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Session 7

Session 7. Citizenship Issues: Handling Situations for Applicants with Undocumented Parents Anthony Jones Office of Postsecondary Education Ida Mondragón Federal Student Aid. Agenda. Policy Issues/Real World Scenarios Reporting/Verifying Income Paperwork SSN Issues

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Session 7

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  1. Session 7 Citizenship Issues: Handling Situations for Applicants with Undocumented Parents Anthony Jones Office of Postsecondary Education Ida Mondragón Federal Student Aid

  2. Agenda • Policy Issues/Real World Scenarios • Reporting/Verifying Income • Paperwork • SSN Issues • PLUS/Additional Unsubsidized Eligibility • Title IV Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking • Processing Citizenship and SSN Matches • Discussion/Questions

  3. Policy Issues Related to Undocumented Parents • Citizenship Rules and Regulations • Reporting Income • Verifying Income • PLUS Eligibility/Additional Unsubsidized Loan Eligibility • Citizenship or Resident Paperwork Issues • Parent Social Security Number Issues • Victims of Human Trafficking

  4. Citizenship Rules for Title IV • Section 484(a)(5) of the HEA • 34 CFR 668.32(d), .33, and Subpart I, as well as 682.201(b)(1)(i) and 685.200(b)(1)(iii)

  5. Citizenship Rules for Title IV- continued • A student or borrower must be: • U.S. citizen or national • U.S. permanent resident • Citizen of the Freely Associated States, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the republics of Palau and the Marshall Islands • Other eligible non-citizens

  6. Citizenship Rules (IRS) • IRS Publication 519: • Includes a chart for determining resident vs. nonresident status for IRS purposes • Resident alien’s income is generally subject to tax in the same manner as a U.S. citizen • Nonresident alien’s income is usually subject to U.S. income tax only on U.S. source income.

  7. Citizenship Rules (IRS) – continued IRS Publication 519 - continued: • A taxpayer identification number (TIN) must be on a return (usually the SSN). If you do not have an SSN, you must apply for an individual TIN.

  8. Undocumented Worker: Reporting Income • If parent of dependent applicant is an undocumented worker, parent(s) must still supply income and asset information • Same rules apply if applicant is undocumented but will probably run into citizenship match issues • Cannot do dependency override solely because parent is undocumented worker and concerned about status being revealed (similar to any parent who refuses to supply information)

  9. Undocumented Worker: Verifying Income • Applicants with income above minimum threshold for filing must file a tax return. If they do not, it is conflicting information. • IRS provision allows undocumented workers to file tax return by applying for individual taxpayer ID number for tax return filing purposes only • See IRS Publication 519, page 23

  10. Undocumented Worker: Verifying Income - continued • If below minimum threshold for filing, school can accept W2s or signed, dated statement from parents verifying source(s) and amount(s) of income (see 34 CFR 668.57(a)(4))

  11. Undocumented Worker: Paperwork Issues • Even if the student has a letter from DHS verifying that the parent’s application is in the processing stage, that letter is not acceptable as proof of eligibility for Title IV purposes • Ultimately the application could be denied or deemed incomplete and unable to process

  12. Undocumented Worker: SSN Issues • When completing the FAFSA, a parent who legitimately does not have a SSN should supply all zeroes • Leaving the item blank on paper will cause a rejected application • FOTW will not allow blanks • Zeroes are considered a valid response

  13. PLUS/Additional Unsubsidized Eligibility Dear Colleague Letter GEN-05-16 (Q&A # 5): • An institution may award a dependent student additional unsubsidized Stafford loan amounts based on the fact that there are exceptional circumstances that preclude the parent from borrowing a PLUS • Can occur if dependent student’s parent is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident (or is unable to provide official evidence that he/she is in U.S for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident)

  14. Title IV Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking • Section 107(b)(1)(A) of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA) • an alien who is a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons shall be eligible for Federal benefits/services the same as a refugee • ED has long held that non-citizens with refugee status (according to section 207 of Immigration and Naturalization Act) are eligible for Title IV assistance as eligible non-citizens

  15. Title IV Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking • See Dear Colleague Letter GEN-06-09 for complete details • FAFSA response to citizenship would be eligible non-citizen and an alien registration number must be provided • Will fail the DHS data match(es)

  16. Title IV Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking - continued • Documentation issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) • Certification Letter to a victim age 18 or older • Eligibility Letter to a victim under the age of 18 • FAA must call the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement at 1-866-401-5510 to verify its validity and to confirm that HHS certification or eligibility has not expired.

