Can International Student Apply for FAFSA? Here’s What You Need to Know

International Students FAFSA: Beyond tuition, fees, housing, books, and supplies, international students in the United States pay additional expenses, including visa application fees and foreign airfare.

Although American education can be costly, particularly considering changing exchange rates, there are strategies to lower the total attendance costs.

While funding choices are sometimes more limited for overseas students, some may be eligible for particular forms of merit- or need-based aid.

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International Students FAFSA: Can non-US citizens apply for FAFSA?

Those who qualify for federal student aid but are not U.S. citizens are known as “eligible noncitizens.” If one satisfies particular requirements, one is deemed to be an eligible noncitizen.

These include having a green card or being a U.S. national or permanent resident, so covering Americans from American Samoa or Swains Island.

As an eligible noncitizen, you must have an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) that shows you are a refugee, have been granted asylum, are a conditional resident alien, are a Cuban or Haitian immigrant, have conditional entrant status (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980), or are on parole.

Parolees must be paroled for at least one year and show proof of an intention to become a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Special parole considerations apply to Afghan citizens paroled between July 31, 2021, and September 30, 2023; and Ukrainian citizens paroled into the U.S. between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2023.

Other qualified international student categories

Also eligible are those whose parents hold T-1 nonimmigrant status or those who have T nonimmigrant status for victims of human trafficking.

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Colleges or career schools will require proof of this status, such as a visa or certification letter from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Under the Violence Against Women Act, another category comprises “battered immigrant-qualified aliens” who, either as victims of abuse by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, or children of such persons.

Additionally qualified for particular kinds of federal student aid are residents of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau.

While residents of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands are qualified for Federal Pell Grants only, citizens of Palau are eligible for Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and Federal Work-Study.