Summary as Introduced:

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 23-7.4:01 as follows:

§ 23-7.4:01. Undocumented persons; in-state tuition.

An undocumented person who is unlawfully present in the United States and ineligible to establish domicile pursuant to § 23-7.4 shall not be eligible on the basis of residency within Virginia for in-state tuition. For the purposes of this section, in addition to any other lawful status under federal and state law, such undocumented person shall be eligible for in-state tuition if he meets all of the following criteria:

1. He entered and began residing in the United States prior to his sixteenth birthday;

2. He has graduated from a public or private high school in the Commonwealth or has received a General Education Development (GED) certificate in the Commonwealth;

3. He has registered as an entering student in a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth;

4. He has resided in the Commonwealth for at least five years immediately preceding his registration as an entering student in a public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth;

5. He has provided an affidavit to the institution stating that (i) he has filed an application to become a permanent resident of the United States, (ii) he is actively pursuing such permanent residency or will do so as soon as he is eligible, and (iii) no grounds exist for the denial of such permanent residency; and

6. He has submitted evidence that he or, in the case of a dependent student, at least one parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis, has filed, unless exempted by state law, Virginia income tax returns for at least one year prior to the date of enrollment.

Amendments: