{"id":63,"date":"2011-09-06T19:22:14","date_gmt":"2011-09-06T23:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/?page_id=63"},"modified":"2026-02-13T13:06:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T18:06:53","slug":"citizenship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/how-aid-works\/eligibility\/citizenship\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizenship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To be eligible to receive federal, state, or Boston University financial aid you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen. You may be required to submit proof of your citizenship status before your financial aid application can be considered complete.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enter your full legal name on your financial aid (FAFSA and CSS Profile&#x2122;) applications.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your legal name is typically found on your Social Security Card. If you are a U.S. citizen, you must answer &#8220;U. S. Citizen&#8221; to the FAFSA question &#8220;Are you a U.S. citizen?&#8221; If you are a U.S. Permanent Resident or other<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/understand-aid\/eligibility\/requirements\/non-us-citizens\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eligible non-citizen<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you must answer &#8220;Eligible Non-citizen&#8221; and then enter your 9-digit USCIS\/ Alien Registration Number on the FAFSA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you receive a request for proof of citizenship, please upload acceptable documentation of your citizenship status in your MyBU Applicant Portal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h4 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Acceptable Documentation for U.S. Citizens<\/h4><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A copy of your unexpired U.S. Passport, signed on the line which reads &#8220;Signature of Bearer&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A copy of your U.S. Certificate of Citizenship or U.S. Certificate of Naturalization. This must be signed in two places: on the photo itself and also on the line which reads &#8220;True and Complete Signature of Holder.&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A copy of your unexpired U.S. Passport card.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are a U.S. Citizen who was born <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the U.S.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you may provide a copy of your Birth Certificate.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you were born abroad and at least one parent (adoptive of biological, with legal custody of you) became a U.S. Citizen before you reached the age of 18, you are probably a naturalized citizen under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. Nevertheless, to establish eligibility for federal financial aid you must provide a unexpired and signed U.S. Passport or U.S. passport card, or a signed U.S. Certificate of Citizenship. If you have applied for but have not yet been issued a U.S. Passport or U.S. Certificate of Citizenship, you must provide a statement attesting to that fact. In that case, you must also submit ALL of the following documents: a written explanation of your status, a copy of your legal parent&#8217;s unexpired and signed U.S. Passport or signed Certificate of Citizenship, and a copy of the front\/back of your U.S. Permanent Resident Card, if in your possession. If you enroll at Boston University, either during orientation or your first week of classes, you will be required to present in person your recently obtained signed U.S. Passport or U.S. Certificate of Citizenship.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h4 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Acceptable Documentation for U.S. Permanent Residents <\/h4><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A clear copy of the front and back of your U.S. Permanent Resident Card (not expired).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A copy of your Machine-Readable Immigrant Visa (MRIV), which serves as temporary I-551.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h4 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Acceptable Documentation for Other Non-citizens<\/h4><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are not a U.S. Citizen or US Permanent Resident, but believe you may still be eligible for federal aid, please provide clear copies of as many of the following documents as possible:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; All letters ever received from the Department of Homeland Security (often labeled I-797, I-797A, or I-797C). You may also provide any emails received from the Department of Homeland Security.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AND<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; The photo page of your current and previous foreign passport.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AND<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; All visa stamps for the U.S. in your current and previous passports.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AND<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; All I-94&#8217;s and I-94A&#8217;s (both current and previous). In addition to providing copies of the paper I-94&#8217;s in your passport, it is also advised that you retrieve and print an electronic copy of your I-94 from the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/i94.cbp.dhs.gov\/I94\/#\/home\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S. Customs and Border Protection website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AND<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Your U.S. Employment Authorization Card.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AND<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Your Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Resident status.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once received, the above documents will then be matched with DHS records to verify that you hold a status that makes you eligible for the receipt of federal financial aid. Information on non-U.S. Citizens who qualify for federal student aid may be found\u00a0 on the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/studentaid.gov\/understand-aid\/eligibility\/requirements\/non-us-citizens\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">U.S. Department of Education website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h4 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Undocumented Students<\/h4><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Undocumented students, and those in DACA or TPS status are<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not eligible for federal financial aid<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In addition, BU Financial Assistance is unable to offer need-based University scholarships or grants to DACA,\u00a0 TPS, or undocumented students.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"bu_collapsible_container \" aria-live=\"polite\" data-customize-animation=\"false\"><h4 class=\"bu_collapsible\" aria-expanded=\"false\"tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">International Students<\/h4><div class=\"bu_collapsible_section\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">International students are<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not eligible for federal financial aid<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In addition, BU Financial Assistance is unable to offer need-based University scholarship or grant aid to<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/undergraduate-students\/international\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">international students<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To be eligible to receive federal, state, or Boston University financial aid you must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen. You may be required to submit proof of your citizenship status before your financial aid application can be considered complete. Enter your full legal name on your financial aid (FAFSA and CSS Profile&#x2122;) applications.\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1393,"featured_media":0,"parent":10,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1393"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11871,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63\/revisions\/11871"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/finaid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}