Hi! I am a new permanent resident of the U.S. I am 21 years old and currently go to community college in California. Ever since I got my green card almost 7 months ago I’ve been living in California. My parents didn’t move with me, so they’re still living in my home country.
My situation is, I want to transfer to UCLA and pay in-state tuition since OOS would make it impossible for me to attend that school, and it’s my dream school so I want to do as much as I can to make it happen. Now I am working and pretty much supporting myself, except for the fact that whenever I have to register for my college classes my parents of course pay for them cause I don’t make enough.
I know the UC requirements for California residency, and I’d have to prove that I’m independent. However, I was wondering if my case would be an exemption since I literally moved to California as soon as I got my green card so I didn’t really move out of state, if that makes sense. Also, my parents do not file tax return at home because there’s no such thing, so of course they don’t claim me as a dependent.
Does anyone know if I stand a chance of being considered a resident for tuition purposes for the UC system? What are my chances and what would I need to prove?
It’ll still be near impossible since parents are living elsewhere and he’s a dependent. It’s nowhere near as easy as it seems. In fact, based on what OP said, it won’t happen.
The way to look at residency at its most fundamental is that your wishes and the UC’s wishes are diametrically opposed. You want residency; they’ll leave no stone unturned to deny residency. Always keep that in mind. They will leave no stone unturned.
OP needs to talk to a residency specialist at the UC. Additionally, being deemed a resident for financial aid purposes, or for a community college are not calculated the same way. The UC has a much more stringent set of rules.
@lindyk8 I appreciate your response but please don’t assume you know my background. I’m not in CA for educational purposes, I’m in California because when I got my green card approved I had to move to the States and chose this state to be my home. So no, I didn’t move just to attend a fancy university. I moved because I wanted to live in the U.S and it makes no sense to me that no matter what school and state I even consider, I’ll forever be considered an out of state student, as of right now at least. That’s why I thought my case could be an exemption
Unfortunately you won’t be exempted. My husband was raised in CA and went to a CA high school which is why he got the AB540 to help with costs, but he still had to wait a year after becoming a LPR in order to be seen as instate. I think what lindyk8 is getting at is that it is a lot harder to prove instate in your situation. The UCs could and would easily assume you moved to CA solely for school, which doesn’t get you CA residency in the way of instate tuition. In order to establish an actual CA residency, you have to prove that CA is more than a place for your education, you need to prove the intent of making it your home permanently basically.
With my husband, he lived in CA before becoming a LPR, attended high school here, started his family here, and as his wife, I’ve been a resident here my whole life. So ours is more than just for educational purposes.
Actually check with the financial aid office of the individual schools you are interested in. When we moved from Turkey to the US my husband was given a green card upon entry. All the paperwork for the GC was done outside the country. When we arrived we did everything we needed to in order to make ourselves residents, driver’s licenses, jobs, etc. A few months later my husband started at the CC as a california resident. He also received full financial aid. It never occured to use that this could be a problem.
He was considered independent, of course, so that might make it different. It was obvious we were moving to the US permanently. It was not for education.
This was quite a few years ago but it never hurts to check.
At the age of 25 you’ll be independent, and that’s only 4 years from now. Assuming this is your first year at CCC, you’ll finish when you’re about 23. If you work for a couple of years after that, then start a UC when you’re 25, then I’m sure you’ll have no issue proving residency at that point.
So Pablo, you admitted in your thread above that you didn’t intentionally want to commit fraud, and now you are asking us to help you figure out how you can prepare yourself over the next few years, to convince the UCs that you should be considered for in-state tuition?
Perhaps you should first concentrate on completing the requirements for transfer, and then once accepted, you can assess your situation and ask here again.
Slightly off-topic, but in the same vein: We just moved down to California in August and do intend to stay in California for many years beyond our schooling, if not for the rest of our lives. In our first two weeks, we obtained drivers licenses and changed our car plates over. We also changed our addresses with every institution we may have been affiliated with and registered to vote in Californi (as well as cancelling our voter registration in Washington). Is there anything that we’ve missed for residency requirements? If I am accepted, do I have a shot at getting residency?
Side note (which may not mean a lot): We do plan to get married in California next summer as well, if that helps at all.
@Happy2Help : I see nothing wrong in OP asking for help in trying to figure out whether it is possible to qualify for in-state tuition.
@pablorodriguez5 : Your odds are not good. D was born in California, graduated from a California high school, has always had a California driver’s license, has always been registered to vote in California, etc., but lived in New York for a gap year after college while she applied to grad schools – and was not considered a resident. They are strict/mean. You will probably need to become financially independent of your parents and work for a year or two. Happy2Help posted the relevant links. You need to examine the rules closely to see what might fit your situation. @incogneato : I cannot be optimistic about your chances. Sorry.
