As a newly US permanent resident, I have questions about Pell Grant

Paying for College
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<p>What is an Affidavit of Support?</p>

<p>An affidavit of support is a document an individual signs to accept financial responsibility for another person, usually a relative, who is coming to the United States to live permanently.* The person who signs the affidavit of support becomes the sponsor of the relative (or other individual) coming to live in the United States.* The sponsor is usually the petitioner of an immigrant petition for a family member.</p>

<p>An affidavit of support is legally enforceable; the sponsor’s responsibility usually lasts until the family member or other individual either becomes a U.S. citizen, or can be credited with 40 quarters of work (usually 10 years).*</p>

<p>The law concerning affidavits of support is found in Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sections 212(a)(4) and 213A.* The provisions are codified in Title 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 8 CFR 213a.</p>

<p>your sponsor is STILL supposed to be supporting you.</p>

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<p>“your sponsor is STILL supposed to be supporting you.”</p>

<p>No. The sponsor is still responsible to see that DanielPlainview does not become a burden on society. Now that DanielPlainview has a green card, there is every reason to believe that he/she could earn enough money to support him/herself, which means that there is every chance that he/she will not become a burden on society.</p>

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<p>DanielPlainview - </p>

<p>The poster who you need to get in contact with is b@r!um. As soon as you have run up enough posts to send a PM, get in touch with her. You should be able to find some recent posts by her in the International Students Forum. b@r!um came to the US on her own after winning the green card lottery, and enrolled here as a transfer student. She should have lots of useful ideas for you about handling the whole transfer thing, and the whole my-parents-are-in-Europe thing.</p>

<p>Take a look at <a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/091312EFCFormulaGuide1314.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/091312EFCFormulaGuide1314.pdf&lt;/a&gt; to see how the FAFSA formula works. If you don’t understand it, hunt down kelsmom who often posts in this forum. She is a real-life financial aid officer, and should be able to help you sort through FAFSA issues.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>

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<p>This old thread may have some useful information. See <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/694885-question-about-fafsa-if-both-parents-live-abroad-make-very-little.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/694885-question-about-fafsa-if-both-parents-live-abroad-make-very-little.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>happymom…</p>

<p>The sponsor is signing that he/she will be financially responsible for the person until he/she can support himself until citizenship or 10 years of employment. The simple act of getting a green card is not “it”. He’s not yet fully self-supporting…not even close. And collecting an entitlement (Pell) does mean being " a burden on society".</p>

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<p>teachandmom,
It might come to you as a shock, but you CAN send your 21 year old to Europe and expect his college to be covered by the government there. Education is still free or nearly free for everybody(that includes foreigners) in quite a few European countries. Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, and some others. Some even have grants to cover living costs for exceptional international students.
I do agree though that OP needs to abide by the rules in the US.</p>

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<p>Kazyaa, I never said anything about not obeying the law, I simply came here to get information and to see what the rules ARE.</p>

<p>happymomof1 & 4kidsdad, thank you both, you’ve been a wonderful help and I hope your kids grow up to make you very proud parents.</p>

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<p>Daniel, I am an international student turned permanent resident myself as well. I was in the same boat except I was over 24 when I gained residency, so I do not know how the rules will apply to your particular case, but I have no hostility toward you.
As many people mentioned already you probably cannot file as independent. And if you file as dependent and your parents show no or little income there surely will be questions due to the fact that you need to show substantial income to be accepted to US college and get the student visa. Besides this forum, financial aid adviser at you college might be a good person to ask.</p>

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<p>“Can I send my 21 year old to Europe and expect government aid for college from any of those countries?”</p>

<p>teachandmom,</p>

<p>You can send your kid here and he/she can study for free:
[Study</a> In Finland - Tuition and Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.studyinfinland.fi/tuition_and_scholarships]Study”>Fees and Costs | Study in Finland)</p>

<p>Also, check out what higher education costs in other European countries:
[Compare</a> tuition fees schemes in Europe - StudyinEurope.eu](<a href=“http://www.studyineurope.eu/tuition-fees]Compare”>Compare tuition fees schemes in Europe)</p>

<p>So, yes, yes you can.</p>

<p>Also, the rationale of helping a student who gained permanent residency is that this student will graduate, get a job, and pay taxes back into the system. Which overwhelming majority do.</p>

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<p>kazyaa…the tuition is free or low in some of those countries, but what about room, board, personal expenses, etc? What pays for that?</p>

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<p>Well, yes, it is not full ride in most cases. However, there is a limited number of scholarships available. I personally know a few people, who were fortunate(and smart) enough to get them. </p>

<p>The question was “Can I send my 21 year old to Europe and expect government aid for college from any of those countries?”</p>

<p>The answer is “Yes, government subsidizes tuition for non-citizens (not even permanent residents!) in many countries in Europe. It is free or very cheap in a lot of cases”.</p>

<p>Pell grants do not even cover full tuition in most cases. Most people (including me) have borrow and work to cover remaining tuition and living costs. For me personally, it is well worth it. </p>

<p>OP had a valid question that he needed help with. If you have nothing to add to guide him to the right answer, then don’t post. If you have a question about education in Europe, then create a separate topic. I am happy to answer it for you, but that does nothing to help answer OP’s question.</p>