Can Illegal Immigrants Apply for Student Loans?

It is estimated that about 3.2%-3.6% of the U.S. population is made up of illegal immigrants. If you happen to be a part of the undocumented population, you may want to get a student loan. Still, you might be afraid of being rejected and/or any legal issues. Can illegal immigrants apply for student loans, though? If you want to figure out whether you or the other estimated 11 million illegal immigrants can obtain a student loan, read this article and find out.

Can Illegal Immigrants Apply for Student Loans?

With over 1 million immigrant students in the U.S., it only makes sense that some of them may want to seek financial aid at some point, which often comes in the form of student loans. But can illegal immigrants apply for student loans?

Well, sadly the access to loans is limited for immigrant students in general. Usually, the U.S. Department of Education will not really allow student loans to be obtained by immigrants. To both non-citizens and U.S. citizens, access to Federal Financial Aid is limited.

So, if you’re a non-citizen, you will have a hard time getting a loan unless you consult your school’s financial aid office first. Doing so will help you discover if you are an eligible noncitizen to obtain federal financial aid.

But if you’re an illegal immigrant, it won’t be possible as you need an alien registration number to enter in your FAFSA application. These numbers are always checked against a U.S. Department of Homeland Security database. Therefore, as an illegal immigrant, you won’t have access to federal financial aid.

Luckily, you may have a chance to get a private student loan instead. Access is still limited because, as an immigrant, and an illegal one at that, you don’t really have a credit history – so, it would be difficult for the lender to determine if you are to be trusted with loans.

With private student loans, you would be able to obtain them as long as you have a cosigner. The co-signer has to be a U.S. citizen, and a creditworthy one, or a permanent U.S. resident who has been in the U.S. for a while. If you don’t know anyone in the U.S. who can be a co-signer and you have nobody who wants to help you, then this type of funding will still be an issue for you.

How to Use FAFSA to Determine Your Expected Family Contribution?

Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) can be calculated through the FAFSA application. It measures the financial strength of your family, and it will consider your family’s assets, untaxed income, and benefits in the formula, as well as the number of family members attending college and the family size.

Keep in mind that it will not calculate how much your family will have to pay for college, but how much you are eligible to receive from federal student aid.

If you fill out the FAFSA with essential information, it will help you determine the EFC. You need to make sure you report the right type of information to have your EFC properly calculated. You can find out more about the EFC by clicking here.

Alternatives to Student Loans

If you can’t get student loans or want to look for other alternatives first, you will be more than happy to know that there are 3 good options. Of course, these options also vary depending on your state, and your immigration status – for example, if you were given a DACA status or not. DACA is known for letting immigrants with no documents stay in the U.S. without being in danger of deportation. It only applies to immigrants brought to the U.S. before they were 16, though.

Scholarships for Undocumented Immigrants

In case you are an illegal immigrant and you don’t have access to loans, you can always try out a scholarship for undocumented immigrants. You can always look and find the best scholarships. The good thing regarding a scholarship is that you don’t have to pay it back – you will owe no money. You get it and use it as needed. Keep in mind that different organizations will offer them as awards, based on whether you meet certain criteria or not.

Of course, you need to look for the best one. As an example, there is TheDream.US, which offers scholarships for students who don’t qualify for in-state tuition in their respective states, or they aren’t allowed to go to college. You can get an up to $80,000 award, which you can also renew every year.

The same program also gives scholarships for undocumented immigrants, up to $14,500 for an associate degree, and $29,000 for a bachelor’s degree. This one is renewable too, so you can get it each year. Also, you can get an additional stipend each year, of $1,000.

State Financial Aid

State financial aid is also available for you, depending on the state you live in. There are specific states such as New Jersey or New York that offer state funding to undocumented students. But of course, you will still need to meet certain eligibility criteria to qualify – again, this depends on each state and its rules.

For example, in California, you will have easier access as compared to many other states. Apparently, they do not really take into account if the student is undocumented. They will be willing to help him/her get some money. According to Daniel Alfaro, who is a program manager of the Undocumented Student Services at the University of California-San Diego, “In our state, we don’t take into account whether they are documented or not to get financial aid.”

Meanwhile, in New York, you will also have to meet eligibility criteria, and you can apply for free-tuition programs too. The New York State Tuition Program, for instance, is usually giving students up to $5,165 every year.

Private Financial Aid

Private financial aid is another great way to get some funding as an undocumented immigrant student. There are only some universities and colleges that offer it. You just have to know that even if illegal immigrants are accepted for private financial aid, it may be a little difficult to obtain it, depending on the criteria asked. The difficulty also depends on the particular school.

If you want to test your luck and see if you can get private financial funding, you need to go to the financial aid department of the school. They will give you paperwork that you will have to fill out. Once you do so, you just have to wait and see if they accept you or not.

Conclusion

Being an illegal immigrant can be tough because you have fewer benefits compared to permanent residents and you always fear the worst. You don’t really have access to federal student aid, and access to private student aid is not possible without a cosigner. There are other ways, though, such as getting scholarships or getting state or private funding, depending on which one is better or which one you qualify for. If you are looking for loans, you should check out our options, and if you have any other questions, you can always contact us.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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