<p>if you go off to college and live in a dorm for 9-10 months a year, can you change your residence for the purpose of getting MOC nominations? are there some rules governing this? could you just register to vote in the district of your college? would that do the trick?</p>
<p>I was a college applicant to USNA and I did not change my residency. I still obtained a nomination from my Congressman from my home district.</p>
<p>You probably can have your residency changed, but it involves some work.</p>
<p>going to MOC interviews is a problem if you are going to college far far away...</p>
<p>wouldn't they be a bit more understanding under those circumstances? i go to boarding school so it was a bit of a problem for me, too, but the people in charge of their MOC's nominating committee were very helpful in arranging interviews during times that were more convenient (like during, at the beginning of, or end of breaks)</p>
<p>I had a phone interview. Most MOC boards will be understanding if there is no way to be able to conduct the interview in person.</p>
<p>MOC committees will accept phone interviews for those not physically located in their district. However, if at all possible, I suggest you try to get there in person. It may mean spending some $$ and missing some class, but if USNA is what you really want, you should do all that you can to make it happen. What you can do is try to schedule the interview on a Friday or Monday in order to take advantage of cheaper flights and less time away from school -- they should be amenable to that. </p>
<p>The only caveat is that MOC committee members are all volunteers and, thus, interviews are typically set at dates/times convenient for them -- which, unfortunately, are often weeknights in the middle of the week. But every MOC does things differently, so you'll need to check with yours.</p>
<p>I noted on all my nomination applications that I was a college student and wrote down the window of dates when I would be at home for their convenience and asked if it was possible to place me in a group that was during the time I was at home. I called them a few times to confirm my application was there and then to check when they were holding interviews to make sure that if there were interviews going on when I was home, I would be able to attend. And when I wasn't able to meet those restrictions, I asked if it was possible for me to do a phone interview, etc. Some offices won't be as helpful, so you need to keep on top of it.</p>
<p>I live in Congressman Van Hollen's district. I just looked at his nomination form: <a href="http://vanhollen.house.gov/NR/rdonlyres/615C0E34-8490-4875-8F15-DB99B1514F2D/0/20089AcademyApplicationweb.doc%5B/url%5D">http://vanhollen.house.gov/NR/rdonlyres/615C0E34-8490-4875-8F15-DB99B1514F2D/0/20089AcademyApplicationweb.doc</a>
and the last page of it is pretty clear:</p>
<p>
[quote]
An individual is a resident of Maryland if the individual is domiciled in Maryland on the last day of the taxable year or the individual maintains a place of abode in Maryland for more than six months of the taxable year and is physically present in the State for more than 183 days during the taxable year.</p>
<p>....</p>
<ol>
<li>In evidence thereof, I depose and say that:</li>
</ol>
<p>I am registered as a voter in ____________________________________________________________ (City, County, and State)</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>I file income tax returns and pay state income taxes to the State of _______________________________</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>I have the following document evidencing my legal residence: ___________________________________
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So this strongly suggest that once I'm 18, if I at my school more than 183 days per year (which I would if I am going to college) and am registered to vote (or pay taxes) in the new location, I count as living there for the purpose of nominations.</p>
<p>Is this correct? Or is Congressman Van Hollen's nomination form wrong?</p>
<p>Don't count on it. Your legal residence will probably still be at your parent(s) home. Being away at school for the purpose of school doesn't count.
If, for example, you moved out of your parents house, lived and worked in another location, supporting yourself then that would count.</p>
<p>RE: Interviews away from home - my daughter was in Alabama and she had phone interviews. It was not a problem at all, the MOC's involved were very understanding and cooperative.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If, for example, you moved out of your parents house, lived and worked in another location, supporting yourself then that would count.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Cool! Then that would apply to me. I'm going to be fully supported by scholarships at school and have an income from a Federal stipend payment that comes from my NROTC scholarship. My parents wont have to support me at all. So it looks like I can just register to vote and file and pay my state income taxes from my new location, and I'm definitely going to be living there more than 183 days of the year. Looks like this will all work out then. Thanks! :)</p>
<p>Why are you so eager to change your residence from Maryland?</p>
<p>DSL1990 - who is paying your room and board? Will your parents give you spending money? A car? Claim you as a dependent on their tax returns?</p>
<p>What I am trying to say is - be careful. You are not an independent student in the eyes of financial aid or the school.<br>
You will have lived 183 days in your current residence before you matriculate as a student. Nominations are done in the fall - while you are still a legal resident of Maryland.</p>
<p>
[quote]
who is paying your room and board?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>the scholarships.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Will your parents give you spending money?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm figuring the stipend will give me spending money, no?</p>
<p>
[quote]
A car?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't have one. promised my parents I won't get one until my senior year in college too.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Claim you as a dependent on their tax returns?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>well, they're definitely claiming me as a dependent now. but if they don't have to pay anything, i guess they can't in the future. i understand that students that go to service academies have a similar issue in that their parents can't really claim them. obviously, i'm going to need to talk with them about this. but if they don't claim me, i'm sort of planning to file my own income tax returns anyways. (a first for me!)</p>
<p>
[quote]
You will have lived 183 days in your current residence before you matriculate as a student. Nominations are done in the fall - while you are still a legal resident of Maryland.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>hmmm... I just went back and read Congressman Van Hollen's nomination application again. It says,
