Financial Aid Eligibility

To receive Federal (https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/eligibility/basic-criteria) and most State financial aid, an applicant must:

• Be a U.S. Citizen or an eligible non-citizen (permanent resident, resident alien, refugee, asylee); NOTE: State of California programs may have a less restrictive residency requirement for non-U.S. citizens (eligibility requirements)
• The following students are NOT eligible to file a FAFSA or California Dream Act Application: Non-immigrants are, as defined by federal law, admitted to the United States temporarily and granted one of the following visas:
  A, B-1, B-2, C, D-1, D-2, E, F-1, F-2, G, H-1, H-2, H-3, H-4, I, J, K, L, M-1, M-2, N, O-1, O-2, O-3, P-1, P-2, P-3, P-4, Q, R, S, TN, TD, V and TWOV and NATO   - 
  PDF of Non-Citizen Statuses Not Eligible for Financial Aid

  
  You are NOT an eligible noncitizen and cannot receive federal student aid if:

  • you only have a “Notice of Approval to Apply for Permanent Residence” (I-171 or I-464),

  • you are in the U.S. on an F-1 or F-2 nonimmigrant student visa, or on a J-1 or J-2 nonimmigrant Exchange Visitor Visa, or

  • you hold a G series visa (pertaining to international organizations).

    There are a variety of forms and their related statuses which are ineligible:

    • A Social Security card or driver’s license isn’t acceptable for documenting U.S. citizenship or national status since ineligible individuals can also have these forms of identification.
    • Notice of Approval to Apply for Permanent Residence (Form I-171 or Form I-464) holders cannot receive Title IV funds.
    • Employment authorization documents (Form I-766, EAD) alone do not support Title IV eligibility. However, a student with another eligible status and employment authorization can, potentially, be eligible. USCIS can verify an immigration status or category that may be eligible for aid using the information contained on an EAD.
    • Nonimmigrant visas are held by those with work visas, students, visitors, and foreign government officials and do not convey eligibility for Title IV funds unless the student has a Form I-94 with one of the endorsements given in the eligible document section, or a T–Visa as a victim of human trafficking. Ineligible nonimmigrant visa categories include (but are not limited to) the:
    • F-1, F-2, or M-1 Student Visas;
    • NATO Visas (NATO);
    • A2 and A3 Visas (foreign official, including attendants);
    • B-1 or B-2 Visitor Visas;
    • J-1 or J-2 Exchange Visitors Visas;
    • H series or L series Visas (which allow temporary employment in the U.S.); or
    • G series Visas (pertaining to international organizations).
    • Form I-817, Application or approval for Family Unity Benefits does not prove students are eligible.
    • Temporary residents allowed to live and work in the U.S. under the Legalization or Special Agricultural Worker program are no longer eligible for Title IV funds.
    • Undocumented students
    • Approval notice or EAD forms stamped with “Temporary Protected Status” do not prove students are eligible.
    • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status is granted by USCIS. Students granted DACA often are assigned an SSN, and they are not eligible for Title IV aid, but may be eligible for state or college aid, and submitting a FAFSA form can help them access those other types of aid. To complete the FAFSA form, DACA recipient students must enter their SSN and answer the citizenship status question as “Neither U.S. citizen nor eligible noncitizen.” After submitting the FAFSA form, the student should check with the school’s financial aid office to see what types of non-federal financial aid they may be eligible to receive.
    • U nonimmigrants or U-Visa holders are not designated as qualified aliens under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
    • A Form I-797C, Notice of Action that shows a receipt of the student’s application, or instructs the student to schedule a biometrics appointment with USCIS, does not support eligibility for Title IV aid (with the exception of Parolee students who have applied for certain immigration statuses, see the Persons paroled into the U.S. for at least one year section above). These documents indicate “THIS NOTICE DOES NOT GRANT ANY IMMIGRATION STATUS OR BENEFIT” at the top. A Form I-797 (no “C”) with Notice Type:
      “Approval Notice” may be an eligible form of documentation if it approves the student’s application for one of the eligible statuses listed above.
    • An Advance Parole Document allows certain noncitizens with pending applications for certain immigration benefits to seek parole into the U.S. after traveling abroad. The issuance of the Advance Parole Document does not alone make them eligible for Title IV funds.

• Many non-U.S. citizens qualify for federal student aid.
  (Opens in new FSA window)
   
  Eligibility for Eligible Citizens and non-citizens (cont.)

• Be enrolled at Las Positas College (We cannot process your file until you have applied to the college).
• Be officially enrolled in a degree, certificate, or eligible transfer program in a declared major at Las Positas
• Must be making satisfactory academic progress (SAP) according to financial aid policy
• Have financial need as demonstrated through application on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
• Not be in default on a Federal student loan or owe a repayment on a Federal student grant
• https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/eligibility/requirements/non-us-citizens - non-US citizens
• Have a high school diploma, a GED (General Equivalency Diploma), or their equivalent
• Provide all documentation requested by the financial aid office (view on MyPORTAL)

Please confirm with the Financial Aid office, if you are eligible. Please send all correspondence from your Zonemail 'student' email account and include your W number.