<p>About 3 days ago I filed my FAFSA, as I'm planing on attending college next year. Today they sent me email saying " There are issues with the information you provided". I went on their websites to check, and this is what it said:</p>
<p>"The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland Security did not have enough information to confirm that you are a noncitizen (Item 14) in an immigration status associated with the requirements of eligibility for the financial assistance for which you have applied. You must contact the financial aid office at your school to find out what information is needed. If you do not submit the required information within 30 days, or longer if your school allows, you may not be eligible for federal student aid."</p>
<p>As of this moment I am an Asylee. I have been in the United States for the last 5 years, and is in the process of applying for a Green Card. But Asylees are entitled to Federal Aid, as even their site said so. Thus, when they asked me for an Alien Registration Number, I used the number on my I-94(with a zero in the beginning) as I was instructed to. It worked fine. But now I don't know what they're talking about by not being able to verify my information. I want to get this resolved as soon as possible because I have applied for a lot of scholarships that are requesting my SAR(which is what I think that writing came from) for having been a finalist. I am a Senior in High School, I have only applied to one College, and it's too early to tell if they've accepted me. So what school are they talking about? Which school's financial aid office? Has anyone else had this problem before? What should I do? Plz answer at least one, if you know anything about it.</p>
<p>You have to contact each of the colleges on your list, and ask what information they need in order to confirm your status. They will be able to tell you which documents you need to fax or email copies of.</p>
<p>It is a pain, I know to have to take this extra step. However, this kind of thing happens all the time. If you scroll down through this forum you will find threads from students who were born in the US whose status couldn’t be verified by FAFSA.</p>
<p>Thank you sooo much. I’ve been asking this question for days, on serveral different websites, and you’re the only who’s responded. I’m going to try doing this. But does this mean that my FAFSA has been approved? Partially?</p>
<p>You are going to have to ask kelsmom about what it means at the college level. Until very recently, she was a financial aid officer at a large public university, and she really is expert on this subject.</p>
<p>Laminek, I am not certain and don’t want to discourage you but I had thought that you <em>MUST</em> have a green card in order to be eligible for federal financial aid. </p>
<p>Is it possible you can expedite your status if this were the case? I was not an assylee but I know that by paying the extra $1,000 for expedited processing my son and I completed the acquisition of our green cards in a few months after converting an L1 to fiance/marriage status.</p>
<p>Hi again. I found this document citing what causes the kind of message you got:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Since you gave your Alien # (did you double check to see it was correct?) perhaps the system is treating you as a conditional residence with PR pending and that overrides the assylee status?</p>
<p>I think you’d do best to call INS to get this cleared up. That document cited is to give guidance to schools on steps to disburse funds.</p>
<p>If you are an asylee, you are eligible for aid. However, the message you got is common for non citizens to receive. You just have to submit proof to each school that you are eligible. You are absolutely eligible for aid … it just could be held up until you submit the documentation. Many computer software systems used by aid offices will hold up your aid packaging while waiting for the documents, so contact each school’s aid office & ask what they want and where you should send it.</p>
<p>Refugee and asylee regulations: </p>
<p>“Refugee under Section 207 of the INA.” A student with this status
is eligible for FSA funds.</p>
<p>“Asylee under Section 208 of the INA.” A student with this status
is eligible for FSA funds.</p>
<p>You should have an I-94 or I-94A with a stamp; the school will ask for a copy of this for documentation.</p>
<p>You are NOT eligible for aid if: </p>
<p>Students with “Temporary Protected Status” stamped on their I-94
forms. This is used for persons who are from countries that are in upheaval,
but the status differs significantly from refugee or asylee because
it provides no conversion to permanent resident status. These students
are not eligible for FSA funds.</p>
<p>I had the same problem last month when I was applying. Since we are from COFA countries, we are not classified as asylees. Because of that, we don’t require to have an alien registration card because we function like permanent residents here in the United States even though it says on the Compact that we are not. It sounds confusing, but that’s how it is. Anyway, so all you have to do is call the colleges you’ve applied to and tell them of your situation: tell them that you are an eligible non-citizen. They may want you to send a copy of the first two pages of your passport, and that’s what I did.</p>