Eligible Noncitizen*

You must be one of the following to receive federal student aid:

• U.S. citizen
• U.S. national (includes natives of American Samoa or Swain’s Island)
• U.S. permanent resident who has an I-151, I-551, or I-551C
  (Alien Registration Receipt Card)

If you’re not in one of these categories, you must be an eligible noncitizen, and you must have 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)
• “Parollee” (You must be paroled into the United States 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 and intend to become a citizen or permanent resident.)

If you have only a Notice of Approval to Apply for Permanent Residence (I-171 or I-464), you aren’t eligible for federal student aid.

If you’re in the United States on certain visas, including an F1 or F2 student visa, or a J1 or J2 exchange visitor visa, you’re not eligible for federal student aid.

Also, persons with G series visas (pertaining to international organizations) are not eligible. For more information about other types of visas that are not acceptable, check with your school’s financial aid office.

Citizens and eligible noncitizens may receive loans from the FFEL Program at participating foreign schools. Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau are eligible only for Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, or Federal Work-Study. These applicants should check with their schools’ financial aid offices for more information.

* As defined by the U.S. Department of Education in The Student Guide