HN Explorer

Ask HN: Can they deny my wife in-state student status in Arizona?

2 points by chrismoos ↗ HN
My wife and I got married about 6 months ago and now she wants to attend community college here. They have denied her in state status because she hasn't been living here for a year.

I'm concerned because before she went to apply I checked the laws and there is a clear exception if the person's spouse has been a resident for at least a year, they qualify for in state. I was born in Arizona and have been living here my whole life.

I would love to get some feedback to see if its worth pursuing this further.

Here is the excerpt from Arizona law (15-1802 B-4):

4. The person's spouse has established domicile in this state for at least one year and has demonstrated intent and financial independence and is entitled to claim the student as an exemption for state and federal tax purposes or the person's spouse was temporarily out of state for educational purposes, but maintained a domicile in this state. If the person is a noncitizen, the person must be in an eligible visa status pursuant to federal law to classify as an in-state student for tuition purposes.

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/15/01802.htm&Title=15&DocType=ARS

The school in question is Scottsdale Community College (in Maricopa County). This law is also printed on the Maricopa site:

http://www.maricopa.edu/publicstewardship/governance/adminregs/appendices/S-1.php

Thanks in advanced for the advice!

5 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 20.9 ms ] thread
jacquesm
How about asking a local lawyer? That's pretty specific stuff.
chrismoos
That may be my next step. This happened this morning and I am posting here to get a sanity check (is this valid to even ask a lawyer about).
jacquesm
I think is definitely valid to ask a lawyer because lawyers deal with stuff like this everyday, also a letter from a lawyer will usually be taken a bit more serious than a letter from an individual (that's not how it should be, but unfortunately that's how it is).

For your sake I hope that there is another HN'er that reads your plea that has a situation that is comparable, but the number of factors and their incidence are such that it would be fairly coincidental if someone had the exact same thing happen to them.

Nothing lost by trying though!

Best of luck in that whole thing, slaying paper tigers sucks, it take up a dis-proportionate amount of time.

Your best hope is that Grellas will chip in here.

yourentwesplit
Since most colleges are not known for their promptness or courtesy over the phone, I would schedule an appointment with someone in admissions or financial aid. They should be able to explain to you why your wife does or does not qualify for instate tuition.

Could just be that the person you spoke with previously didn't understand your situation.

chrismoos
I called today and escalated it. The woman I spoke with pretty much said that she has guidelines to follow, regardless of the law.

They just follow what the legal department for Maricopa tells them to do.

She told me that I should file a request for the district committee to review the case. This is probably what I will do, as I do believe the law is in line with our situation and will be in our favor.