The recent House Reconciliation Bill aimed at reducing spending on higher education funding for students is also taking a swipe at
which students would be eligible for that funding. Language in this bill directs Congress to amend the student eligibility information contained in the
Higher Education Act of 1965. In order to receive federal student aid, students must be a US citizen or national or an eligible non-citizen. The proposed changes are related to the definitions for an eligible non-citizen and would likely eliminate
several of the current statuses for students to qualify for aid.
The bill maintains the US citizen/national status but adjusts the language for eligible non-citizens to include:
an alien described in section 401(a) 7 of the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-128; 8 25 U.S.C. 1101 note)
an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.)
an alien who—
is a citizen or national of the Republic of Cuba;
is the beneficiary of an approved petition under section 203(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 2 1153(a));
meets all eligibility requirements for an immigrant visa but for whom such a visa is not immediately available;
is not otherwise inadmissible under section 212(a) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 8 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)); and
is physically present in the United States pursuant to a grant of PA role in furtherance of the commitment of the United States to the minimum level of annual legal migration of Cuban nationals to the United States specified in the US- Cuba
Joint Communique´ on Migration, done at New York September 9, 1994, and reaffirmed in the Cuba-United States: Joint Statement on Normalization of Migration, Building on the Agreement of September 9, 1994, done at New York May 2, 1995;
an alien described in section 401(a) 7 of the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-128; 8 25 U.S.C. 1101 note);
an alien described in section 2502(a) 2 of the Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (division C of Public Law 117- 4 43; 8 U.S.C. 1101 note); or
an individual who lawfully resides in the United States in accordance with a Compact of Free Association referred to in section 402(b)(2)(G) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(b)(2)(G))
The legislation lists July 1, 2025, as the effective date and would affect students for the 2025-26 academic year.
This set of criteria appears to be much different than the list of eligible non-citizens that we have been working with for years:
A US national (includes natives of American Samoa or Swains Island), US permanent resident (who has an I-151, I-551 or I-551C [Permanent Resident Card]), or an individual who has an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from UA Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) showing one of the following designations:
"Refugee"
"Asylum Granted"
"Cuban-Haitian Entrant (Status Pending)"(only a subset of the Cuban nationals and no Haitian nationals would remain eligible.)
"Conditional Entrant" (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980)
Victims of human trafficking, T-visa (T-2, T-3, or T-4, etc.) holder
"Parolee" - other than the subset paroled from Afghanistan or Ukraine during a specified period(You must be paroled into the United States for at least one year and you must be able to provide evidence from the USCIS that you are in the United States for other than a temporary purpose and that you intend to become a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.)
The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) reached out to experts from immigration serving organizations such as The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration and the National Immigration Law Center for feedback on the new language. There is consensus that the categories highlighted in yellow above would likely lose their eligibility for federal student aid. Confirming these changes will not be possible until a final reconciliation bill is passed,
and the US Department of Education provides details related to each new proposed category.
This many categories of students losing eligibility would have a dramatic impact on our immigrant students’ ability to secure the federal aid they would need to support postsecondary enrollment. The language does not include any type of grandfathering
clause and with an effective date of July 1, 2025, this would eliminate eligibility for funding for currently enrolled students effective for the upcoming academic year. NCAN would welcome any “new” categories for student eligibility but strongly
opposes losing any students currently eligible.
NCAN will continue to monitor the reconciliation process and keep our members updated.
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