  17. Title IV Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking - continued • Relatives of Victims: The spouse, child, or parent of a victim of human trafficking may also be eligible for Title IV program assistance. • FAFSA response to citizenship would be eligible non-citizen and an alien registration number must be provided • Will fail the DHS data match(es) • HHS documentation issued to relatives: • T-visa (T-2, T-3, or T-4, etc.).

  18. Title IV Assistance for Victims of Human Trafficking - continued • For the Relatives of Victims: The FAA must collect a copy of the applicant's T-visa AND a copy of the Certification Letter or Eligibility Letter issued to the victim. • FAA must call the Office of Refugee Resettlement to establish both the validity of the victim's status and to confirm the validity of the applicant's T-visa.

  19. CPS Data Matching Results • Match Flags are alpha or numeric codes that show the results of each match between the CPS and another database. • Comments and comment codes provide information to the student and to the FAA about the results of the processed FAFSA. Comments are included on the student’s SAR and on the EDExpress printed ISIR.

  20. Matching Results - continued • The “C” Code is an indicator that, even though an EFC was calculated, institutional resolution is required on the results of one or more of the database matches. • “C” Codes must be resolved either by a correction being made or by the school collecting adequate documentation.

  21. Matching Results - continued • Rejects are triggered when applicant data is missing or seriously questionable or when the processing results are unacceptable. In all reject situations, an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is not calculated, and no Title IV aid may be paid based on a rejected CPS record.

  22. Data Matches for Citizenship • Sections 484(g) of HEA and 668.33 of the regulations provide that an applicant must be either a citizen or eligible non-citizen. • Applicant records that go to DHS for the data match are those who indicate eligible non-citizen and provide an alien registration number on the FAFSA.

  23. DHS Primary Verification "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution no Y 143 no • Applicant’s non-citizen eligibility confirmed by DHS.

  24. DHS Primary Verification - continued "C"CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution yes N 144 yes • DHS did not confirm applicant’s non-citizen eligibility. • See results from Secondary Confirmation.

  25. DHS Primary Verification - continued "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution Reject 17 none 68 yes • Applicant did not indicate citizenship status. DHS match was not conducted. • If SSA Citizenship is verified • Reject 17 will be suppressed. • Applicant should correct to U.S. Citizen (or to eligible non-citizen and provide alien registration number (ARN)).

  26. DHS Primary Verification - continued "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution yes none 141 yes • Applicant changed from eligible non-citizen to citizen or changed ARN. • DHS match not conducted. • Determine why student changed information. Student may need to submit proof of citizenship.

  27. DHS Primary Verification - continued "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution yes none 142 yes • Student did not provide ARN or provided invalid ARN. • Match not conducted. • Assist student to make SAR/ISIR correction to provide valid ARN.

  28. DHS Secondary Confirmation • For applicants that fail Primary Verification: • CPS waits for three compute days to receive results from Secondary Confirmation instead of processing ISIRs with results from primary verification only. • If, after three days DHS does not return a response, CPS will generate the ISIR, which will show that Secondary Confirmation is still in progress.

  29. DHS Secondary Confirmation "C" CodeMatch FlagComment no P none • Automated secondary confirmation in progress. • Wait at least five, but no more than 15 business days for CPS system-generated ISIR with results of automated secondary confirmation. • If no response within 15 days, begin paper (G-845) secondary confirmation.

  30. Paper G845 - DHS Form • Note Item 5: Verification Number • DHS Verification # in ISIR field 271 • Refer to FSA Handbook for making a determination • based on response from DHS

  31. DHS Secondary Confirmation - continued "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution no Y 120 no • DHS confirmed student is an eligible non-citizen.

  32. DHS Secondary Confirmation - continued "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution yes C 105 yes • In Continuance. • School is encouraged, but not required, to wait ten business days for another systems generated ISIR with updated secondary confirmation match flag before beginning mandatory paper (G-845) secondary confirmation process.

  33. DHS Secondary Confirmation - continued "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution yes N 46 yes • DHS did not confirm eligibility. • Must begin paper (G-845) secondary confirmation process.

  34. DHS Secondary Confirmation - continued "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution yes X 109 yes • DHS did not confirm eligibility because additional information is needed. • Must begin paper (G-845) secondary confirmation process.

