Hello guys, I am currently still at Northern Virginia CC and got accepted to VT. However, they classified me as an out of state student even if I have been here in VA for 3 years now and been receiving in state tuition at NOVA. They said that since i am under the age of 24, they will use my parents’ information. But my parents’ taxes are foreign tax return. Although they are both green card holders, they havent lived here continuously for at least a year. My mom doesnt file taxes but she has lived here for a year and 4 mos ( not continuous). My dad files foreign taxes but hasnt stayed herein VA that much, maybe 6 months ( not continuous). Can someone help me with this issue? What should I do? They said that they will send an official letter to appeal. But does anyone have any suggestions?
You can either claim residency on your own, if you actually live in state, or through your parents if one of them lives here but you do not. However, you must not have come here for purposes of education - you cannot establish residency while you are a student if you were not a resident when you started.
So the question is, how did the CC verify your residency? In theory all colleges including CC should use the same SCHEV standards set by law.
When I started in CC, i havent been here for a year that time. But when I had been living for a year and so, I applied for in-state domicile. I fill out the form and I believe I used my own documents like my tax, a letter that says Ive been here in VA for a year and so on and it is notarized by the bank. That’s it I believe, I cant really remember because it was way back in 2013
It sounds like you need to claim residency through your mother then. There will be a section on the application that asked something like, do you believe you may be eligible for In-state residency education benefits?
You need to answer “yes” to that, and then it asks about the person through whom you expect to qualify for such status; you need to give your mom’s information. They will ask her address/residence, when she moved in there, where she is registered to vote, where she has her driver’s license issued from, where her car is registered, where she files state tax returns, etc. (I understand she might not have answers for all of them.)
When you say you’re mom’s residence was not continuous, what do you mean? She’s allowed to travel, vacation, visit elsewhere, etc., so long as she does not actually live at an out of state residence.
http://www.registrar.vt.edu/academic_records/in-state/residency-information.html
Well, the problem is that my mom doesnt have driver’s license, we are not allowed to vote yet, etc. Not continuous means that we all have green cards and stuff and we are legal immigrants here. but she goes to my country because my dad is working there, and she goes back like after some months but she didnt stay outside the US for more than a year
If she maintained her Virginia address while visiting your father, that should count as continuous residency. She doesn’t need to have all of those indications of residency, but whichever ones apply. If she is not allowed to vote because she’s not a citizen, that doesn’t count for or against you. If she doesn’t have a driver’s license at all, that doesn’t count for or against you. She should still be able to show a lease or mortgage, utility bills, bank statements, etc.
I didn’t realize you weren’t a US citizen. Or are you, but your parents are not? I don’t know if that affects anything for this purpose or not, but they seem to have it covered (“eligible alien”) with your legal immigrant status.
"B. Once a person has established domicile in Virginia, actual residence here is no longer necessarily required.
- Temporary absence from the state does not negate a claim of Virginia domicile unless the person does something incompatible with having Virginia domiciliary intent or otherwise indicating an intent to establish domicile in another state.
- A person who has established Virginia domicile but resides in another state may be required by laws of the host state to fulfill certain obligations of the host state. Performing acts in the host state required by law of all residents, irrespective of domicile, does not automatically constitute an abandonment of Virginia domicile; however, such acts will need to be examined to determine if they were voluntary.
- The question is whether an individual’s acts, especially voluntary acts, show the establishment of a new domicile in the host state and abandonment of Virginia domicile."
"Section 12. Aliens.
A. The mere fact that a person is a citizen of another country does not automatically disqualify the person from establishing domicile in Virginia. When an alien claims Virginia domicile, the alien bears the burden of presenting clear and convincing evidence to the institution establishing that the alien is an eligible alien. If the alien is unable to present such evidence, the alien shall be presumed to be an ineligible alien.
B. If an alien applicant establishes that he is an eligible alien, the institution shall then review all relevant factors to determine if the alien applicant did in fact establish domicile for the requisite one-year period.
C. In reviewing the domiciliary intent factors, the institution should keep in mind that there may be factors that are inapplicable to aliens by operation of law. Examples include the following:
- Aliens cannot register to vote.
- Salaries paid to some non-U.S. citizens are exempt from federal and state taxation.
In such instances, a record of nonvoting or nonpayment of taxes is immaterial to the domicile consideration. Unless the institution is aware of the inapplicability of any evidentiary factor, the responsibility and burden is always on the student to bring such information to the attention of the institution.
D. An eligible alien may claim eligibility for in-state tuition through the Virginia domicile of the student’s parent, like any other student. An eligible alien may claim eligibility for in-state tuition through the Virginia domicile of the student’s spouse if the student demonstrates dependency on that spouse.
E. Documentation. - The document showing their admission status is the Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94), which is usually stapled into the passport. This form normally contains the nonimmigrant visa category under which the alien is admitted and an expiration date.
- The nonimmigrant visa is a stamp placed on one of the pages of the alien’s passport. It is useful to distinguish between the nonimmigrant visa and Form I-94. A visa does not guarantee entry; it merely allows a person to board a plane whose destination is the United States and to apply for admission at the border. Form I-94 determines whether the alien will be admitted and how long he will be permitted to stay. When the expiration dates of the visa and the I-94 are different, the I-94 controls."