<p>I am an 18 year resident of Virginia. I currently am working (self employed) and staying in NY (do not own property or rent there) and will be here till my son graduates high school (he's a junior). </p>
<p>I am back and forth and maintain my legal residence in VA. </p>
<p>My son however will have spent 3 years and graduate from a NY high school.</p>
<p>Upon his graduation I will be moving back to VA.</p>
<p>My question is: what will be his residency status? </p>
<p>We are not sure now whether he would prefer a NY or VA state school. We do want to do a state school because of the significantly lower in state tuition.</p>
<p>You need to read the residency requirements for both states VERY carefully. Because he is currently a resident of NY with you, it is possible that he could apply as an instate resident BUT he could lose that status when you move to VA as residency for undergrads is typically based on the residency of the parents. Then after that if you have resided in VA for a year, it is possible,that he would have residency in VA the following year…but NOT for his freshman year. </p>
<p>If you file taxes in Virginia, and claim your son as a dependent the there is a possibility he would qualify for Va in state. The confusion comes when you are crossing two exceptions…you living and working outside of the state, as well as your son. There are provisions for both, however I don’t know if both of these are the case if that causes a problem. If you haven’t read the regulations on the website above re Va domicile it’s an excellent resource. I would then call a few Virginia publics and ask how they would handle the situation.</p>
<p>I can’t help you as far as the NY publics, although a call to a few NY publics might give you an idea of what you can expect.</p>
<p>Wow. What a situation. I think it’s possible that your son is IS for NY or VA or both or neither. You’re going to have to research this carefully and make some calls in all likelihood. Good luck.</p>
<p>I don’t know the answer but I can tell you that my husband’s daughter was NOT qualified to get in state tuition in our state because she graduated from a HS in another state, even though he has paid taxes in this state since before she was born.</p>
<p>I would email few schools to get their response in writing. I would also apply to both VA and NY schools to see where you could get in state tuition.</p>
<p>I don’t think OP meets the domicile requirements for NY. How did you get your son enrolled in a NY public school (I am assuming he is at a public school) if you didn’t live in NY?</p>
<p>It depends upon the school is the answer. NY generally will not ask questions if a student has been in NY for three years and graduated from a NY high school, in order to allow those who are illegally here or whose parents are illegally here, to get NY state tuition. I’ve seen NY state school, some of them anyways, also generous with children of divorce who have a parent in NY state. But again, this depends upon the individual school. I’ve known kids , some cousins included, who have gotten state residency rates for state schools in two states due to circumstances. </p>
<p>But if schools are particularly stringent with their rules, you can end up with not qualifying for state residency ANY state without a one year sit out. I’ve seen that too. Be aware that even with the same school, a student can be considered a resident for admissions purposes, but not for in state tutions. Also, it varies as to how stringent and efficient the school’s enforcement efforts are.</p>
<p>Almost every state/university has specific rules covering this kind of situation. I have never looked up NY or VA, but I am morally certain they have them, too.</p>
<p>In most states, if the kid graduates from high school in State A after attending at least 3 years there, and establishes his own State A residency (driver’s license, voting registration, employment even if only part-time, tax filings), he will be able to have State A residency for tuition purposes even though he is financially dependent on parents who are not State A residents, so long as he does not have a significant break in his education in which he is living outside State A.</p>
<p>In addition, if a kid’s custodial parent and source of financial support has been a State B resident for over a year, the kid will generally be considered a State B resident even if he has actually been living in State A for a time. Worst case, he would not qualify as a State B resident his first year in college, but he would qualify thereafter.</p>
<p>So my guess is that the kid will be able to have in-state status in either state.</p>