TEXAS HIGHER COORDINATING BOARD ______P.O. Box 12788 Austin, Texas 78711

DATE: December 15, 2000

Pamela P. Willeford TO: Registrars CHAIR Martin Basaldua, M.D. Admissions Office VICE CHAIR Jodie L. Jiles Chief Fiscal Officers SECRETARY OF THE BOARD

William C. Atkinson FROM: Don W. Brown Dolores Hutto Carruth, M.D. Ricardo G. Cigarroa, M.D. Kevin P. Eltife Raul B. Fernandez SUBJECT: Update to Policy Guidelines for Determining Residency Robert I. Fernandez of Aliens Cathy Obriotti Green Gerry Griffin Carey Hobbs Steve Late Changes for Some H-4, O-2 and O-3 Visa Holders Adair Margo Leonard Rauch Hector de J. Ruiz, Ph.D. On August 11, 2000 we issued a memorandum on the ability of aliens to Robert W. Shepard Terdema L. Ussery II establish a claim to residency for tuition purposes. Appendix 2 to that

memorandum was titled “Nonimmigrant (Temporary) visa Categories.” Don W. Brown COMMISSIONER OF HIGHER EDUCATION After further research, we have determined that our guidelines for holders of H

512/ 427-6101 and O visas were not totally accurate; and, that changes should be made for Fax 512/ 427-6127 certain H-4 and holders. Corrected information for these two types of Web site: visas is given in the revised version of the Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Visa http://www.thecb.state.tx.us Categories table, enclosed with this memo. The shaded rows on pages 4 and 5 of this memo reflect the changed information. No other parts of the table need to be revised at this time.

As you will see, students holding H-4 visas are eligible to domicile in the ONLY IF their parent holds an H-1B visa. O-2 visa holders and their immediate family members holding o-3 visas are NOT eligible to establish a domicile in the United States. O-1 visa holders and their immediate family members with o-3 visas ARE eligible.

Related Questions and Answers

1. When do these changes go into effect? For registrations for the spring 2001 term.

2. What if we have H-4 students that we charged nonresident tuition for fall, 2000? CAN we make refunds to them for that semester? You are not required to do so, but you MAY if your institution so wishes.

3. What about the o-2 students who got to pay resident tuition this fall, but because of these changes will have to pay nonresident tuition this spring? Are they grandfathered in any way for the future? Do we have to go back and collect additional tuition from them?

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Students are NOT grandfathered. O-2 visa holders and the immediate family members of O-2 visa holders simply had the benefit of one low- cost semester. They will have to pay the nonresident rate in future semesters, but you should not charge them additional tuition for fall, 2000 since you acted in accordance with our August 11 memorandum.

4. What will the Auditors do if we change classifications at mid-term? You will not lose state funding for any fall hours if you made your determinations and charged students in accordance with the August 11 memorandum.

Students Whose Visa Statuses Change

We have been advised by many institutions that some students allowed to register as residents based on their visa classifications at the beginning of the fall term, now hold visas that do not allow them to domicile in the United States (for instance, they changed from an L-2 to an F-1 visa). Since these changes can apparently occur at any time, you should check the CURRENT status of your Non-immigrant alien students prior to each semester. Make sure they are currently holding an eligible visa type, before you classify them for a specific term.

When I-797s are Not Issued

In our August 11 memorandum and in an announcement made via the TACRAO listserve on November 14, we indicated an individual who has filed an I-30 (Petition for Alien Relative) must wait until an I-797 (Notice of Action Taken) is issued by INS before you can treat him/her as if he/she had been granted permanent residence status. We have recently found out that INS District Offices do not issues I-797s. Therefore, in order to treat these students fairly, we are CHANGING our requirements and advise you that if a student provides you with a fee receipt that indicates that he/she has been allowed to file an I- 485, you may treat the student as if he/she has been granted permanent resident status. All you have to do is check for 12 months’ presence in the state and the establishment of a domicile in Texas.

We regret that changes have to be made in our policies so soon; but, we indicated in August that our work on the residency of aliens was a work “in progress.” As more types of visas are created by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and as we learn more about the INS classifications, we will advise you if additional changes are needed. We hope this information is helpful to you and enables you to assist more of your students. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Enclosure cc: Chancellors and Presidents, Public Institutions of Higher Education The Honorable Rick Noriega

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Visa Categories November 2000 Revision

AYes **@ indicates classification that under this new policy is now being recognized as eligible to establish a domicile in the US. If a person is eligible to domicile in the United States, the person is eligible to establish residency for tuition purposes in Texas.

