<p>Can I apply for FAFSA? I was born in the US while my parents were taking graduate degrees in the US. Right now I am a high school student in an international school in my parents' country. I am planning to get an undergraduate degree in the US. My parents are lecturers in a university in their country. </p>
<p>Yes, you are a US citizen. You can apply.</p>
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You should be a citizen of US. Do you have a SSN? It’s required when you file the FAFSA for Federal Financial Aid.</p>
<p>Everyone born in the US and subject to the laws thereof is a citizen of the US and of the state in which they reside. That excludes very few people, such as diplomats and ambassadors who have immunity from local laws. </p>
<p>You are therefore a US citizen. Our laws are absolutely clear on this. You would also have been a citizen of the state in which you were born, and would have maintained that state residency as well unless and until you established residency elsewhere in the US, regardless of whether you stayed in that state, or left the country with your parents when they went back to their home country and haven’t been here since.</p>
<p>There should be a birth certificate for you in whatever state you were born. Get a copy of it, and get your US passport, if you don’t have them already; the US embassy in your country should help you with this, because you are a natural US citizen. </p>
<p>Yes, you are eligible for Federal student aid here and should complete and file a FAFSA.</p>
<p>What state were you born in? Did you ever live in any other US state before leaving here?</p>
<p>The residency of a state is important for things like voting from out of the country, but it is unlikely he/she is a resident of that state for any other reason - instate tuition or benefits like medicaid or Alaska permanent fund.</p>
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would have maintained that state residency as well unless and until you established residency elsewhere in the US, regardless of whether you stayed in that state, or left the country with your parents when they went back to their home country and haven’t been here since.</p>
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<p>I don’t think that is true for state residency purposes for instate tuition. It may be for voting, but not likely for instate rates.</p>
<p>You are a citizen but OOS for all intents and purposes, are you a senior? </p>
<p>When you contact the colleges and universities on your list, let them know that you are a US citizen who has been educated abroad. They will be able to tell you what you need to do to apply for financial aid, and what to do about your foreign academic records. There are many students in your situation, and the admissions offices almost certainly have experience with students like you.</p>
<p>Weird. It sounded wrong, but I tried to research it and it looks like you’re right - you can be a citizen of a state but not get in-state privileges if you are not actually a resident (or dependent on a resident) of the state. A US citizen living abroad such as the OP might not be eligible for IS benefits anywhere at all. That doesn’t seem fair - it’s not as if a minor child could make decisions for themselves about where to live, and it’s certainly not like the minor child could choose to stay in the US when the parents are going overseas.</p>
<p>I would think that a fair approach would be to grant the US citizen child living abroad IS status at the last state in which his/her parents were resident, or the state where he/she was born if the parents never established residence, if he/she returned to that state within one year of attaining majority age of 18. But of course, I don’t make the rules.</p>
<p>^^I didn’t have a say in my parents moving before my senior year of high school, and I did not retain my residency in my old state and didn’t have enough time in for my new state either as I graduated just 6 months later. Sucks even for those of us born in the US to USA parents who happen to move a lot.</p>
<p>My kids are losing their state residency this year, and yet I haven’t established residency in a new state so next summer they cannot take classes at a reduced rate in any state (they are going to take some cc courses). Sucks again.</p>
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<p>Well, maybe if there were an option that parents would pay state income tax during the years of their absence then it would make sense to continue the benefit. But, when the parents aren’t paying one cent in that state (not even sales tax), then it makes sense for the kids to lose the benefit. </p>
<p>As it is, most of these citizens abroad aren’t even paying any federal taxes since that exemption is huge, so when their kids get Pell Grants it can seem a bit unfair as well since again, the parents aren’t paying any kind of taxes here. </p>
<p>At least low income kids who live here have families that are paying property taxes (even if thru rent), sales tax, gas taxes, and so forth. </p>
<p>I am pretty shocked at the generosity of the govt, that citizens living overseas can tap into FA Really the rules of fa could be enforced as state rules, the UK home rate is based on residency not citizenship, but then again worldwide US taxes is a PITA so FA could be a trade off. People who rove globally should have this kind of issue written into their contract. We don’t know if the parents are citizens themselves. </p>
<p>Really all the student is likely entitled to is a federal loan of limited amount, $5,500 the first year. Unless they are poor they will not get anything else. If the parents are poor the student can get up to 5,730 as Pell Grant as a U.S. citizen studying in the U.S. As for colleges own institutional aid, they can give it if they wish.</p>
<p>The student will not get instate tuition in CA, that’s for sure. Not most places, although some colleges will waive that for certain stats. See the list in the helpful threads pinned at top of forum.</p>
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Unless they are poor they will not get anything else.</p>
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<p>I don’t think that’s true.</p>
<p>If I recall, Americans living abroad have such a huge exemption that they can earn - say - $110k per year and after the exemption, their AGI is so low that they qualify for full PELL.</p>
<p>Ridiculous!</p>
<p>?? Really? I’m sorry I was speaking out of turn, then…</p>
<p>But if the parents don’t file US Federal taxes, don’t they put their actual income into the FAFSA forms when it asks for income? Isn’t the question ‘annual income’ not taxable income?</p>
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How is that any different than a kid born in CA having his parents move to CT?</p>
<p>@twoinanddone </p>
<p>You mean for cases when the parents aren’t citizens, probably. </p>
<p>I was talking about Americans living abroad…meaning American parents since only they would have an exemption.</p>
<p>A tax treaty is not a tax exemption LOL, but for sure it is not to be assumed that the parents are US citizens anyway. </p>
<p>For US taxpayers, some foreign income is exempt because of tax treaties, and other income can end up being excluded because of the foreign income exclusion. Filing from outside the country is a PITA indeed. So glad we don’t have that situation anymore.</p>
<p>In some cases, a student can move to the US and establish in-state residency without the parents. Most often that requires being able to demonstrate that the student has provided the majority of his/her own support for the 12 months before starting college. It may be worth it to the OP to do some research on that topic.</p>