FAFSA: Determine Eligibility

Do I Qualify for the FAFSA?

An eligible non-citizen is anyone who meets the following criteria:

U.S. permanent resident who has a Permanent Resident Card (I-551 or I-151) (also known as a green card)
A conditional permanent resident with a conditional Green Card (I-551C)
A noncitizen with an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
A student also may qualify as an eligible noncitizen if he or she holds a T-visa (for victims of human trafficking) or if his or her parent holds a T-1 visa
A Canadian born Native American under terms of the Jay Treaty

**Undocumented students, and/or their advocates, are encouraged to contact the institution(s) they would like to attend. Institutions often have ways they can provide funding in the event that a student is unable to file the FAFSA due to residency status.**

Source: MCAN

Help for Every Eligibility Status

U.S. Citizen or Eligible Noncitizen Student

Defined as A U.S. national (includes natives of American Samoa or Swains Island), U.S. permanent resident (who has an I-151, I-551 or I-551C [Permanent Resident Card]), or an individual who has an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) showing one of the following designations: Refugee, Asylum Granted, Cuban-Haitian Entrant (Status Pending), Conditional Entrant (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980), Victims of human trafficking, T-visa (T-2, T-3, or T-4, etc.) holder, *Parolee.

*Parolees must be paroled into the United States for at least one year AND be able to provide evidence from the USCIS that they 1) are in the United States for a purpose other than temporary, and 2) that they intend to become a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

These students should plan to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1.

Noncitizen Students

Students who are not U.S. Citizens or Eligible Noncitizens can still receive some types of financial aid.

Institutional Scholarships: apply through the institution’s regular scholarship application process.
Apply for local, regional, and national scholarships. Check with a high school counselor, local civic organizations, a parent’s employer, the student’s employer, or a reputable scholarship search engine like BigFuture, Fastweb, Peterson’s, or Unigo.
If a non-citizen student qualifies for—and is applying to—the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship or the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship for Adults they should plan to submit a FAFSA, but know that the FAFSA will be rejected. Do it anyway. Submitting the FAFSA will provide the Office of the Idaho State Board of Education (OSBE) staff enough information to include the student for award consideration. This is a nuanced process. Reach out to ScholarshipHelp@OSBE.idaho.gov for assistance.
The Idaho Governor’s Cup Scholarship and the Idaho Postsecondary Credit Scholarship DO NOT require a FAFSA.

Students Who Are Citizens but Whose Parents Are Not

Since the student is a U.S. Citizens they are fully eligible to receive any federal financial aid for which they qualify. These students should plan to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1.

They will need to use their social security number (SSN) and personal information.

If parent information is required, the parent(s) should complete their information in the parent section. If parents do not have an SSN they should put all zeros in for the social security number.

Parents should NOT use their Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) which usually starts with the number 9.