Last year, Washington passed a law stating that illegal immigrants qualified for cheaper in-state tuition. Since then, however, 80 international students on temporary visas received this benefit as well. In fact, at schools like the University of Washington, most of the students enrolled under this program were visa holders rather than children of illegal immigrants. That resulted in a $11,000 loss per student per year on a campus such as the University of Washington.

The way the law is written, students qualify if they have lived continuously for at least three years in Washington before receiving a high school diploma or GED and they have remained in the state since they received it. Applicants for this benefit must not be legal permanent residents or U.S. citizens; they must sign an affidavit stating they will apply to become permanent U.S. residents as soon as they are eligible.

The bill "was intended for children [of migrant workers and other immigrants] who came to this country with their parents and in some cases have lived here longer than they've lived in their home country," said Paul Svaren, international student enrollment manager at Washington State. And, many children of illegal immigrants have attended postsecondary institutions--particularly community colleges--under this program.

However, when the law was passed, a wide loophole was left for international students in Washington on nonimmigrant visas who graduated from high schools in the state. Unlike the students who were the intended targets of the law, the international students generally entered this country as children of employment visa holders who work for large regional employers (e.g., Microsof) or as exchange students and generally are not in desperate financial need.

Some other states offer in-state college tuition rates to illegal immigrants (e.g., California), but most of those states (unlike Washington) exclude visa holders. Although it's "possible to list all the visa types that exist so as to exclude [visa students] from the program," said Tim Washburn, assistant vice president for enrollment services at the University of Washington, they "didn't do that here."

Tip:  Whether you're an international or an immigrant student, there are many other sources of funding available to you, in addition to Washington's tuition breaks. Don't miss out on any of these. To find out about all of these funding opportunities, check out Reference Service Press's line of award-winning financial aid directories.

Please send your inquiries, comments, and suggestions to info@rspfunding.com.
News report posted November 22, 2004.
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