imrockstar77

Hi, I currently live in San Jose.
I got accepted in UC Riverside for this winter quarter.
I am now having some difficulties to fill out the statement of legal residence.
It asks "Did/Will my parents file a California income tax return this calender and the last calender year?"
My parents have been working under the table so they did not file any tax documents.
If I put "no, they did not and will not", is the school gonna declare that I am a nonresident student?
and what happens if they deny my residency?
it says on the form that it is for tuition purposes? does that mean I have to pay more money?
*sighs* the UC's tuition is already hecka expensive >.<
please, any help, advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you =]

rider730

Lets apply a little logic to this. What if you were from a family with no income, or so little that they are not required to file taxes? They wouldn't declare that student as a non-resident.

The fact that they file no California taxes by itself isn't an issue. The question is looking for students whose parents file in other states but not California, a clear sign they are not residents.

It seems to me that if your answer is that they don't have enough income to file any tax returns, but have other proof that shows your residency, you should be good. If you have attended California schools up to the present, that is a pretty good proof and generally when they see that, your residency status gets resolved quite quickly compared to someone who has not.

However, for financial aid, don't you need to have your parents file the FAFSA to determine need? Have they done that? It could draw attention to them, I suppose, but if they don't fill it out, that could be the real sticking point for your admission.