Admissions & Records

Residency Requirements

 

California Residency Information

Law Governing Residence

The rules regarding legal residence for tuition purposes at Los Medanos College are governed by the California Education Code. Under these rules, adult citizens or certain classes of aliens can establish residence for tuition purposes. There are also particular rules that apply to the residence classification of minors (see below).

Who is a California Resident?

If you are an adult who is not an alien present in the U.S. in a nonimmigrant status which precludes you from establishing domicile in the U.S. (e.g., a B, F, H2, H3, or J visa) and you want to be classified as a resident for tuition purposes, you must have established your continuous presence in California more than one year prior to the starting date for the semester during which you wish to attend (LMC). You must also present evidence that you intend to make California your permanent home.

Evidence of intent must be dated one year before the term for which you seek resident classification. Physical presence within the state solely for educational purposes does not constitute the establishment of California residence under state law, regardless of the length of your stay. Your residence cannot be derived from your spouse nor, since you are an adult, from your parents. Likewise, a registered domestic partner does not derive residence from the other registered domestic partner.

Establishing Intent to Become a California Resident

Indications of your intent to make California your permanent residence can include the items below. Indications of your intent to make California your permanent residence can include

  • registering to vote and voting in California elections
  • designating California as your permanent address on all school and employment records, including military records if you are in the military service
  • obtaining a California driver's license or, if you never had a driver's license from any state, a California Identification Card
  • obtaining California vehicle registration
  • paying California income taxes as a resident, including taxes on income earned outside California from the date you establish residence
  • establishing a California residence in which you keep your permanent belongings
    licensing for professional practice in California
  • the absence of these indications in other states during any period for which you claim California residence.

Documentary evidence is required. All relevant indications will be considered in determining your classification. Your intent will be questioned if you return to your prior state of residence when the College is not in session.

On the above items you must produce documentary evidence. The burden of proof is on the student to demonstrate clearly both physical presence in the state of California and intent to establish permanent California residence. Presence and intent may be manifested in many ways - no one factor is controlling. All documents presented must be valid, readable, dated at least one year before the residence determination date, and be properly identified with respect to student’s name and address. Your intent will be questioned if you return to your prior state of residence when the college is not in session.

Financial Independence Requirement

If your parents are not residents of California for tuition purposes, you will be required to be financially independent in order to be a resident for tuition purposes. If you are an adult student and your parents are not California residents, you must demonstrate financial independence, along with physical presence and intent, when seeking resident classification for tuition purposes. You are considered "financially independent" if one or more of the following applies:

  • the student is at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the calendar year for which resident classification is requested
  • the student is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces
  • the student is a ward of the court or both parents are deceased
  • the student has legal dependents other than a spouse
  • the student is married or has a registered domestic partner, and was not claimed as an income tax deduction by parents or any other individual for the tax year immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested
  • the student is a single undergraduate student and was not claimed as an income tax deduction by parents or any other individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested, and can demonstrate self-sufficiency for those two years and the current year
  • the student reached the age of 18 in California while his or her parents were residents of California, and the parents left the state to establish a residence elsewhere while the student continued to be a resident of California after the parents' departure

Verifying Financial Independence

To verify financial independence (self-support) per item 6 above, you must document your income and verify that you were not claimed as an exemption by parents or anyone else for the two years prior to the request for residence. You are also required to present a budget showing how you are able to be supported by the funds claimed. Self-support is defined as money the student has earned through his or her own employment or loans obtained with the student's own credit, without a cosigner. A gift or loan to the student from a parent, grandparent, or other family member does not constitute self-support regardless of the terms.

Residing in California with an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or friend who provides the student with room and board cannot be considered self-support, even if that person meets the (LMC) residence requirement.

General Rules Applying to Minors

If you are an unmarried minor (under age 18), the residence of the parent with whom you live is considered your residence. If you have a parent living, you cannot change your residence by your own act, by the appointment of a legal guardian, or by the relinquishment of a parent's right of control. If you live with neither parent, your residence is that of the parent with whom you last lived. Unless you are a minor alien present in the U.S. under the terms of a nonimmigrant status which precludes you from establishing domicile in the U.S., you may establish your own residence when both your parents are deceased and a legal guardian has not been appointed. If you derive California residence from a parent, that residence must satisfy the one-year requirement.

Residency Reclassification

If you submitted an online application and you have been classified as a non-resident for tuition purposes, and you feel this is in error, fill out the Residency Reclassification Request and submit it to Admissions & Records with appropriate documentation to prove your status. You must request reclassification by the end of the academic year in which you have been charged non-resident tuition or you will be responsible for the higher tuition amount.

If you have lived in California for over a year and need to be reclassified, you will need to fill out the Residency Reclassification Request and submit it to Admissions & Records with appropriate documentation to prove your status. This reclassification is not an automatic process.