"An individual is a resident of Maryland if the individual is domiciled in Maryland on the last day of the taxable year</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>the individual maintains a place of abode in Maryland for more than six months of the taxable year and is physically present in the State for more than 183 days during the taxable year."</p>
<p>i guess i'm going to have to find out what it means to be "domiciled in [a State] on the last day of the taxable year".</p>
<p>who is paying for your medical insurance?</p>
<p>DSL - to put it into perspective, i think students at the service academies vote by absentee ballot in their home municipalities even though they are fully independent of their parents. i don't think you can be a legal resident of a state if you're living in a dorm... you have to be living in your own apartment or house.</p>
<p>OK. I just spoke to the nice lady in the Nominations Office of the USNA. Here's the story.</p>
<p>As she said, "Title 10" requires that service academy nominations come the MOCs for where you are domiciled. However, Title 10 DOES NOT define "domicile". USNA follows Title 10, which means they do not apply a rigid test for domicile.</p>
<p>So the USNA uses some loose rules for giving candidates advice about domicile. They don't even have these rules written down since they are informal. However, ultimately, it is up to the individual MOC to define domicile. As the woman said, some MOC insist that your domicile is where you or your parent/guardian pay taxes and therefore they will require an affadavit that you are paying taxes in their district. Others use a much looser definition of domicile.</p>
<p>I specifically asked about Congressman Van Hollen's definition of domicile (including 183 days, etc.) and she said that the USNA does not review individual MOC's definitions of domicile- if that's what he requires, then that is what you have to fit in order to get his nomination. The nomination office does try to stay on top of what the different MOC require though. She gave me the example of the 2 former senators from Maryland - she said that they used to make things a little tougher by requiring taxation affidavits, but the current senators don't require that.</p>
<p>The main USNA rule is that you can only apply for nominations from one district/state, you have to meet the specific MOC's rules for domicile or they don't view you as a constituent and won't want to nominate you. If you fit fit the MOC's rules, then you meet the requirement of Title 10.</p>
<p>She suggested the following things as stuff the MOC typically consider in deciding if you are domiciled in their district and therefore a constituent:
1. is your mailing address the same as your physical address? yes- good, no- bad.
2. are you physically living in that district/state?
3. are you or your parents paying taxes in that district/state?
4. are you (or if under 18, your parents) registered to vote in that district/state?
5. if you have a car, is it registered in that district/state?
6. do you have a driver's license in that state? what does your driver's license say your address is.
7. if you have more than one parent or guardian, do they both physically live in the same address?</p>
<p>one thing she specifically said that shouldn't matter is your domicile is different that where your high school is located if you happen to be going off to college. Being domiciled in a different district than your high school is a problem if you are applying to USNA from highschool however.</p>
<p>The USNA deals with borderline cases where candidates have problems with domicile for different reasons, and in these cases, the USNA nominations office tries to give advice to a candidate. Mostly the advice includes things like "get a drivers license" and "register to vote". She said some of the trickiest situations occur when candidates or their parents are paying state taxes in a different district/state then they physically live, and if the local MOC uses a taxation test for domicile. In those cases, she recommends using the taxation location as a domicile, if possible, and switch over other things (such as driver's licenses) to the taxation location.</p>
<p>apparently, issues with domicile more often come up with prior service applicants who can domicile themselves almost anywhere, but applicants from high school and college are usually, not always, domiciled with their parents.</p>
<p>Bottom line though is, if you want a nomination from an MOC, and you have any questions about whether they might consider you domiciled in their district, contact the MOC and get their rules concerning domicile.</p>
<p>So my interpretation based on this is that when you look at different MOC's nominating applications and one just says you have to be a "legal resident" and asks for your address, and another (like Congressman Van Hollen) makes you get a notarized an affidavit, this is not because some of these different MOC's have the wrong understanding of what it means to be domiciled in a district. it's because each MOC has his own definition and the USNA is OK with it, as long as a candidate doesn't use these different rules to apply for nominations in more than one district.</p>
<p>i hope this will help anyone else wondering about domicile- contact the MOC and get their rules!</p>
<p>it was pointed out to me on the other forum that all this stuff the lady from the service academy told me misses a key point. in order to change domiciles, you first must legally have the intent to change domiciles. then this stuff just documents that intent.</p>
<p>i did more research and found out the following. the law says that upon reaching the age of majority, a person has the right to change his domicile from a domicile of origin/dependency to a domicile of choice. however, intent is the most important legal factor in determining a change of domicile. those things the lady in the nomination office listed (above) can be used to document intent, but the intent has to come first to change domiciles.</p>
<p>this actually brings up a very interesting thing. the person who runs away from his parents house because he hates them (after 18yo) actually may have "intent" to change domiciles, but might or might not have trouble documenting that intent. the person who goes off to college may have plenty of documentation of a different residence, but would lack the intent to change domicile. the law seems to say that only the first of these people count as legally changing domicile, but the second person might not if he always intends to return to his parents home and views his absence to college as only temporary.</p>
<p>so it seems that the answer is you can only change domicile if upon the age of majority, you have an honest intent to change, and then with that intent, you would have to document that intent as that lady described above.</p>
<p>this whole age of majority thing makes me think of something. i think age of majority was more important long ago when kids would grow up, hit 18, move out and start their own life. today, i think this doesn't really describe too many people, so that's why you probably need to be in your mid-20s before people will even believe you are on your own!</p>