Citizenship Requirements

Federal Aid Citizenship Requirements

As explained in Eligibility Requirements, to apply for federal loans, grants, and work-study programs and TU's need-based “Institutional Grant,” you must meet one of the eligible citizenship statuses below.

Ineligible Citizenship Statuses

Students who only have the statuses below are not eligible for federal aid or the TU "Institutional Grant." Ineligible students should explore the other aid options for International Students and Undocumented/DACA Students.

  • Undocumented status
  • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status
  • A, B, F, G, H, J, L, or M series visa statuses including foreign officials (A or G series), visitors (B1 or B2), international students (F1, F2, or F3), temporary (H or L), exchange visitors (J1 or J2), and nonimmigrants (M and U series)
  • Employment authorization (Form I-766)
  • “Notice of Approval to Apply for Permanent Residence” (Form I-171 or I-464)
  • Temporary Protected Status
  • Approval for Family Unity Benefits
  • NATO visa holders

Citizenship Documentation Instructions

If you meet any of the eligible citizenship statuses below, when you submit your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the FAFSA processor will try to verify your citizenship status from federal databases. If they successfully verify your status, you won't need to submit any documentation. If they can’t verify your status, the TU Financial Aid Office will request citizenship documentation.

  1. Review the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard.
  2. If your To Dos list includes a citizenship documentation request, choose your citizenship status below, and submit the required documentation.
  3. Please write the student’s TU ID Number and full legal name on the copies you submit.
  4. Please allow us 4 to 5 business days to remove document requests from your To-Dos.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) both allow photocopying of the requested documents for this process. For some statuses we must also confirm your documentation with USCIS or DHS, and that process can delay aid processing for up to 30 days.

If we are requesting citizenship documentation, we can't approve or disburse any federal aid or TU grants until this issue is resolved. (Federal aid includes all federal loans; Pell, SEOG, and TEACH grants; and the Federal Work-Study program.)

If you don’t meet any of the eligible citizenship statuses below:

Document Submission Methods (Choose one)

Please do not submit any citizenship documentation if we didn't request it. (See steps 1 and 2 above.) 

  • Scan documents and upload them to www.towson.edu/SubmitAidDocs. Please combine multiple pages into a single PDF file.
  • Mail to: Towson University, Financial Aid Office, 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252
  • In Person at Room 339 of the Enrollment Services Center (Monday - Friday 8:00 - 4:30.)

Eligible Citizenship Statuses

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, please submit one of these documents:

  • A copy of your birth certificate if you were born in the United States
  • A copy of your Certificate of Naturalization (Forms N-550 or N-570) or Certificate of Citizenship (Forms N-560 or N-561)
  • A copy of your non-expired U.S. passport or wallet-sized passport card
  • A copy of State Department Forms FS-240, FS 545, or DS-1350
  • A copy of your birth certificate if you are a U.S. National born in a U.S. territory (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Swains Island, or the U.S. Virgin Islands)

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, please submit one of these documents:

  • A copy of both sides of your Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551)
  • A copy of your Arrival/Departure Record (CBP Form I-94) or Departure Record (Form I-94A), with the endorsement, “Processed for I-551. Temporary Evidence of Lawful Admission for Permanent Residence. Valid until … Employment Authorized.”
  • United States Travel Document annotated with “Permit to Reenter Form I-327.
  • Some applicants from Afghanistan may be eligible as Afghan Special Immigrant Conditional Permanent Residents (SI CPRs). These applicants may have a foreign passport with MRIVs and a DHS, CBP stamp admitting them with a CQ1, CQ2, or CQ3 Class of Admission (COA).

Conditional resident aliens are eligible for aid if your documentation has not expired.

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, you must submit a valid I-551, I-94, I-94A, or a passport with an MRIV bearing the statement, "Upon endorsement serves as temporary I-551 evidencing permanent residency."

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, please submit a non-expired passport or I-94 from the Freely Associated States.

*Citizens of the Republic of Palau are eligible for Federal Pell Grants, SEOG Grants, and Federal Work-Study, but not federal loans. Citizens of the Federal States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands are only eligible for Federal Pell Grants.

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, please submit one of these documents, you must submit an I-94 or I-94A with a stamp showing admission under Section 208 of the INA, or United States Travel Document annotated with “Refugee Travel Document Form I-571 (Rev. 9-2-03).”

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, you must submit relevant battered immigrant documentation, which is usually an I-797 form with a qualifying action.

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, please submit an I-94 with stamp showing “Conditional Entrant" Status issued before April 1, 1980.

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, please submit an I-94 with stamp showing “Cuban-Haitian Entrant (Status Pending).”

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, please submit relevant parolee documentation:

  • Persons paroled into the U.S. for at least one year must submit an I-94 with a relevant non-expired parolee stamp.
  • Ukrainian citizens and nationals paroled into the United States between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024 must submit an I-94 with relevant Ukrainian parolee status.
  • Afghan citizens and nationals paroled into the United States between July 31, 2021, and September 30, 2023 must submit an I-94 with relevant Afghan parolee status.

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, please submit your Form I-94 or I-94A with a stamp showing admission under Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), or a U.S. Travel Document annotated with “Refugee Travel Document Form I-571 (Rev. 9-2-03).”

If the To Dos list on your TU Online Services Dashboard, is requesting citizenship documentation, you must submit a victim of human trafficking Certification or eligibility letter from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or your T-Series visa (T-2 or T-3).