Bill Text: NJ A2373 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Allows certain visa holders to qualify for in-State tuition rates at public institutions of higher education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-06 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A2373 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-A2373-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GORDON M. JOHNSON
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Allows certain visa holders to qualify for in-State tuition rates at public institutions of higher education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning tuition rates for certain students at public institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law to the contrary, a person who holds a nonimmigrant visa issued pursuant to federal law shall be considered domiciled in this State for tuition purposes under section 1 of P.L.1979, c.361 (C.18A:62-4) if the person otherwise meets the requirements of that section, unless the person holds an F-1 nonimmigrant visa.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that a person who holds a nonimmigrant visa will be considered domiciled in this State for tuition purposes under section 1 of P.L.1979, c.361 (C.18A:62-4) if the person otherwise meets the requirements of that section of law. The bill's provisions exclude a person who holds an F-1 nonimmigrant visa as this is a visa that is issued to a person who wants to come to this country solely for the purpose of pursuing a course of study at an established college or university.
Under section 1 of P.L.1979, c.361 (C.18A:62-4), persons who have been resident within the State for a period of 12 months prior to enrollment in a public institution of higher education are presumed to be domiciled in the State and thus are eligible to pay the in-State tuition rate at public institutions of higher education. Persons who have been resident within the State for less than 12 months are not considered to be domiciled and consequently must pay the out-of-State tuition rate.
State law does not currently allow a person who holds a nonimmigrant visa to establish domicile for tuition purposes. As a result, there have been instances in which a student who was born in New Jersey and has lived in this State for his or her entire life has been forced to pay the out-of-state tuition rate due to the fact that the parent or guardian is the holder of a visa. This bill addresses that inequity.