You may turn in your documentation and residency request to Admissions & Records. We will respond by email within two weeks of the results of the residency reclassification. If you turn in incomplete requests, your request will be returned and a link will be provided for you to submit the specified document(s).

Please resolve your residency reclassification by the end of the semester in which you incurred the fees. Under no circumstances will a residency reclassification be processed beyond the end of the academic year (end of spring term in June).

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AB540 California Nonresident Tuition Exemption Request

For Eligible California High School Graduates

AB540 California Non-resident Tuition Exemption Form

General Information
Any student, other than one with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) nonimmigrant visa status (see exception below for students who have been granted T or U visa status), who satisfies the four requirements (below), shall be exempt from paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges.

Eligibility Requirements:
  • 1. The student must have:
    attended a combination of California high school, adult school, and California Community College for the equivalent of three years or more.
    or
    attained credits earned in California from a California high school equivalent to three or more years of full-time high school course work and attended a combination of elementary, middle and/or high schools in California for a total of three or more years.
    2. The student must have:
    graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalent prior to the start of the term (for example, passing the GED or California High School Proficiency exam).
    or
    completed an associate degree from a California Community College.
    or
    completed the minimum requirements at a California Community College for transfer to the California State University or the University of California.
    3. The student must register as an entering student at, or current enrollment at, an accredited institution of higher education in California.
    4. The student must file an affidavit with the college or university stating that if the student is a non-citizen without current or valid immigration status, the student has filed an application to legalize immigration status or will file an application as soon as the student is eligible to do so.

Additional Information
• Students who are nonimmigrants who are victims of trafficking, domestic violence, and other serious crimes who have been granted T or U visa status, under Title 8 of the United States Code, sections 1101(a)(15)(T) or (U) are eligible for this exemption.
• Students who are nonimmigrants, other than those with T or U visa status as noted above, [for example, those who hold F (student) visas, B (visitor) visas, etc.] are not eligible for this exemption.
• A year’s equivalence at a California Community College is a minimum of 24 semester units of credit or 36 quarter units of credit. For noncredit courses, a year’s attendance is a minimum of 420 hours, 210 hours for a semester, and 140 hours a quarter.
• The accumulation of credit and/or non-credit in any academic year shall be calculated in reference to a year’s equivalence. Partial completion in an academic year is allowed. (Example: 12 units of credit courses in an academic year is equal to a semester for purposes of determining eligibility.)
• There is no cap on the number of years of attendance in credit courses at a California Community College counted towards the attendance requirements.
• The student must file an exemption request including a signed affidavit with the college that indicates the student has met all applicable conditions described above. Student information obtained in this process is strictly confidential unless disclosure is required under law.
• Students eligible for this exemption who are transferring to another California public college or university must submit a new request (and documentation if required) to each college under consideration.
• Nonresident students meeting the criteria will be exempted from the payment of nonresident tuition, but they will not be classified as California residents. They continue to be “nonresidents”.
• The California Dream Act extends Cal Grant A and B Entitlement awards, Cal Grant C awards, the California Promise Grant (formerly known as the BOG fee waiver), Chaffee grants, and institutional financial aid to students that meet these criteria as well as the applicable criteria for eligibility for specific types of financial aid.
• AB540 does not provide federal student financial aid eligibility for undocumented students. These students remain ineligible for federal financial aid.

SB150 Exemption

Effective January 1, 2014 - concurrently enrolled students (high school students enrolled in college classes) who are classified as non-resident students for tuition purposes may be eligible for the SB150 waiver of non-resident tuition while still in high school. Students must be special admit part-time (enrolled in 11 units or less) students who currently reside in California and are attending high school in California. Students wishing to take advantage of this exemption should complete a residency reclassification form and attach a copy of high school transcripts showing current enrollment. Forms and attachments should be submitted to the Admissions and Records Office.

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

Effective June, 2014 - Students who have been given a C33 Visa (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) may qualify for California residency with appropriate documentation. Please contact Admissions & Records for more information.

AB2210 Exemption

Education Code section 68075.6 grants an immediate nonresident tuition fee exemption to eligible Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders and refugee students who settled in California upon entering the United States.  This exemption is granted for one year from the date the student settled in California upon entering the United States.

This exemption applies to the following:

  • Iraqi citizens or nationals (and their spouses and children) who were employed by or on behalf of the United States Government in Iraq (Pub.L. No. 110-181, § 1244)
  • Afghan and Iraqi translators (and their spouses and children) who worked directly with the United States Armed Forces (Pub.L. No. 109-163, § 1059)
  • Afghanistan nationals who were employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government or in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan (Pub.L. No. 111-8, § 602)
  • Refugee students admitted to the United States under Section 1157 of Title 8 of the United States Code

For questions regarding residency, please email us from your InSite email account to residency@losmedanos.edu