What is my status?

[Emt]

I?m adjusting status through marriage. I have received my EAD/AP combo card but I haven?t used it. I currently have DACA and I have been to my home country with AP years ago.

I currently waiting for the interview and it seems like forever. I?m getting ready to start school again this fall and I?m trying to apply for instate tuition.

In order to qualify I have to have one of these:
Conditional green card
Green card
Or an I-94 explaining if I?m paroled, refugee etc and the category, F1, F2, J1,J2 etc visas with a minimum of 1 year and that is not expired.

Do I need to travel to my home country to get an I-94?

[Emt]

Have anyone gone through something similar? I need help.

[longee94]

My understanding is your classified as I485 pending since you have applied for AOS. Since I485 pending isn't status in the same way that DACA is, I don't think you would qualify for in-state tuition. In regards to the I-94, you can get it online here: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home

[azblk]

I?m adjusting status through marriage. I have received my EAD/AP combo card but I haven?t used it. I currently have DACA and I have been to my home country with AP years ago.

I currently waiting for the interview and it seems like forever. I?m getting ready to start school again this fall and I?m trying to apply for instate tuition.

In order to qualify I have to have one of these:
Conditional green card
Green card
Or an I-94 explaining if I?m paroled, refugee etc and the category, F1, F2, J1,J2 etc visas with a minimum of 1 year and that is not expired.

Do I need to travel to my home country to get an I-94?

Different states have different rules for instate tuition but most will accept i-797A as proof of legal status. Check with the school.

[longee94]

Different states have different rules for instate tuition but most will accept i-797A as proof of legal status. Check with the school.

You need to remember that I485 pending isn't immigration status. Rather those who have an GC application pending are in a period of stay that is authorized by the attorney general until such time that thier petittions are adjudicated. The school can offer instate tutition, but it is at thier descresion.

[Tezza]

You need to remember that I485 pending isn't immigration status. Rather those who have an GC application pending are in a period of stay that is authorized by the attorney general until such time that thier petittions are adjudicated. The school can offer instate tutition, but it is at thier descresion.

I agree with this comment.

Having a pending I-485 doesn't grant you legal status, that is, if you overstayed a visa, you're still out of status despite the pending I-485. You are still technically deportable at the discretion of law enforcement, but being an I-485 applicant grants you stay. This means generally, if questioned on your status, you can provide your receipts to prove your application is pending and generally will be left alone in terms of immigration, but they can technically deport you if they wanted to.

In regards to school tuition, it's likely their discretion. The same way driver's licence issue state by state. Some allow you to provide an I-797C receipt proving you are a pending applicant, but some require you to have at minimum your EAD. It's all discretionary.

[azblk]

You need to remember that I485 pending isn't immigration status. Rather those who have an GC application pending are in a period of stay that is authorized by the attorney general until such time that thier petittions are adjudicated. The school can offer instate tutition, but it is at thier descresion.

Whats your point? It is widely known that i-485 does not grant any immigration status yet most schools accept it for instate tuition. Several states will even give you a drivers license/ID or professional license.

[Emt]

Let me clarify that I?m living in GA. I have been researching more and my school requires the I-94 that is not expired. The I-94 I have is expired and I was paroled on it.

Although I?m applying at a technical college, I got some info from the University of GA explaining the documents required.

U.S. Permanent Residents aka Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs). Acceptable forms of documentation are:

A Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551 since 1997), or
A Resident Alien Card (Form I-551 before 1997), or
An Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-151, issued prior to June 1978), or
An Arrival/Departure Record (CBP Form I-94) or the Departure Record (Form I-94A which is used at land border points of entry with the endorsement "Processed for I-551. Temporary Evidence of Lawful Admission for Permanent Residence. Valid until (Date Cannot Have Passed). Employment Authorized.", or
A machine readable immigrant visa (MRIV) in the holder's passport. The MRIV will have an admission stamp, and the statement "UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR" which appears directly above the machine readable section. An MRIV with this statement, contained in an unexpired foreign passport and endorsed with the admission stamp, constitutes a temporary I-551, valid for one year from the date of endorsement on the stamp.
A United States Travel Document (mint green cover), which replaces the Reentry Permit (Form I-327) and the Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571). It is used by lawful permanent residents (as well as refugees and asylees) and is annotated with "Permit to Reenter Form I-327 (Rev. 9-2-03)."


I also called the GA student finance commission and they said that I could present what I have and that it will be at the discretion of the school to give me in-state tuition.

