<p>Hello, I got my green card/permanent resident card around end of May 2010, and then I started college around Jan 2011. The college listed me as out of state right now because I never attended high school in California, so they told me I just need to live here for a year to establish my residency. The thing is I don't have a job and my parents work overseas and I'm here by myself, does anyone know how to establish residency this way? Both of my parents and me have green-cards and California ID cards. What other documents would I need to give to establish residency besides proof of living here for a year and my California ID and green card? Thank you.</p>
<p>Unfortunately you probably cannot get instate tuition. For a dependent student (generally under 24 and unmarried), residency for instate tuition is based on the state the parents reside in. If your parents are not living in the US you are not an instate resident for tuition purposes.</p>
<p>I believe Ca is actually a little more flexible than some states, allowing students to establish residency in their own right if they are completely financially independent. But that would mean you would have to prove you have your own income and are paying all your own expenses, including your living and tuition expenses.</p>
<p>Cherryarrow, the reason that residents pay a lower tuition is because they, or their parents, have been subsidizing the school with their tax dollars. If your parents aren’t working in CA, and paying taxes, they are not residents. As swimcatsmom said, it’s often nearly impossible for dependent students to gain residency without their parents being residents of the state. Residency is determined by the school so your best bet would be to consult with the residency officer there and find out what your options are.</p>
<p>Her parents work overseas, but it seems that their primary residence is still listed as California? Things that may be used as proof of domicile are usually something like voter registration, driver’s license, income tax forms, vehicle/property registration, etc. Cherryarrow, if you can stop by your school’s financial aid office, I’m sure someone will be able to tell you what counts for evidence of residency if you ask them. Good luck with everything!</p>
<p>If your parents are green card holders, they must pay taxes even when they are working overseas. Providing your parents’ state tax returns, along with your primary address in CA (since you have CA ID, you must have a valid address), I don’t think it’s hard to prove your residency.</p>
<p>Residency for instate tuition purposes requires them to actually physically reside in the state. </p>
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<p>aww thank you 
yes i have rang them up and all they said was proof that i’ve been here for a year for new immigrants, but i don’t know if they’re keeping some info from me!</p>
<p>oh yes, even though my parents work overseas they still come to california every year, i’m not sure how that works though… thank you for your reply :)</p>
<p>Are they aware your parents are not living in CA? There may be a misunderstanding and they may be assuming that is the case. It is a somewhat unusual situation for a family to be new green card holders but only the child to be physically in the US.</p>
<p>yeah it’s unusual huh! i haven’t handed in my residency form yet but they asked if my parents are CA residents, and I ticked yes, a lot of things like electricity, internet and rent are under my dad’s name and they all got CA ID cards</p>
<p>Hmm, I’m not sure the school would consider them to be CA residents. It does not matter if the bills are in your dad’s name. They need to physically live in CA (as in the quote above). You really must ask the school how to correctly fill out the forms, just to be sure you are doing them correctly. As a green card holder you need to be particularly careful not to break any laws (as should everyone of course, but a green card is easily rescinded). (FWIW I am also a green card holder).</p>
<p>oh yes, i think a month or something. my parents come every year in order to fulfill those requirements they also have a bank account here i don’t know if that helps… if they won’t consider me as an in-state student i’ll just them my parents couldn’t find jobs here as they’re getting older</p>
<p>yeah, but they don’t actually know if my parents are here or not because they’re not going to ask me to bring them to school to show them. and don’t worry i haven’t broken any laws! (yet) :)</p>
<p>to be honest, they’re not really helpful in telling you what you need to fill out. the lady just told me i need to be in CA for a year and fill out the form and she’ll evaluate it from there…</p>
<p>Coming for a month every year may help maintain the green card. I don’t think it makes them CA residents. They have to physically reside in CA for 366 days prior to your residency determination date.
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But you need to fill out the form accurately.</p>
<p>yeah… i’ve been here almost a year now. does the parents thing matter? i wonder how they’re going to check, because i know they’re not allowed to look up my parents info besides the stuff i provided them</p>
<p>Yes. The “parents thing” matters. Your residencey is determined by the residency of your parents unless you are an independent student. They are going to check in various ways: Have your parents been filing U.S. income tax returns and a CA return as residents? Doubt it. You did not graduate from high school in CA, therefore you must prove that you, and your parents, established residency in CA a full year before you started school.</p>
<p>Schools will often ask for past copies of utility bills, leases, etc. to prove domicile. You might search for posts by gadad on this forum - he makes residency determinations for one of the Georgia publics and has provided insight into the process.</p>
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yes the parent thing matters enormously. Unless you are old enough to be considered an independent student, your residency status is based on your parents.</p>
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Of course they can check. The burden of proof when trying to get your residency status changed is on you. And your parents federal tax returns, which you will probably have to provide, will show that they are **not **living in the US. </p>
<p>Lying to get a financial benefit you are not entitled to is called fraud. You do not want to do that. Apart from anything else, you could put your green card status in jeopardy.</p>
<p>oh yes, i have done that already thanks!</p>