<p>For international students who lived in the States for a long time, would colleges consider them as domestic?</p>
<p>I'm doing EA for Notre Dame, Boston College, Chapel Hill and Illinois and NOT applying for Aid, does that give me a boost as int'l? Hate to compete against the competitive students around the world... </p>
<p>Just for ref I have a 3.9 uw 4.71 w GPA in a rigorious surburban high school and a 1480/1600 SAT score, really hoping for one of my EA schools, particularly Notre Dame or Boston.</p>
<p>If you are a Permanent Resident ("green card" holder) you are a domestic student for federal financial aid, and you would be eligible for in-state tuition in the state where your family resides.</p>
<p>If you aren't a Permanent Resident, you need to check the in-state regulations for the state where your family resides. Some will grant you in-state tuition if you have graduated from one of the high schools in that state, or have attended schools in that state for X years.</p>
<p>If you aren't a Permanent Resident, your visa status also comes into play. The rules are different for F2, J2, etc. visa holders. In some cases you would have to convert your current visa to F1.</p>
<p>It also depends on your visa type for some public universities. If you're F1 or J1 holder, you'll be considered as intl student, whereas for other non immigrant visas you'll be counted as domestic student.(only for some public schools, such as Univrsity of Maryland) </p>
<p>Beware that Boston C offers single choice EA.</p>
<p>I think the OP is aware that he/she is an international student for immigration and possibly tuition purposes. What he/she seems to be more concerned about is whether he/she will be held to the same standards as applicants from his/her home country.</p>
<p>Unfortunately I am not in a position to answer that question - but I would guess that you would be held to the standards of US applicants since all of your credentials are American and financial aid is not a factor.</p>
<p>You should direct that question directly to UMD. I looked up the exact requirements for qualifying for in-state tuition in MD, and there's one sentence that depending on its interpretation may or may not prevent you from establishing in-state status:</p>
<p>
[quote] II. REQUIREMENTS
...
8. Has a legal ability under Federal and Maryland law to live permanently without interruption in Maryland.
<p>While a H-1 visa is a dual intent visa, it does have an expiration date and thus you are at this point not allowed to remain in MD indefinitely.</p>
<p>Politics, if you fulfill the state residency requirement for Maryland, then you'll be considered as an instate student. Otherwise, you are an out of state applicant instead of intl student because of your non immigrant visa status.</p>
<p>thanks for all the inputs! I'm a H-4 visa, so i guess its an immigrant visa?
and what a coincident..i reside in Maryland, def applying there and should get a huge discount since my dad works in the univeristy</p>
<p>Your father working for the unversity settles the debate since dependents on full-time empolyees of a MD public university qualify for in-state tuition regardless of their residence status. </p>
<p>But just to clarify, no, H-1 (/H-4) visas are not immigrant visas. However, they allow the holder to petition for an immigrant visa under certain circumstances, which is why they are called "dual intent" visas. For most other non-immigrant visa categories, you have to prove that you have no intention to immigrate or else you are ineligible for a visa.</p>
<p>Alright. non-immigrant visa. what if i'm planning to switch to F-1 later?
Does being domestic v. int'l really play that big of a role?
I already submitted the Certification of Finances for Notre Dame..it was crazy, asking for ALL FOUR YEARS of tuition..</p>
<p>Permanent resident visas are immigrant visas. If you were a permanent resident, you would have a plastic permanent resident card ("green card") instead of a visa foil in your passport. Permanent residents may stay in the country indefinitely, work, and they are eligible for a whole range of government programs (federal college financial aid, Medicare etc) In many respects permanent residents are treated like citizens, and they can apply for US citizenship after 5 years if they so desire.</p>
<p>Ya, I know about all that...but didn't know that Green Cards were considered to be visas too...I thought there was a separate category of non-GC visas that were considered immigrant...so why can't these colleges just clarify it =/</p>
<p>Edit: Bleh, the "Quote message in reply?" doesn't exactly work</p>
<p>The rules for different visa categories are different. You really have to look at your personal documents and see what you have, and then you have to ask the individual university how they treat applicants in your category. Some visas will allow you to study here without conversion to F1 status, in other cases you would have to convert to an F1. One place to start your reading is at USCIS</a> Home Page</p>
<p>neo, if your visa does not expire until the your graduaion, there's no need to switch to F1. Even if it expires during your college years, I think if your farther continues to work in the states, you will still be able to extend your H4 visa.
Being intl is dramatically different from being domestic. For example, many school does not provide scholarships (not fin-aids) to intl students. And in some schools, you'll be placed in a completely different pool with the intl applicants, which is highly competitively, like Boston C's.</p>
<p>^Ryan, our visa are expiring in May 2009, that's why I am applying for a F-1 visa just in case, plus H-4s are not even allowed to work at all. Money is a huge disavantage for Int'l students along with the fact that we are put into a more competitive pool. i honestly hate being an international.</p>
<p>There are certain restricted conditions under which a person who holds an F1 visa can work. B@r!um probably has the details at her fingertips, I don't.</p>