Visa Type Eligible to Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Visa Categories Domicile in the United States? A-1 Ambassadors, public ministers or career diplomats and their Yes immediate family members A-2 Other accredited officials or employees of foreign governments Yes and their immediate family members A-3 Personal attendants, servants or employees and their immediate Yes ** family members of A-1 and A-2 visa holders B-1 Business visitors No B-2 Tourist visitors. Tourists from certain countries are permitted No to come to the U. S. without B-2 visa under the C-1 Foreign travelers in immediate and continuous transit through No the United States D-1 Crewmen who need to land temporarily in the United States No and who will depart aboard the same ship or plane on which they arrived E-1 Treaty traders Yes ** E-2 Treaty investors Yes ** F-1 Academic or language students No F-2 Immediate family members of F-1 visa holders No G-1 Designated principal resident representatives of foreign Yes governments coming tot the United States to work for an international organization, their staff members and immediate family members. G-2 Other accredited representatives of foreign governments Yes coming to the United States to work for an international organization and their immediate family members G-3 Representatives of foreign governments, and their immediate Yes family members who would ordinarily qualify for G-1 or G-2 visas except that their governments are not members of an international organization G-4 Officers or employees of international organizations and their Yes immediate family members G-5 Attendants, servants and personal employees of G-1 through Yes ** G-4 visa holders and their immediate family members.

12

Visa Eligible to Type Domicile in the United States? Nonimmigrant (temporary) Visa Categories H-1B Persons working in specialty occupations requiring at least a Yes ** bachelor=s degree or its equivalent in on-the-job experience, and distinguished fashion models H-2A Temporary agricultural workers coming to the United States to No fill positions for which a temporary shortage of American workers has been recognized by the United States Department of Agriculture. H-2B Temporary workers of various kinds coming to the United No States to perform temporary jobs for which there is a shortage of available qualified American workers H-3 Temporary trainees No H-4 Immediate family member of H-1B visa holder H-4 dependents of H1-b Yes* All other H-4 dependents, no H-4 Immediate family member of H-2 or H-3 visa holders No I Bona fide representatives of the foreign press coming to the Yes ** United States to work solely in that capacity and their immediate family members J-1 Exchange visitors coming to the U. S. to study, work or train as No part of an exchange program officially recognized by the United States Information Agency. J-2 Immediate family member of J-1 visa holders No K-1 Fiancé(e)s of U. S. citizens coming to the United States for the Yes purpose of getting married. K-2 Minor, unmarried children of K-1 visa holders Yes L-1 Intracompany transferees who work in positions as managers, Yes ** executives of persons with specialized knowledge L-2 Immediate family member of L-1 visa holders Yes ** M-1 Vocational or other nonacademic students, other than language No students M-2 Immediate families of M-1 visa holders No N Children of certain special immigrants No NATO Associates coming to the United States under applicable Section 54.057 1,2,3,4,5 provisions of the NATO Treaty and their immediate family designates these members individuals as residents for tuition purposes NATO 6 Members of civilian components accompanying military forces Yes ** on missions authorized under the NATO Treaty and their immediate family members

13

.Visa Eligible to Type Nonimmigrant (Temporary) Visa Categories Domicile in the United States? NATO 7 Attendants, servants or personal employees of NATO-1 Yes ** through NATO-6 visa holders and their immediate family members. O-1 Persons of extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, Yes ** business or athletics O-2 Essential support staff of 0-1 visa holders No O-3 Immediate family member of O-1 visa holders Yes** O-3 Immediate family members of O-2 visa holders O-3 dependents of 0-1 holders, Yes*; 0-3 dependents of 0-2 holders, No* P-1 Internationally recognized athletes and entertainers and their No essential support staff P-2 Entertainers coming to perform in the United States through a No government-recognized exchange program. P-3 Artists and entertainers coming to the United States in a group No for the purpose of presenting culturally unique performances P-4 Immediate family members of P-1, P-2 and P-3 visa holders. No Q-1 Exchange visitors coming to the United States to participate in No international cultural-exchange programs. Q-2 Immediate family members of Q-1 visa holders No R-1 Ministers and other workers of recognized religions Yes ** R-2 Immediate family member of R-1 visa holders Yes ** S-1 People coming to the United States to supply critical No information to federal or state authorities where it has been determined that their presence in the United States is essential to the success of a criminal investigation S-2 People coming to the United States to provide critical No information to federal authorities or court, who will be in danger as a result of providing such information, and are eligible to receive a reward for the information S-3 Immediate family members of S-1 or S-2 visa holders No TC Professional under the Free Trade Agreement. Available only No to Canadians under the Free Trade Agreement, prior to the passage of the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement. TN Professional under the North American Free Trade Agreement. No Is available only to citizens of Mexico and Canada. Professional under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Is available only to citizens of Mexico and Canada. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement a citizen of a NAFTA county may work in a professional occupation in another NAFTA country.

14

Visa Eligible to Type Domicile in the Nonimmigrant (temporary) Visa Categories United States

TD Dependents of Professionals here under the North American No Free Trade Agreement. Is available only to citizens of Mexico and Canada. Professional under the North American Free Trade Agreement. Is available only to citizens of Mexico and Canada. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement a citizen of a NAFTA county may work in a professional occupation in another NAFTA country.

15