<p>lilmelonred, like most native born Americans you know little about our immigration system and assume that it’s easy for someone like your friend to become a US citizen. It’s not at all. And the other part of this is that many American taxpayers object strongly to the idea of their tax money going to financial aid for foreign nationals like your friend.</p>
<p>As others have pointed out, legal immigrants who have achieved permanent resident status are eligible for financial aid.</p>
<p>I hope your friend and his parents are able to sort out their status in the US.</p>
<p>The OP’s friend is an international student for aid purposes, but does get instate tuition if s/he’s been here for three (?) years. If the friend cannot come up with even the in state amounts for full time, going part time and working part time might be the way to go. That is how most people do college.</p>
<p>There is no evidence that the student under discussion here is “illegal”. Many students in the US are fully documented, but in the US with a visa (F2, J2, H2, etc.) that would permit them to study (and possibly to have in-state status) but that would prevent them from receiving state or federal aid.</p>
<p>I agree with Happymomof1. I know a bunch of students like this. In my neighborhood are a number of families working here, legally, in the US, but they do not have a green card or permanent status. There are also those who are here illegally, but not all international workers and students are illegally here.</p>
<p>If the OP’s friend is a legal immigrant, my apologies. I hope the OP comes back and further clarifies the situation. (And I wasn’t the first one in this thread to use the term “illegal immigrant” in reference to the OP’s friend.)</p>
<p>Colleges do not want to get into immigration status issues. You either are a permanent resident/citizen or you are not and they let FAFSA make that determination. That is the main purpose of FAFSA, by the way, to screen out those who are NOT entitled to federal aid. It’s not just a calculator. Then, those that are state schools have their own ways in making that determination, and it can differ for admissions and for the bursar’s office as well as for financial aid. All three departments can have their own defintions and criteria for anything they deal with. </p>
<p>In some states, and NY is one of them, just being able to prove that you lived in state for X years, grants you state residency, or if you graduated from a high school from that state. That is a nice discount to get, and not something I shrug off lightly. The in state tuition for NY is very reasonable comparatively and costs are discounted even more for city/local/CC publics if you reside in the county or a designated area around a given school. </p>
<p>My son’s best friend is legally here in this country and has been for many years, but is NOT a permanent resident (no green card). He is classified as an international student. But he could have gone to any of the SUNY or other state school for in state rates and got some nice merit money at some of them. He just would not have been eligible to file FAFSA and get any federal aid, including loans, parent, cosigned and otherwise, nor would he be eligible for TAP which is a state program. He would be eligible for financial and merit aid at any US colleges/unis that do give out their own money to international students, and he did get some such awards.</p>