Do I count for in state tuition?

<p>Okay so I just moved to Michigan this summer from Colombia, South America and I will be finishing my junior and senior years there. Right now I have a Permanent Resident Alien status and we do pay taxes from the state. I would really like to study in the University of Michigan but I don't think I would be willing to pay for OOS seeing as (hopefully) I'm planning on law school afterwards, and I don't want my parents to pay that much for my undergrad when they are paying also for my law school which is going to be expensive as well. Could somebody please help me? I would really appreciate it</p>

<p>So you’re finishing your junior and senior years in Michigan?</p>

<p>I don’t see why you wouldn’t be considered in-state unless I’m missing a Michigan-specific loophole.</p>

<p>You need to look up the domicile laws for the state of Michigan to see if you qualify for IS tuition.</p>

<p>Probably not. You should check out this link: <a href=“http://www.vpcomm.umich.edu/pa/key/documents/INSTATETUITIONGUIDELINES.pdf[/url]”>http://www.vpcomm.umich.edu/pa/key/documents/INSTATETUITIONGUIDELINES.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I think the answer depends mostly on nature of your parent’s job(s) and whether the jobs are permanent and whether you have any ties left in Columbia. If it looks as if you moved here for good, then you may qualify. If the stay here appears temporary then you are out of luck. In any event you will need to petition the school for instate status.</p>

<p>My dad is working here long term on a big company with the HQ here in Michigan and there are no plans on going back to Colombia. We are buying a house, he has his social security #, we are paying taxes, etc.</p>

<p>Good Luck. Hopefully someone here is looking at your post who actually had to petition for residency and could let you know what to expect. U-M can be difficult in granting residency. We lived here six years before my daughter enrolled so we didn’t have to go through any special process.</p>

<p>Most likely the fact that you will graduate from an instate high school will make it easy to claim residence. I think the position you start off with is resident, then if your green card raises questions, you would submit the proof necessary. Sounds like your parents will have all the proof needed.</p>

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<p>This is incorrect. Residency for tuition purposes is determined solely by the policies of the University of Michigan Board of Regents, which has constitutional autonomy under the Michigan state constitution to decide such matters. State law has nothing to say about it.</p>

<p>According to the Regent’s policy (linked in post #4), you’ll probably need to file an Application for Resident Classification based on the fact that you lived outside the state of Michigan for part of the 3 years before you will enroll at the university. You’ll be presumed to be a dependent of your parents which means your residency will follow your parents’ residency. I think you’ve got a strong claim to residency based on your father’s “long term” employment in the state, coupled with the lack of plans to return to Columbia or to relocate elsewhere. Consequently, I think your parents can legitimately claim Michigan as their legal domicile. </p>

<p>Permanent resident alien status helps, paying taxes in Michigan helps, owning a home in Michigan helps, living in Michigan for two years before college helps, and graduating from a high school in Michigan helps, but none of that, in itself, is decisive. What really matters is whether your parents now consider themselves permanent residents of Michigan, or whether instead you father’s employment there is temporary, i.e., whether your family intends to stay or leave. If they genuinely intend to stay, then they’re Michigan residents and you’re a Michigan resident, and all the other factors support that claim. But if they actually think they’re here only temporarily (even if long-term) and expect or plan to eventually return to Colombia or to relocate elsewhere, then under the Regents’ policy they’re not Michigan residents, and in all probability you’re not either.</p>

<p>Columbiangirl – My son (and by attrition) I went through this exact process. We were considered “OUT OF STATE” until we submitted a boatload of evidence and arguments otherwise.</p>

<p>At the time of application - 2009 – we had lived, worked, owned property and owned a company in Michigan for seven years. We both had received green cards in 2003 after being on L1A status. We were actually quite surprised to have been rated OOS under the circumstance, because we had in fact severed all ties and relinquished all financial holdings in Canada. But alas, we had to PROVE IT.</p>

<p>Here are a few tips that should assist you:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If your parents are together, and BOTH living in Michigan permanently, and do not hold money or have property in their names in Columbia, you stand the best chance of being considered in-state. Joint ownership of foreign property, foreign investments, foreign college accounts, etc. will be problematic. If your parents have a college fund for you now in Columbia, you may want to ensure it is transferred to US account holdings or is put under grandparent control.</p></li>
<li><p>If your parents are divorced and have a custody agreement, with one parent living in Columbia and one in Michigan, you will have a great deal of difficulty getting in-state unless you are able to prove that the international parent has no direct support capacity with you and is not the principal custodian. Eg. so kids from a divorced parent need to make sure their custody agreement is not “joint” but rather names the Michigan parent (if accurate) as the sole custodian.</p></li>
<li><p>Intent of stay is germane to the process, so if you have the opportunity to apply for citizenship by the time you apply to college, you may improve your situation if other factors present a problem.</p></li>
<li><p>You may be asked to prove that you did not move here to secure in-state residency for UofM – eg. you may have to prove the job offer that caused the move, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Start a file now with anything that shows your address, tax receipts, official documents, etc. You will need to submit them all. </p></li>
<li><p>Avoid, if possible, any protracted summer trip abroad with relatives if it means you’re out of country for longer than 3 months or could be perceived as a “dual residency” situation.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Hope that helps. Best wishes on your move! It seems to me you would qualify for residency from the sketch of info you gave, but take great care in navigating the residency office ;)</p>

<p>kmcmom13, yes both of my parents are living here and are not divorced, however, we do own an apartment back in Colombia but we are renting it right now, seeing as we have no plans of actually moving back there or any other place. Maybe this would be a problem and it would be just better to sell the apartment? I’m not sure and this is something that I should discuss with my parents to see what they think. The good thing is that sending in the proof that my dad is actually working here on a multinational corporation long term won’t be hard at all, so that could be beneficial.</p>

<p>I am also going on an information session and campus tour this week where I could maybe ask about the residency requirements. I hope I do qualify because this is a great university and it would be a very good opportunity for me if I could attend.</p>

<p>As kmcmom13 suggests, get all the document you can that support your residency claims. I would actually visit campus with your parents and drop by the office of financial aid with those documents and talk to one of the people there. Better clarify your status in person so that you can answer any questions and manage any doubts.</p>