<p>Hi everyone, I'm a long time lurker here but recently I've come across a very frustrating situation and would like some feedback/input/advice. I did use the search function but did not find any practical information on how to deal with the situation.</p>
<p>I am 21 years old and have evidence to prove that I intend on making California my permanent home. I've lived in California for about 5 years. My parents, however, are not considered California residents. Because of this, I am classified as a non-resident as well. I'm considering appealing, but from what I've heard from the Cal reps over the phone, it does not look good.</p>
<p>The regulations seem very inconsistent to me, though. On the Cal residency legal information page, they say that an adult's residence CANNOT be derived from your parents. But the representatives on the phone tell me that because I am under 24 and cannot prove I am financially independent, my residency depends on my parents. As a legal adult, am I not allowed to establish my own residency even if it means I am not financially independent? I was under the impression that as long as you lived in California 1 year prior to the date of the semester, you are considered a California resident.</p>
<p>If anyone has any ideas or suggestions on what to include in my appeal or knows of any "loopholes" in these ridiculous conditions, it'd be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>from what i understand as long as your parents have lived in cali for a year, they are more or less considered cali residents, then in that case, so are u.
you can file for independence but the process is pretty darn harsh.
even if ur parents have driving licenses and bank accounts in cali, as long as they are not present in cali ur situation does not look good.</p>
<p>I think it requires more than just being physically present in California for a year. You have to show intent to make it your permanent home. This would include things like filing California state income taxes, car registration, drivers license and there are other things. The more proof you have showing that you have contributed money to the state of California, I think the better your chances are. So something like income taxes or paying for car registration would be really good.</p>
<p>this was the problem i had with UCLA-i have lived, worked, gone to school, voted, have my car registered, have things in my name out here (i.e. rent/utilities) and paid resident taxes in this state since i was 17, yet because i'm 21, my parents are residents of another state, and i'm not financially independent (yet i work in this state and have since i was 16), i too got the slap of non-resident status. it made my choice to go to USC a lot easier financially because for 33k vs. 37k, i'll pay an extra month's tuition to go to a school i've wanted to go to for forever as opposed to a school is asking me with a straight face to give them 20k extra that i'm apathetic about attending.</p>
<p>I submitted my SLR on May 12th and as of today, I have not been classified yet. My personal profile still shows: SLR SUBMITTED, AWAITING EVALUATION.</p>
<p>I do not what the confusion for the Residence Affairs Unit is. I am over 24 years old, I have lived more than 10 years in California, attended and graduated from a California High school.</p>
<p>It has been almost two months; therefore, I asked myself why the delay on the classification.</p>
<p>Also, I have e-mailed the Residence Affairs Unit, but I received an auto-generated response.</p>
<p>the rep told me they evaluate incoming freshmen first and transfers are evaluated last...
so we're looking somewhere around august b4 we get classified</p>
<p>I'm looking into doing the same thing at UCLA and the UC requirements are really, really stringent. If you didn't graduate from h.s in California and your parents don't live in state it takes a lot of work to become a resident. Basically they want to make sure people are really on their own and living in California before the UCs give out in-state tuition. The UCs stipulate that if you are unmarried and under 24 the only way to become an in-state resident if your parents live out of state is if you:</p>
<p>"are a single undergraduate student who was not claimed as an income tax deduction by your parents or any other individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which you are requesting resident classification, and you can demonstrate self-sufficiency for those years and the current year." UC</a> Berkeley Registrar : Legal Residence Information</p>
<p>I know UCLA requires a detailed month-to-month budget demonstrating that you were financially independent and Cal is probably the same way. Receiving more that $700 per year from parents who live out of state automatically makes you an out of state resident no matter how long you've lived in California. Having pay stubs, a detailed budget of how you spent your money each moth, bank statements etc. are the best way to show that you are actually living on your own. Demonstrating that you are totally self-sufficient is essential to become a California resident if you are under 24 and didn't go to h.s in California.</p>
<p>Thank you for your email. We are writing to you for more information and
you should get the postal letter in a few days at the #### **** St.
*****, CA address. Please call me at the phone number below in the
meantime if you have other questions or concerns.</p>
<p>I moved to California two years ago and the first step I made was to look at how to gain residency at a UC institution. Each institution has their own set of guidelines of how to gain residency. For example, a community college is very easy to gain residency because they do not look at the specifics so much as the three key standards. One is physical presence, two is intent to live in California, and three is financial independence.</p>
<p>Now what you have all been waiting for... financial independence must be shown in TWO ways.
1. You obviously must be able to pay for all of your expenses, including living, food, car, etc. If you are living at a friends house or at a distant relatives house and are not paying rent, you are thereby violating the UC requirement of being financially independent. You must be on some sort of lease, or have checks for the past year to prove your living expenses.
2. You must NOT be claimed by your parents for the preceding TWO years. This means that you file as independent and they do not claim you. You must be able to prove this.</p>
<p>I followed this rigorous procedure and was classified as a Resident.</p>
<p>"To verify financial independence (self-support) per item 6 above, the student must document his or her income and verify that he or she was not claimed as an exemption by parents or anyone else for the two years prior to the request for residence. The student is also required to present a budget showing how he or she is able to be supported by the funds claimed. Self-support is defined as money the student has earned through his or her own employment or loans obtained with the student's own credit, without a cosigner. A gift or loan to the student from a parent, grandparent, or other family member does not constitute self-support regardless of the terms."</p>
<p>I'm planning on going to a CC in California. Now I understood how complicated these "building residency" processes work, but does residency status affect programs like TAP? Is there any advantage for CA resident over other students who are "technically" OOS? Because at this point, I no longer care about the higher tuition rate - I just wanna get in.</p>