Expiring Visa and transferring

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You should direct these questions to your community college. At the end of the day, it’s up to the community college to decide whether you can enroll and to classify you as a resident or nonresident for tuition purposes.

The general consensus is that individuals in I-485 pending status can study, but there doesn’t seem to be a federal law saying that explicitly. (I-485 pending is technically not even a real immigration status. The law just says that individuals with a pending I-485 petition are not removable while that petition is pending. However, should the I-485 petition be denied, all time in I-485 pending status is considered unlawful presence.)

California appears to consider students in I-485 pending status as generally eligible for in-state residency for tuition purposes. Or at least the UCs do. See here: https://www.ucop.edu/general-counsel/_files/ed-affairs/uc-residence-policy.pdf

Additionally, students in I-485 pending status appear to be eligible for AB 540/2000/SB 68. At least according to the CSUs. See here: https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/california-residency-for-tuition-purposes/Pages/exceptions-exemptions.aspx

AB 540/2000/SB 68
Certain nonresident students (including U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and undocumented individuals) who have attended, graduated, or achieved the equivalent from a California school may be exempted from paying nonresident tuition.

…

Additionally, a student who was a lawful non-immigrant individual during his/her high school attendance, but who is no longer a non-immigrant (e.g., a student whose valid non-immigrant visa has expired, but who has not applied for any other non-immigrant status, or a student who has applied for permanent residence, asylum, or another immigration classification other than as a non-immigrant), is entitled to this exemption provided s/he has met all other requirements for the exemption.