Residency Requirements

Non Resident Tuition

The New York State Education Law requires that all students file proof of residence upon enrollment with a community college. Students will qualify for NY resident tuition rates if they have maintained a permanent residence in NYS for one full year and in their county for 6 months prior to the first day of classes.

A student must prove residency within 30 days after the start of class or be responsible for paying the non-resident fee.

More Resident Information

 

If you are resident of New York State, but not of Ulster County, you must provide a Certificate of Residence from your home county every year in order to receive the in-county tuition rate at SUNY Ulster.

To obtain a Certificate of Residence, find your home county in the County Directory list for online resources/applications on your home county’s website.  The window of eligibility for issuance of a new certificate, for any particular term, is two months prior to the student’s registration date and 30 days after the start of classes.  

Once you receive the Certificate of Residence from your County Treasurer, please email it to the Student Accounts Office at StudentAccountsInfo@SUNYUlster.edu 

Or mail to:

SUNY Ulster

Attn: Student Accounts Office

PO Box 557

Stone Ridge, NY  12484

Appeal Information:

If a SUNY community college student is denied a certificate of residence from their home county, such student may appeal to SUNY System Administration for reversal. Such appeal communication should contain the student’s contact information and details about the denial from the county. Please note that denials can only be reversed if either the county or the college made an error or did not follow relevant legal requirements. Students can submit appeals by email to CCLegalLiaison@suny.edu or by physical mail to Johanna Duncan-Poitier, Senior Vice Chancellor for Community Colleges and the Education Pipeline, SUNY H. Carl McCall Building, 353 Broadway, Albany, NY 12246.  Please note that CUNY community colleges student appeals must be directed to CUNY at ogc@cuny.edu.

County Directory

Ulster County residents can upload their NYS driver’s license and other appropriate documentation to prove Ulster Residency. 

If your NYS Driver’s License, Learner’s Permit, or Non-Driver ID Card was issued less than one year ago, please choose a document(s) from the list below and upload along with your ID. Both your ID and document must show one year prior to the start day of the semester you are enrolling in

One of the following:

  • Vehicle Insurance Card

  • NYS Voter Registration Card

  • NYS Bank Statement

  • Utility Bill

  • Copy of NYS Income Tax Return for the preceding year

  • If the student lives with parent(s), a copy of the parent’s tax return for the preceding year listing the student as a dependent.

  • Social Security Statement or Social Services Statement

Students whose permanent and primary residence is not in New York State or who have not lived in New York State for one year or more, prior to the start of the semester enrolled, must pay both the tuition and non-resident tuition charges.

A person does not acquire a New York State domicile only by being physically present in New York for the sole purpose of attending a New York State campus. 

Immigrants are grouped in categories depending on the type of visa presented at the port of entry.    

Immigrant Aliens must have an Alien Identification card (“green card”) and be able to establish NYS and county residency to be eligible for resident tuition rates. These students must follow the residency  requirements listed above. Non-immigrants admitted to the United States in categories that prohibit them from establishing a United States residence are not eligible for resident tuition (for example, F1 Visa holders) 

However, some undocumented aliens may be eligible for the resident tuition rate if any of the following applies: 

  • Attended a New York State high school for two or more years, graduated, and applied to attend a SUNY institution within five years of receiving a New York State diploma; or
  • Attended an approved New York State program for a General Equivalency Diploma 

(GED or TASC) exam preparation, received a GED or TASC diploma and applied for admission within five years of receiving the GED or TASC; and

  • You submit to the campus a notarized affidavit stating that you will file an application to legalize your immigration status as soon as you are eligible to do so.

At SUNY Ulster, the Enrollment and Success Center can provide you with samples of the affidavits.

Please refer to the VISA Categories chart listed below for information on nonimmigrant eligibility for U.S. residency with regards to NYS Resident Tuition.

More Questions?

If you have any residency questions, please contact the Student Accounts Office at 845-687-5099, or email  the Student Accounts Office or stop by the office located in Vanderlyn Hall Room 204.

<h3>Residency Eligibility of U.S. VISA Categories with Regards to NYS Resident Tuition </h3>

Residency Eligibility of U.S. VISA Categories
with Regards to NYS Resident Tuition

 Non-immigrant Statuses Eligible for U.S. Residency

VISA Description
A Ambassador, diplomats and certain other foreign officials and their families
E Treaty trader/Treaty investor, spouse and children
G Certain government or international organization officials and their families
H-1B Temporary worker in specialty occupation
H-1C Temporary worker performing essential nursing service
H-4 Spouse or children of alien classified as H-1B or H-1C
I Representatives of foreign information media and their spouse and children
K Fiancé(e) or Spouse of a U.S. citizen and dependent children
L Intra-company transferee (such as managers who have worked abroad for a branch of a U.S. firm) and their spouse and children
N Parents and children of certain officers and employees of international organizations who were in turn granted permanent residency as special immigrants
O Aliens who possess extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, motion pictures or television (Note: O-1 and O-3 visa holders are eligible, and O-2 visa holders are not eligible).
R Religious workers and their spouse and children
S Crime witnesses and their spouse and children
T Victims of severe forms of human trafficking
U Victims of serious crimes
V Certain spouses and children of lawful permanent residents who have a relative petition filed on their behalf before December 21, 2000 which has been pending for at least three (3) years

A student who is in one of the above categories must provide proof of such status by furnishing his/her   I-94 Arrival/Departure record with either the notation Duration of Status (D/S) or an expiration date  not yet reached.

Non-immigrant Statuses Not Eligible for U.S. Residency

VISA Description
B Temporary visitors for business or pleasure
C Visitors in transit
D Crewmen
E-3 Certain specialty occupation professionals from Australia
F Academic students
H-2 Temporary workers performing special services
H-3 Trainees
H-4 Families of H-2 and H-3 visa holders (Note: H-4 family of an H-1B or H-1C are eligible)
J Exchange visitor (student, scholar, professor)
M Vocational students
O Aliens who possess extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, Business or athletics, motion pictures or television (O-2 visa holders are the only O category ineligible).
P Athletes, group entertainers, reciprocal exchange programs
Q Participant in international cultural exchange programs
TN Temporary workers under NAFTA Trade Agreement