Undocumented Applicants

The USP will provide you with personalized services and resources to help you succeed at UCLA. This includes immigration legal services for students and their family members, such as workshops, clinics and presentations on current immigration laws and policies, and Know Your Rights training.

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The people at IDEAS help give a face and voice to the issues of immigrant youth on campus, in the community and around the nation. And you can join them. 

If you haven’t already, familiarize yourself with the California Dream Act. It allows undocumented students who are not citizens or permanent residents and who are exempt from paying nonresident fees under AB 540 to be eligible to receive scholarships and university funds. 

Whether you’re applying to UC as a first-year or transfer student, here are some helpful tips for going through the application process.

You might be unsure how to answer some of the questions on the UC application. However, all students (including undocumented applicants) must thoroughly and accurately complete the entire application.  

Here are answers to two of the most common questions that cause uncertainty for undocumented students: 

• Country of citizenship: The response option “No Selection” is considered a response and is the recommended choice for undocumented applicants including those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. The “No Selection” response will avoid the applicant being asked other questions about permanent residency and visa status that are not applicable to undocumented applicants.
• Social Security Number: Applicants are required to disclose their Social Security number if they have one. If an applicant does not have a Social Security number, he/she may skip that item. Applicants with DACA status should NOT enter an Individual Tax Payer Identification Number (ITIN) or an Alien Number in place of a Social Security number.

To determine if you will be considered a bona fide California resident for admissions purposes, the applicant should respond to the following questions:

• Have you attended a California high school for three or more years and will graduate or have graduated from a California high school?
• How long have you lived in California?
• If you are under 18, is your parent or legal guardian a permanent resident of California? 
• Is your parent, legal guardian, spouse or registered domestic partner an employee of the University of California or a UC-affiliate national laboratory (Los Alamos National Security LLC or Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC)?

An applicant is considered a bona fide California resident for admissions purposes if the student answers “yes” to having attended a California high school for at least three years and graduated from a California high school, has lived in California for at least 12 months prior to the planned enrollment date at the University, or answers “yes” to any one of the remaining questions listed above and is not in possession of a non-immigrant visa to the U.S.

Under current law, undocumented applicants/students cannot establish California residency for UC tuition and fee purposes regardless of their eligibility for bona fide California residency for admissions purposes. 

However, if you meet the following criteria, you may be eligible for the AB 540 nonresident supplemental tuition exemption. 

• You are not in possession of a non-immigrant visa to the United States.
• You have attended a California high school for at least three years.
• You have graduated from a California high school.
• You sign an affidavit agreeing to seek legal status as soon as you are able to do so.

AB 540 enables eligible students to enroll at UC without paying UC’s nonresident supplemental tuition. Applications to determine eligibility are accepted only after a student has (1) been admitted, (2) submitted a Statement of Intent to Register and (3) filed a Statement of Legal Residence at campus.