Status Confirmation

34 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart I
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

34 C.F.R. § 668.130 General.

(a) Scope and purpose. The regulations in this subpart govern the responsibilities of institutions and students in determining the eligibility of those noncitizen applicants for title IV, HEA assistance who must, under § 668.33(a)(2), produce evidence from the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) that they are permanent residents of the United States or in the United States for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming citizens or permanent residents. (b) Student responsibility. At the request of the Secretary or the institution at which an applicant for title IV, HEA financial assistance is enrolled or accepted for enrollment, an applicant who asserts eligibility under § 668.33(a)(2) shall provide documentation from the INS of immigration status.

34 C.F.R. § 668.131 Definitions.

The following definitions apply to this subpart: Eligible noncitizen: An individual possessing an immigration status that meets the requirements of § 668.33(a)(2). Immigration status: The status conferred on a noncitizen under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended, 8 U.S.C. 1182. Primary confirmation: A process by which the Secretary, by means of a matching program conducted with the INS, compares the information contained in an Application for Federal Student Aid or a multiple data entry application regarding the immigration status of a noncitizen applicant for title IV, HEA assistance with records of that status maintained by the INS in its Alien Status Verification Index (ASVI) system for the purpose of determining whether a student's immigration status meets the requirements of § 668.33(a)(2) and reports the results of this comparison on an output document. Secondary confirmation: A process by which the INS, in response to the submission of INS Document Verification Form G-845 by an institution, searches pertinent paper and automated INS files, other than the ASVI database, for the purpose of determining a student's immigration status and the validity of the submitted INS documents, and reports the results of this search to the institution.

34 C.F.R. § 668.132 Institutional determinations of eligibility based on primary confirmation.

(a) Except as provided in § 668.133(a)(1)(ii), the institution shall determine a student to be an eligible noncitizen if the institution receives an output document for that student establishing that— (1) The INS has confirmed the student's immigration status; and (2) The student's immigration status meets the noncitizen eligibility requirements of § 668.33(a)(2). (b) If an institution determines a student to be an eligible noncitizen in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, the institution may not require the student to produce the documentation otherwise required under § 668.33(a)(2).

34 C.F.R. § 668.133 Conditions under which an institution shall require documentation and request secondary confirmation.

(a) General requirements. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, an institution shall require the student to produce the documentation required under § 668.33(a)(2) and request the INS to perform secondary confirmation for a student claiming eligibility under § 668.33(a)(2), in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 668.135, if— (1) The institution— (i) Receives an output document indicating that the student must provide the institution with evidence of the student's immigration status required under § 668.33(a)(2); or (ii) Receives an output document that satisfies the requirements of § 668.132(a) (1) and (2), but the institution— (A) Has documentation that conflicts with immigration-status documents submitted by the student or the immigration status reported on the output document; or (B) Has reason to believe that the immigration status reported by the student or on the output document is incorrect; and (2) The institution determines that the immigration-status documents submitted by the student constitute reasonable evidence of the student's claim to be an eligible noncitizen. (b) Exclusions from secondary confirmation. (1) An institution may not require the student to produce the documentation requested under § 668.33(a)(2) and may not request that INS perform secondary confirmation, if the student— (i) Demonstrates eligibility under the provisions of § 668.33 (a)(1) or (b); or (ii) Demonstrated eligibility under the provisions of § 668.33(a)(2) in a previous award year as a result of secondary confirmation and the documents used to establish that eligibility have not expired; and (iii) The institution does not have conflicting documentation or reason to believe that the student's claim of citizenship or immigration status is incorrect. (2) [Reserved]

34 C.F.R. § 668.134 Institutional policies and procedures for requesting documentation and receiving secondary confirmation.

(a) An institution shall establish and use written policies and procedures for requesting proof and securing confirmation of the immigration status of applicants for title IV, HEA student financial assistance who claim to meet the eligibility requirements of § 668.33(a)(2). These policies and procedures must include— (1) Providing the student a deadline by which to provide the documentation that the student wishes to have considered to support the claim that the student meets the requirements of § 668.33(a)(2); (2) Providing to the student information concerning the consequences of a failure to provide the documentation by the deadline set by the institution; and (3) Providing that the institution will not make a determination that the student is not an eligible noncitizen until the institution has provided the student the opportunity to submit the documentation in support of the student's claim of eligibility under § 668.33(a)(2). (b) An institution shall furnish, in writing, to each student required to undergo secondary confirmation— (1) A clear explanation of the documentation the student must submit as evidence that the student satisfies the requirements of § 668.33(a)(2); and (2) A clear explanation of the student's responsibilities with respect to the student's compliance with § 668.33(a)(2), including the deadlines for completing any action required under this subpart and the consequences of failing to complete any required action, as specified in § 668.137.

34 C.F.R. § 668.135 Institutional procedures for completing secondary confirmation.

Within 10 business days after an institution receives the documentary evidence of immigration status submitted by a student required to undergo secondary confirmation, the institution shall— (a) Complete the request portion of the INS Document Verification Request Form G-845; (b) Copy front and back sides of all immigration-status documents received from the student and attach copies to the Form G-845; and (c) Submit Form G-845 and attachments to the INS District Office.

