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Eligible Non-Citizens

Fact Check

The INS permits photocopying Certificate of Naturalization/Citizenship documents if done for lawful purposes, such as applying for student financial aid funds.

Acceptable Documents

A Social Security card or a driver’s license is not acceptable for documenting citizenship or national status.

Citizenship Status

Eligible students

  • U.S. citizen or national (includes natives of American Samoa or Swains Island)
  • U.S. permanent resident who has an I-151, I-551, or I-551c (Alien Registration Receipt Card)
  • Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) showing one of the following designations to be eligible:
    • “Refugee”
    • “Asylum Granted”
    • “Indefinite Parole” and/or “Humanitarian Parole”
    • “Cuban-Haitian Entrant, Status Pending”
    • “Conditional Entrant” (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980)
  • Ukrainian Citizens or Nationals (paroled into the United States between February 24, 2022 and September 30, 2023)
  • Afghan citizens and nationals (paroled into the U.S. between July 31, 2021 and September 30, 2023) 
  • Victims of Human Trafficking
  • Battered or Abused Spouses or Children-Qualified Noncitizens
  • Certain American Indians Born in Canada (formerly Jay Treaty Students)

Ineligible students

  • F-1, F-2, or M-1 Student Visas;
  • NATO Visas (NATO);
  • A2 and A3 Visas (foreign official, including attendants);
  • B-1 or B-2 Visitor Visas;
  • J-1 or J-2 Exchange Visitors Visas;
  • H series or L series Visas (which allow temporary employment in the U.S.); or
  • G series Visas (pertaining to international organizations)
  • Temporary residents allowed to live and work in the U.S. under the Legalization or Special Agricultural Worker program
  • Illegal aliens under the legalization (also called the amnesty) program established by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)
  • Approval notice or EAD forms stamped with “Temporary Protected Status” 
  • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
  • Withholding of removal or deferral of removal orders
  • U nonimmigrants or U-Visa holders
  • A Form I-797C, Notice of Action
  • An Advance Parole

Confirming Your Citizenship Status

If the Office of Financial Aid needs to verify your citizenship status, the following are acceptable documents. You must submit a signed copy of acceptable documentation to be considered for financial aid. If this documentation is not properly submitted, your financial aid will not disburse.

  • A copy of the student’s official birth certificate showing that he/she was born in the U.S.
  • A copy of Form FS-240 (Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the U.S.), the FS-545 (Certificate of Birth-Foreign Service), or the DS-1350 (Certificate of Birth). These forms are generated by the State Department and include an embossed seal.
  • A U.S. Passport or Passport card. In the case of nationals who are not citizens, the passport will be stamped with Noncitizen National.
  • A Certificate of Citizenship (N-560 or N-561) issued by USCIS.
  • A Certificate of Naturalization (N-550 or N-570) issued by USCIS (or, prior to 1991, a federal or state court), or through administrative naturalization after December 1990 to those who are individually naturalized.