  35. Notes on DHS Secondary Confirmation • Before sending copies of documentation to DHS, school should confirm that the student identifiers are correct, especially alien registration number and date of birth. Make corrections to CPS as necessary. • If school does not receive a response to paper secondary confirmation in 15 days, applicant is eligible for aid if documentation appears to support claim of eligible non-citizen.

  36. Social Security Administration Citizenship Status "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution no A or “blank” none no • SSA confirmed U.S. Citizenship status.

  37. Social Security Administration Citizenship Status - continued "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution yes B, C, D, E, F, or * 146 yes • SSA did not confirm U.S. citizenship status. • If DHS confirmed citizenship status, comment 146 and C code will be suppressed. • Student should provide birth certificate, passport, or other documents that definitively prove citizenship.

  38. Social Security Administration Citizenship Status - continued "C" CodeMatch FlagCommentResolution no N 62 yes • SSA unable to verify citizenship because there was no match on SSN, name, or date of birth. • Help student make corrections to social security number, name, or date of birth if necessary so that the student’s record can be sent back to SSA for matching.

  39. Data Matching for Social Security Number with SSA • Section 484(p) of HEA and section 668.36 of the regulations require a match with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to confirm the social security number of the applicant (and the parent(s) of a dependent applicant).

  40. Social Security Number Match with SSA • CPS matches with SSA to verify student and parents’ SSN, Name and DOB • Match flags are provided for the applicant and each parent • Comment text and codes are provided • Preliminary guidance on resolution provided • No “C” codes for parents

  41. Social Security Number Match Results SSA Match Flags: • 1 = No match on SSN • 2 = SSN & name match, no match on DOB • 3 = SSN match, no match on name • 4 = SSN, Name, and DOB match • 5 = SSN, name, DOB match with Date of Death • 8 = Record not sent to SSA

  42. ParentSocial Security Number Match with SSA -continued Reject 6 - Father’s SSN invalid at SSA. - Comment 11 Mother doesn’t have a full match Reject 7 - Mother’s SSN invalid at SSA. - Comment 12 Father doesn’t have a full match • Neither parent has a full match of 4 • Need to correct appropriate data elements for parents to achieve a full match (for at least one parent).

  43. ParentSocial Security Number Match with SSA -continued Reject S - Father’s DOB invalid at SSA. - Comment 16 Mother does not have a full Match Reject T - Mother’s DOB invalid at SSA. - Comment 17 Father does not have a full Match If DOB is correct, parent can re-enter the DOB on a correction to CPS and the reject will be suppressed.

  44. ParentSocial Security Number Match with SSA -continued Reject E - Father’s Name invalid at SSA. - Comment 40 Mother does not have a full match. Reject F - Mother’s Name invalid at SSA. - Comment 51 Father does not have a full Match If Name is correct, parent can re-enter the Name on a correction to CPS and the reject will be suppressed.

  45. ParentSocial Security Number Match with SSA -continued Match Flag 5 - Successful match to a deceased person’s record on the SSA database Comment 27 for father - Comment 29 for mother • If the parent identifiers are correct, the parent should contact SSA to fix their records. • Once SSA corrects its records, the parent can re-enter the name and submit it as a correction to CPS for an updated match flag.

  46. ParentSocial Security Number Match with SSA -continued Reject 9 - Match was not conducted - Comment 49 with SSA on either parent • One of SSN, last name and DOB is missing for both parents. • Must provide all appropriate data elements for parents to enable the match with SSA. • If parents do not have an SSN, provide zeroes

  47. ParentSocial Security Number Match with SSA -continued Comment 48 - Match not conducted for parent • Parent(s) SSN is the same as student’s SSN • SSN for parent(s) is blanked out. • Need to Correct parent(s) SSN.

  48. ParentSocial Security Number Match with SSA -continued Comment 45 - Match conducted on parents but: • Parents’ marital status is not married. • SSN provided for both Father and Mother. • Need to correct either parent marital status or eliminate the appropriate parent SSN information.

  49. References • On IFAP (www.ifap.ed.gov) • SAR/ISIR Guide - Appendix B • Citizenship portion of FSA Handbook (Refer to Volume 1, Chapter 2 (pp. 17-40)) • Dear Colleague Letter GEN-05-16 (Q&A # 5) • Dear Colleague Letter GEN-06-09 • IRS Website (www.irs.gov) • Pub. 17 (Your Federal Income Tax) • Pub. 513(Tax Information for Visitors to the U.S.) • Pub. 519(U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens)

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