This past Fall, the Georgia Board of Regents instituted a new policy concerning GA state colleges and universities. Starting in the Fall of 2011 term, UGA must verify the lawful presence in the United States of every new student. We have mailed out a letter to a number of new students alerting them to this fact, and the method to take care of the issue, but I felt it was best to also write a post about this issue. For a large number of new students, this situation will be taken care of through the submission of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If you have submitted the FAFSA form and named UGA as a recipient, then our system will receive verification confirming your lawful presence at about the same time that you receive a receipt of the electronic acknowledgement form from the US Dept. of Education.
If you will not be submitting a FAFSA form, or if the FAFSA process does not confirm your citizenship status, then there are a few other methods to take care of this issue. The following documents are acceptable, and others may be added at a future date:
- A current driver’s license issued by the state of GA after Jan. 1, 2008
- A current state-issued ID issued by the state of GA after Jan. 1, 2008
- A current U.S. passport
- A U.S. Certificate of Naturalization (USCIS form N-550 or N-570)
- A US Certificate of Citizenship (USCIS form N-560 or N-561)
- A Certificate of Birth issued by the Department of State (DS-1350) or a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (FS-240)
You can go to the myStatus page and scan and submit one of these documents and we will be able to then access it for review and verification.
If you are not filing a FAFSA and you do not have one of the above items, then UGA will need to receive:
- A Certified Birth Certificate showing that you were born in the United States or a U.S. territory. A photocopy or fax is not acceptable. This must be mailed or delivered to the Office of Admissions, and we cannot return this document.
If you are not currently a US citizen and either not residing in the U.S. or you are present in the U.S. as either an immigrant on a visa or are a naturalized citizen, we will be able to confirm your lawful presence through the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Student and Exchange Information System (SEVIS) for students on an F. J, or M visa or the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program for any naturalized U.S. citizen, immigrant or non-immigrant.
We appreciate your patience with UGA as we work through this process, as it is as new to us as it is you, and we will process your information as quickly as possible.
This will not impact signing up for or attending orientation, but it will prohibit registering for classes until you have submitted the needed document and we have had time to review it and clear your VLP flag.
Again, thanks for your patience, and Go Dawgs!