The Department of Education regulations [34 CFR] control this situation....
34 CFR: Education:
PART 668—STUDENT ASSISTANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS;
Subpart C—Student Eligibility
§ 668.33 Citizenship and residency requirements.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, to be eligible to receive title IV, HEA program assistance, a student must—
(1) Be a citizen or national of the United States; or
(2) Provide evidence from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service that he or she—
(i) Is a permanent resident of the United States; or
(ii) Is in the United States for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident;
(b) (1) A citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau is eligible to receive funds under the FWS, FSEOG, and Federal Pell Grant programs if the student attends an eligible institution in a State, or a public or nonprofit private eligible institution of higher education in those jurisdictions.
(2) A student who satisfies the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section is eligible to receive funds under the FWS, FSEOG, and Federal Pell Grant programs if the student attends a public or nonprofit private eligible institution of higher education in the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau.
(c) (1) If a student asserts that he or she is a citizen of the United States on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the Secretary attempts to confirm that assertion under a data match with the Social Security Administration. If the Social Security Administration confirms the student's citizenship, the Secretary reports that confirmation to the institution and the student.
(2) If the Social Security Administration does not confirm the student's citizenship assertion under the data match with the Secretary, the student can establish U.S. citizenship by submitting documentary evidence of that status to the institution. Before denying title IV, HEA assistance to a student for failing to establish citizenship, an institution must give a student at least 30 days notice to produce evidence of U.S. citizenship.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1091, 5 U.S.C. 552a) [52 FR 45727, Dec. 1, 1987, as amended at 71 FR 38002, July 3, 2006; 74 FR 20221, May 1, 2009]
§ 668.131 Definitions.
The following definitions apply to this subpart:
Eligible noncitizen: An individual possessing an immigration status that meets the requirements of §668.33(a)(2).
Immigration status: The status conferred on a noncitizen under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended, 8 U.S.C. 1182.
Primary confirmation: A process by which the Secretary, by means of a matching program conducted with the INS, compares the information contained in an Application for Federal Student Aid or a multiple data entry application regarding the immigration status of a noncitizen applicant for title IV, HEA assistance with records of that status maintained by the INS in its Alien Status Verification Index (ASVI) system for the purpose of determining whether a student's immigration status meets the requirements of §668.33(a)(2) and reports the results of this comparison on an output document. [They may check your eligibility via USCIS' SAVE Program.]
Secondary confirmation: A process by which the INS, in response to the submission of INS Document Verification Form G–845 by an institution, searches pertinent paper and automated INS files, other than the ASVI database, for the purpose of determining a student's immigration status and the validity of the submitted INS documents, and reports the results of this search to the institution.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1091) [58 FR 3184, Jan. 7, 1993, as amended at 59 FR 12521, Mar. 16, 1994; 63 FR 40626, July 29, 1998]
