spaces of the SSN field. Leave the remaining six spaces blank.

Incarceration, misdemeanors, arrests, and more serious crimes can all affect a student's aid. Smaller offenses won't necessarily cut off a student from all aid, but it will limit the programs they qualify for as well as the amount of aid they could receive. Larger offenses can disqualify a student entirely.

Don't maintain satisfactory academic progress in your program, according to your school's standards. This might include a grade-point average minimum or number of credits completed. Don't submit the FAFSA each year you're enrolled. Default on a student loan.

You must submit the FAFSA each year you plan to receive financial aid. You must also submit the CSS Profile each year, if the application is accepted by the school you attend.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plyler vs. Doe (457 U.S. 202 (1982)) that undocumented children and young adults have the same right to attend public primary and secondary schools as do U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

Most undocumented students aren't eligible for an SSN; thus, they cannot complete the FAFSA form.

What do you call an undocumented student? ›

Undocumented youth are also often referred to as “Dreamers”. This moniker came out of the DREAM Act movement.

Undocumented students may incorrectly assume that they cannot legally attend college in the United States. However, there is no federal or state law that prohibits the admission of undocumented immigrants to U.S. colleges, public or private.

We use the FSA ID or the SSN you entered on the “Log In” page to automatically fill in your SSN on your FAFSA form. If you incorrectly entered your SSN on the “Log In” page, you can't change it and you'll have to start a new FAFSA form.

The Social Security Administration and the FAFSA processing system work together to conduct the match verifying that the student's SSN is valid and that the name and birth date associated with that SSN match the name and birth date provided by the student.

ITIN numbers will not work on the FAFSA; use 000-00-0000 instead. If parents do not have social security numbers, they will not be able to use the DRT (Data Retrieval Tool) shown on the FAFSA.

If you were denied federal student aid, you might be able to get the decision reversed through an appeals process. In special circumstances — if your parents aren't supporting you and refuse to provide information for the FAFSA, for instance — you might be able to make the case that you're an independent student.

Grants, work-study, loans, and scholarships help make college or career school affordable.

Students selected for verification of their FAFSA form may wonder, “Does FAFSA check your bank accounts?” FAFSA does not directly view the student's or parent's bank accounts.

Your eligibility depends on your Expected Family Contribution, your year in school, your enrollment status, and the cost of attendance at the school you will be attending. The financial aid office at your college or career school will determine how much financial aid you are eligible to receive.

What happens if I don't fill out a CSS? ›

If your school isn't on that list, you don't have to submit a CSS Profile, but you'll still be considered for non-federal aid. The institution will use the info on your FAFSA to determine your eligibility for both federal and non-federal aid.

About 400 colleges accept the CSS Profile, so make sure it's required or accepted by schools you're applying to before paying to complete it. Final tip: Don't skip the CSS Profile if your schools ask for it. You could miss out on more money for your education!

The University does not make citizenship status a condition for admission to any of Harvard's Schools. With the admissions decision comes a commitment to every person who has been admitted, regardless of immigration status.

Undocumented students are not considered international applicants because many do not qualify for a visa and do not have to go through the international admission process. A mixed status family is one in which some family members are US citizens and/or legal residents while others remain undocumented.

1159 (SB 1159): Allows undocumented individuals to apply for professional state licenses (e.g., nursing, barbering, auto repair) using an ITIN instead of a Social Security Number (SSN).

As described above, if you entered the United States illegally and have more than 180 days of unlawful presence, you will need to leave the United States to apply for a green card at a U.S. embassy or consulate.

Yes. It is possible to do so, but the process for getting a green card as an illegal immigrant can be difficult to do. There are a few different ways to get a green card as an illegal alien.

U.S. citizens can sponsor their undocumented spouses and children for a green card. But immigrants who entered without inspection, which is true of many undocumented immigrants, cannot adjust their status because they are considered inadmissible.

Non-U.S. Citizens

Generally, if you have a “green card” (in other words, if you are a permanent resident alien), you will be considered an “eligible noncitizen” and will be able to get federal student aid if you meet the other basic eligibility criteria.

Who qualifies for Dream Act? ›

The Dream Act of 2023 (S. 365) would establish a process for Dreamers to apply for conditional legal status and ultimately become citizens. To qualify for the Dream Act, eligible individuals must be generally considered “inadmissible” or “deportable” under immigration law, or be in temporary protected status.

