Becoming a resident for tuition purposes after getting married

State Forums
1

I am 25 years old and came to the US to study at community college in California about 6 months ago . My boyfriend is a California resident for tuition and we are getting married soon . After that I will become a permanent resident of the US and “green card” holder.
I am wondering If I will become a California resident for tuition purposes automatically ?
If not what if I wait for a year to collect the documentation necessary to demonstrate residency in California ?
Could I still be able to remain being a community college student while collecting the documentation ? Or should I stop going to college for a year while I a collect the necessary documents.?
What are my chances to become a California resident ?

Thanks!

2

Read the “UC Residency Policy and Guidelines” document over on the left hand side here: http://ucop.edu/residency/establishing-residency.html It’s complicated.

Here’s my best guess – but don’t rely on it. You need to be in the state for 366 days before the term you would start at a UC. “Physical presence in California solely for educational purposes does not constitute the establishment of California residence” (page 14), but you would not be here “solely” for that purpose, so I would not think you would have to stop going to community college but I don’t see any marriage exception to the 366 days. Your marriage to a California resident would appear to satisfy the intent to remain element, and your age & marriage appear to trump the requirement of two years of financial independence from non-resident parents.

I would seek advice from the folks at your current college. The UC folks can be VERY picky. For example. would they count the time you have been here already as being “solely” for education? You might have to “prove” that you moved with the intent of marrying as well as going to school. But, if you met your boyfriend/fiance here, I bet those days don’t count, and I would not be surprised if they did not count anything until after you are married.

I could share a personal story of how inane UC can be when one set of rules says resident and another says not, but it would not address your situation. My advice is to proceed with caution and make sure you are unquestionably a resident before you enroll and potentially get charged the exorbitant out-of-state tuition.