FAFSA a Means-Tested Benefit?

[Locito 85]

Have I got it correctly thinking that federal student aid is not a means-tested benefit that might come back to bite me later if I want to apply for naturalization?

 

I am a LPR, and I was going to register for a class at a local city college course this winter, and the college is now sending me information about possible financial aid I could apply for.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Financial aid is not a means tested benefit.

 

Google I-864 means tested benefits for a list.

[millefleur 5,046]

Nope, you'll be fine. My husband got grants and other aid when he was a student and he naturalized without issue. Apply for all the aid you can get!

 

[HRQX 4,145]

1 hour ago, Locito said:

if I want to apply for naturalization?

The eligibility requirements for naturalization do not include a public charge test and the legal use of government benefits and programs does not disqualify a permanent resident from naturalization.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g

1 hour ago, Locito said:

and the college is now sending me information about possible financial aid I could apply for.

You are eligible for it, so use it: https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/eligibility/requirements/non-us-citizens

You are considered an “eligible noncitizen” if you fall into certain categories, such as the ones listed below:

1. You are a

• U.S. national (includes natives of American Samoa or Swains Island) or

• U.S. permanent resident with a Form I-551, I-151, or I-551C (Permanent Resident Card, Resident Alien Card, or Alien Registration Receipt Card), also known as a "green card."

2. You have an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) showing*

• “Refugee,”

• “Asylum Granted,”

• “Cuban-Haitian Entrant,”

• “Conditional Entrant” (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980), or

• “Parolee” (you must be paroled for at least one year, and you must be able to provide evidence from the USCIS that you are in the United States for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a U.S. citizen or permanent resident).

3. You hold a T nonimmigrant status ("T-visa") (for victims of human trafficking) or your parent holds a T-1 nonimmigrant status. Your college or career school’s financial aid office will ask to see your visa and/or certification letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.*

4. You are a “battered immigrant-qualified alien” who is a victim of abuse by your citizen or permanent resident spouse, or you are the child of a person designated as such under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).*

5. You are a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau. If this is the case, you may be eligible for only certain types of federal student aid:

• Citizens of the Republic of Palau are eligible for Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and Federal Work-Study.

• Citizens of the Federal States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands are eligible for Federal Pell Grants only.

*To qualify for federal student aid, certain eligible noncitizens must be able to provide evidence from the USCIS that they are in the United States for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Certain Native American students born in Canada with a status under the Jay Treaty of 1789 may also be eligible for federal student aid.

Edited October 17, 2021 by HRQX

[HRQX 4,145]

*** Moved to US Citizenship General Discussion forum ***