Golden Door Scholars is an organization that provides large college scholarships, career and fellowship support, mentorship, and community-building opportunities for undocumented students. The Golden Door Scholarship is now closed for students attending college in the Fall 2023 semester.

If you are not a U.S. citizen, you must have an employment authorization document (EAD) in addition to a social security number (SSN) to work legally. The only policy that grants these two documents to undocumented immigrants is Deferred Action, also called DACA.

In the United States, there are 4.5 million U.S citizen children with at least one undocumented parent. As a citizen of the United States, you can access postsecondary education and financial assistance to support you pay for your schooling regardless of your parent's immigration status.

To obtain legal status, undocumented immigrants must file an application for immigration relief. In certain situations, you may file an application for adjustment of status – generally known as a Green Card application.

The U.S. is home to more than 427,000 undocumented students, including DACA recipients, enrolled in higher education. Undocumented students are a heterogeneous community, representing the broad range of immigrants in the U.S.

New estimates, drawn from the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS), indicate that undocumented students account for more than 427,000 or approximately 2 percent of all students in higher education in the United States.

Undocumented students, including DACA recipients, are not eligible for federal student aid, but you may still be eligible for state or college aid, in addition to private scholarships. Check with your college or career school's financial aid office for more information.

Most FAFSAs are selected for verification because of issues involving income and taxes. If a data element is transferred from a federal income tax return to the FAFSA, it is not selected for verification.

Does FAFSA verify your income? ›

During verification, the college financial aid administrator will ask the applicant to supply copies of documentation, such as income tax returns, W-2 statements and 1099 forms, to verify the data that was submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

You must have a Social Security number (SSN) to create a StudentAid.gov account (FSA ID).

If your parent doesn't have an SSN, your parent won't be able to create an FSA ID (which requires an SSN) and therefore won't be able to sign your FAFSA form electronically.

Verification is the process your school uses to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA form is accurate. If you're selected for verification, your school will request additional documentation that supports the information you reported. Don't assume you're being accused of doing anything wrong.

The IRS issues ITINs to international students who are not eligible to obtain a social security number. An ITIN is not the same as a social security number, and does not offer the same benefits. It is for U.S. federal income tax filing purposes only. You cannot have both an ITIN and an SSN.

What is an ITIN used for? IRS issues ITINs to help individuals comply with the U.S. tax laws, and to provide a means to efficiently process and account for tax returns and payments for those not eligible for Social Security numbers.

Yes, only the student needs to have a social security number (SSN) in order to complete the FAFSA. If your parents do not have social security numbers they should enter all zeros for the SSN. The Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) should not be entered in place of the social security number on the FAFSA.

College Admission Policies

However, there is no federal or state law that prohibits the admission of undocumented immigrants to U.S. colleges, public or private. Federal or state laws do not require students to prove citizenship in order to enter U.S. institutions of higher education.

ITIN numbers will not work on the FAFSA; use 000-00-0000 instead. If parents do not have social security numbers, they will not be able to use the DRT (Data Retrieval Tool) shown on the FAFSA.

All immigrants regardless of legal status are able to earn a living as independent contractors, or start a business using an ITIN or SSN. An independent contractor must pay self-employment tax and income tax. An independent contractor may use an ITIN to file and pay taxes instead of a SSN.

Do immigrants get free college in the US? ›

Rather, section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) prohibits states from providing any higher education benefit based on residence to undocumented immigrants unless they provide the same benefit to U.S. citizens in the same circumstances, regardless of their ...

The University does not make citizenship status a condition for admission to any of Harvard's Schools. With the admissions decision comes a commitment to every person who has been admitted, regardless of immigration status.

During verification, the college financial aid administrator will ask the applicant to supply copies of documentation, such as income tax returns, W-2 statements and 1099 forms, to verify the data that was submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Undocumented immigrants have a number of opportunities available after graduating from college, including graduate school and making a living through various forms of legal employment.

Important facts for undocumented students who would like to apply to a UC medical school: There are no restrictions to prevent undocumented students from attending public graduate or professional schools in California. Applicants are not required to have a Social Security Number to apply.