What Is an Eligible Non-Citizen?

Generally, you are an eligible non-citizen if you are one of the following:

• U.S. permanent resident, with a Permanent Resident Card (formerly known as an Alien Registration Receipt Card or "Green Card")
• Conditional permanent resident (I-551C)
• Other eligible non-citizen with an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the Department of Homeland Security showing any one of the following designations: "Refugee," "Asylum Granted," "Indefinite Parole," "Humanitarian Parole," or "Cuban-Haitian Entrant"
• A citizen of the Republic of Palau (PW), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (MH), or the Federated States of Micronesia (FM).

If your citizenship status has changed from an eligible non-citizen to a U.S. citizen, contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to update your citizenship status. If you do not update your citizenship status with the SSA, it could delay processing your student financial aid. To contact the SSA call 1-800-772-1213 or visit the Social Security Administration's Web site at www.ssa.gov.

Eligible non-citizens must enter their eight- or nine-digit Alien Registration Number (ARN) when completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is used to determine eligibility for state and federal student aid.