"Because an H-4 visa holder is considered an eligible nonimmigrant visa type for UC residency classification, and my family has resided in California for approximately 10 years, I should qualify for in-state tuition. I understand that since I do not qualify under the AB 540 exemption, we will need to submit standard residency documentation to verify our long-term physical presence and intent. Right?
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I’ll go with your expertise.
OP - so your family can afford full COA.
@Gjghhhh - first off, you are going to be impacted getting a job if a visa is required.
But forgetting that - the real world doesn’t work like - if a school is in a top 20 or 100 or 200, that makes someone successful whereas if you go to no name you can’t be.
I have an MBA from an old Pac 10 school and work with other MBAs. Our boss has a Bachelor from W Georgia? Heard of that one?
We had a Harvard Law working for Fairleigh Dickinson (heard of that one, some call it Fairleigh ridiculous) - until a recent retirement.
I worked just South of LA - and I can tell you USC or UCB work for Long Beach State and then some.
So it’s not linear to rank.
There is actually no top anything. Each company, looking to sell things and make money, creates a criteria - and whatever matches to that criteria = is what comes on top in their rank.
Most wouldn’t say that SJSU (your safety) is a top 20 school. But the WSJ says it is - they use outcome data.
UCM - which you purport not to like, probably because of peer pressure, is #69 in US News - which I’m guessing you are using.
If you can’t afford a UC, there are out of state schools cheaper. But you would do yourself a HUGE favor by taking the SAT, if an OOS school was affordable whereas a UC wasn’t - because many give merit aid based on the SAT/ACT.
As I showed you with Berkeley with 1/5 of stats majors not finding a job, there is no be all and end all.
My kid turned down a top engineering school for a, what you would deem, not a good public and makes six figures and out earns the average of the top school. My daughter chose a regional public over a top LAC. She had, in her cohort, one kid I know turned down Rice, Vandy and Penn to attend. He’s at Georgetown for grad school. Another in her cohort is at Harvard Law. And my daughter is in a selective public service program - all from a school you might equate to a Long Beach or Fullerton (but on the East Coast).
Find a school you can afford and get into. From there, take advantage of the resources offered.
You, not the name - not the perceived, unofficial and not real rank, will make your success.
There’s lots of rankings out there - and they’ll all take the same thing and give you a different result.
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From the UC website:
The following is a list of nonimmigrant visas eligible to establish residency for tuition purposes. In addition to the nonimmigrant visa, students (and parents of undergraduate students under the age of 24 who are not financially independent) must hold a valid I-94 as evidence of legal presence in the United States.
If you hold one of the following visas, to maintain eligibility for residency for tuition purposes, you must provide documentation of your current eligible immigration status every semester/quarter of attendance. Additionally, with the exception of A and G diplomatic visas, all nonimmigrant visas expire for dependents/children after the age of 21 years.
- A-1, A-2, A-3
- E-1, E-2, E-2C, E-3
- G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4
- H-1B, H-1C
- H-4 spouses and H-4 children of H-1 principals
- I
- K-1, K-2, K-3, K-4
- L-1A, L-1B, L-2
- N-8, N-9
- NATO-1 through NATO-7
- O-1
- O-3 spouses and O-3 children of O-1 principals
- P-1
- R-1, R-2
- T-1, T-2, T-3, T-4, T-5
- U-1, U-2, U-3, U-4, U-5
- V-1, V-2, V-3
So when you fill out your SLR (Statement of Legal Residency) you will have to submit documentation to meet the UC residency requirements.
Edited: Students holding an H-4 visa are fully eligible for the UC Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) program, provided they meet the academic criteria and their parents satisfy California’s residency rules.
We do call it fairleigh ridiculous.
I know. My dad is an alum.
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You’re aware I assume that you will have to change to a F1 visa when you turn 21. When this happens, you will lose instate tuition advantages, so please be sure your family has factored this into their budget. Has your family applied for green cards/is there any chance you’d become a permanent resident at any time during your studies and especially before you turn 21? (Edit for clarity for others : if family has applied, OP can only get green card as a derivative before they turn 21).
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