I have recently become a big fan of community colleges. I’ve been taking a couple of classes at Skyline College and I was pleasantly surprised by the level of instruction, as well as the dedication and enthusiasm the faculty displayed for teaching. (Alas, teaching introductory classes to large crowds of students is not among the strengths of Stanford. Expect to spend a lot of time with foreign graduate student TAs who are generally underprepared to teach. I would expect similar experiences at research universities like Berkeley or UCLA.)
If money is a concern, I would encourage you to consider the CC + UC transfer option. OOS tuition at community colleges in California is still relatively cheap, and the UCs would likely classify your son an in-state applicant if the entire family has lived in the state on a green card for 1-2 years prior to the application cycle.