34 C.F.R. § 668.136 Institutional determinations of eligibility based on INS responses to secondary confirmation requests.

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, an institution that has requested secondary confirmation under § 668.133(a) shall make its determination concerning a student's eligibility under § 668.33(a)(2) by relying on the INS response to the Form G-845. (b) An institution shall make its determination concerning a student's eligibility under § 668.33(a)(2) pending the institution's receipt of an INS response to the institution's Form G-845 request concerning that student, if— (1) The institution has given the student an opportunity to submit documents to the institution to support the student's claim to be an eligible noncitizen; (2) The institution possesses sufficient documentation concerning a student's immigration status to make that determination; (3) At least 15 business days have elapsed from the date that the institution sent the Form G-845 request to the INS; (4) The institution has no documentation that conflicts with the immigration-status documentation submitted by the student; and (5) The institution has no reason to believe that the immigration status reported by the applicant is incorrect. (c) An institution shall establish and use policies and procedures to ensure that, if the institution has disbursed or released title IV, HEA funds to the student in the award year or employed the student under the Federal Work-Study Program, and the institution determines, in reliance on the INS response to the institution's request for secondary confirmation regarding that student, that the student was in fact not an eligible noncitizen during that award year, the institution provides the student with notice of the institution's determination, an opportunity to contest the institution's determination, and notice of the institution's final determination.

34 C.F.R. § 668.137 Deadlines for submitting documentation and the consequences of failure to submit documentation.

(a) A student shall submit before a deadline specified by the institution all documentation the student wishes to have considered to support a claim that the student meets the requirements of § 668.33(a)(2). The deadline, set by the institution, must be not less than 30 days from the date the institution receives the student's output document. (b) If a student fails to submit the documentation by the deadline established in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section, the institution may not disburse to the student, or certify the student as eligible for, any title IV, HEA program funds for that period of enrollment or award year; employ the student under the Federal Work-Study Program; certify a Federal Stafford or Federal PLUS loan application, or originate a Direct Loan Program loan application for the student for that period of enrollment.

34 C.F.R. § 668.138 Liability.

(a) A student is liable for any LEAP, FSEOG, Federal Pell Grant, ACG, National SMART Grant, or TEACH Grant payment and for any Federal Stafford, Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized or Federal Perkins loan made to him or her if the student was ineligible for the Title IV, HEA assistance. (b) A Federal PLUS or Direct PLUS Loan borrower is liable for any Federal PLUS or Direct PLUS Loan made to him or her on behalf of an ineligible student. (c) The Secretary does not take any action against an institution with respect to an error in the institution's determination that a student is an eligible noncitizen if, in making that determination, the institution followed the provisions in this subpart and relied on— (1) An output document for that student indicating that the INS has confirmed that the student's immigration status meets the eligibility requirements for title IV, HEA assistance; (2) An INS determination of the student's immigration status and the authenticity of the student's immigration documents provided in response to the institution's request for secondary confirmation; or (3) Immigration-status documents submitted by the student and the institution did not have reason to believe that the documents did not support the student's claim to be an eligible noncitizen. (d) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, if an institution makes an error in its determination that a student is an eligible noncitizen, the institution is liable for any title IV, HEA disbursements made to this student during the award year or period of enrollment for which the student applied for title IV, HEA assistance.

34 C.F.R. § 668.139 Recovery of payments and loan disbursements to ineligible students.

(a) If an institution makes a payment of a grant or a disbursement of a Federal Perkins loan to an ineligible student for which it is not liable in accordance with § 668.138, it shall assist the Secretary in recovering the funds by— (1) Making a reasonable effort to contact the student; and (2) Making a reasonable effort to collect the payment or Federal Perkins loan. (b) If an institution causes a Federal Stafford, Federal PLUS, Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, or Direct PLUS Loan to be disbursed to or on behalf of an ineligible student for which it is not liable in accordance with § 668.138, it shall assist the Secretary in recovering the funds by notifying the lender in the case of an FFEL Program loan or the Secretary in the case of a Direct Loan Program loan that the student has failed to establish eligibility under the requirements of §§ 668.201 or 685.200, as appropriate. (c) If an institution is liable for a payment of a grant or Federal Perkins loan to an ineligible student, the institution shall restore the amount equal to the payment or disbursement to the institution's Federal Perkins loan fund or Federal Pell Grant, ACG, National SMART Grant, TEACH Grant, FSEOG, or LEAP amount, even if the institution cannot collect the payment or disbursement from the student. (d) If an institution is liable for a Federal Stafford, Federal PLUS, Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, or Direct PLUS Loan disbursement to an ineligible student, the institution shall repay an amount equal to the disbursement to the lender in the case of an FFEL Program loan or the Secretary in the case of a Direct Loan Program loan, and provide written notice to the borrower.

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