[longee94]

Whats your point? It is widely known that i-485 does not grant any immigration status yet most schools accept it for instate tuition. Several states will even give you a drivers license/ID or professional license.

My point is that schools can simply argue that to establish residency for tuition purpouses, there must be some underlying immigration status. My other point being that OP may have to wait until legal status has been confered until they are able to qualify for instate tuition.

[Emt]

In other words I don?t have lawful presence with the EAD/AP combo card and with pending I485?

[krypton9591]

In other words I don?t have lawful presence with the EAD/AP combo card and with pending I485?

Correct, a pending I485 does not mean you are a permanent resident rather that you are in the process of applying to become a permanent resident, and the EAD/AP card give you the ability to work and travel for short durations during the application process. if you have an expired I94, and you have not been approved for a green card whether you have an EAD/AP combo card or not, means that you are in a current state of what you might call immigration limbo. essentially you do not have a valid status as an immigrant or non immigrant, but you are able to stay until your application has been either approved or denied. if approved then obviously you can stay and travel for short durations on AP, and can even apply for in-state tuition, if denied then you'll have to leave. for now like everyone else as well as your school has said, you can try and get in state tuition by bringing the documentation you have, but it is up to the discretion of the school to either grant or deny in state tuition. to summarize, a pending I485 does not mean you have a legal status in the US but it does allow you to stay until the process is complete and does not automatically grant you the ability to receive in state tuition.

[Emt]

Correct, a pending I485 does not mean you are a permanent resident rather that you are in the process of applying to become a permanent resident, and the EAD/AP card give you the ability to work and travel for short durations during the application process. if you have an expired I94, and you have not been approved for a green card whether you have an EAD/AP combo card or not, means that you are in a current state of what you might call immigration limbo. essentially you do not have a valid status as an immigrant or non immigrant, but you are able to stay until your application has been either approved or denied. if approved then obviously you can stay and travel for short durations on AP, and can even apply for in-state tuition, if denied then you'll have to leave. for now like everyone else as well as your school has said, you can try and get in state tuition by bringing the documentation you have, but it is up to the discretion of the school to either grant or deny in state tuition. to summarize, a pending I485 does not mean you have a legal status in the US but it does allow you to stay until the process is complete and does not automatically grant you the ability to receive in state tuition.

Fair enough. What if I leave the country right now using AP? Will I get the I94 with parole status and valid until my EAD expires?

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

I?m adjusting status through marriage. I have received my EAD/AP combo card but I haven?t used it. I currently have DACA and I have been to my home country with AP years ago.

I currently waiting for the interview and it seems like forever. I?m getting ready to start school again this fall and I?m trying to apply for instate tuition.

In order to qualify I have to have one of these:
Conditional green card
Green card
Or an I-94 explaining if I?m paroled, refugee etc and the category, F1, F2, J1,J2 etc visas with a minimum of 1 year and that is not expired.

Do I need to travel to my home country to get an I-94?

Because you are married to a US citizen, you should be able to appeal your non-resident classification.


For the University of Minnesota, for instance, you can be classified as a resident for tuition purposes, if you are married to a US citizen who is a resident of the state, has paid taxes in that state and who would otherwise be classified as a resident for tuition purposes. You have to show your I-485 pending, EAD/AP etc.

Every school will have a different process. In order to appeal your non-resident classification, you have to be classified that way first. In other words, you have to apply for in-state tuition, they will say you don't qualify and that you are now classified as non-resident. We'd be happy to let you study here if you pay non-resident tuition. That's when you appeal. Sometimes you have to dig deep on the school's website to find the appeal. School officials won't tell you it's an option. You have to ask for it by name, and they'll have to direct you to it.

[Emt]

I went to the school to appeal and turns out they had me as instate tuition for fall semester. According to them it was because of my academic achievement? �� I do have a really high GPA but I didn?t know that was possible. I?ve been paying out of state tuition for years!
Anyways, I was ready to give them my 2016 W2s, EAD/AP and the pending I485.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

I went to the school to appeal and turns out they had me as instate tuition for fall semester. According to them it was because of my academic achievement? �� I do have a really high GPA but I didn?t know that was possible. I?ve been paying out of state tuition for years!
Anyways, I was ready to give them my 2016 W2s, EAD/AP and the pending I485.

The appeal is also retroactive to 1 year. So you can gently ask if they will make it retroactive. That means you could get a nice refund.
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All the best.