Many posters who are highly knowledgeable with the admissions process and financial aid have asked good questions and given you good feedback.
For US colleges this will shake out in one of two ways…
1)your D gets her green card by college application due dates and can then apply as a domestic student, or
2)she doesn’t have her green card by application due dates and will have to apply as an undocumented student…which is considered an international student at most schools. All but 5 schools (HYP, MIT, and Amherst) are need aware for international students.
Most private schools will require the CSS Profile to determine financial need…which will also require your D’s dad’s (and his wife’s) income and financial info. Because your D is in contact with her dad, it is very unlikely she would qualify for an NCP waiver. Meet full need schools tend to be reaches for all students as well, as they have low acceptance rates.
Do you have a sense of your D’s dad’s finances? Without knowing this, you will have no idea what schools will calculate as your daughter’s financial need. Schools that meet full need do so based on their determination of need, not what you (or he) think you can pay.
I don’t see much of a way to exclude the dad from the process…although if your D gets her permanent residency and applies to FAFSA only schools, then she would not need her dad’s financial info. But most FAFSA only schools do not meet full need.
Did your D take the PSAT in the fall? Or has she taken the ACT or SAT yet?