California Dream Act and AB 540

Undocumented students qualify for the following types of financial aid:

• State grants, including the California College Promise Grant (formerly BOG Fee Waiver), Cal Grants, Chafee Grants, and Student Success Completion Grant
• Dream Act Service Incentive Grant Program
• Assistance from EOPS, CARE, or CalWORKs
• Sacramento City College scholarships
• Los Rios Promise Program
• External scholarships (see scholarships on ImmigrantsRising.org)

Students must meet the following requirements:

1. Time and Coursework Requirements (either A or B):
   1. Attendance for three full-time years or the equivalent at any combination of the following:
      • California high school
      • California adult school (including non-credit courses offered by a California community college) ^[#]
      • California community college (including non-credit courses offered by a California community college) #
   2. Three years of California high school credits, along with three years of total attendance at a California elementary school, California secondary school, or any combination of the two ^[†]
2. Degree or Unit Requirements (completion of any of the following):
   • Graduation from a California high school or the equivalent (GED, HiSET, TASC, CHSPE)
   • Attainment of an Associate degree from a California Community College
   • Fulfillment of the minimum transfer requirements from a California Community College to a UC or CSU campus
3. Register or Enroll in an Accredited and Qualifying California College or University. This requires registration as a student at an accredited institution of higher education in California. See a list of Cal Grant-eligible schools.
4. Submit an AB-540 eForm in eServices. This form states that you meet all the requirements to qualify for a non-resident exemption under AB 540 and, if you are undocumented, that you are in the process of legalizing your immigration status (or will do so as soon as you are eligible to do so). This form is confidential and will not be shared with other agencies.
   1. Log in to your eServices account.
   2. Click Student eForms and Petitions.
   3. Select Residency to bring up your form options.
   4. Click Start an AB-540 eForm to begin.

Exemption Requirements Footnotes

• ^# A year's equivalence at a California community college is either a minimum of 24 semester units or 36 quarter units of credit. For non-credit courses, a year's attendance is a minimum of 420 class hours per year (a semester is equivalent to a minimum of 210 hours and a quarter is equivalent to a minimum of 140 hours). Full-time attendance at a California adult school is a minimum of 420 hours of attendance for each school year.
• ^† This provision addresses both coursework and an attendance requirement, which can both be satisfied in three or more years.

Submit the California Dream Act Application

You only need to submit a single California Dream Act Application (CADAA) each academic year to be considered for financial aid programs that require the CADAA.

With the implementation of AB 1540, we’ve streamlined the financial aid process for CA Dream Act students by facilitating the integration of the nonresident tuition exemption form (“AB 540”) affidavit into the CA Dream Act Application. This will allow students submitting an application to also complete their affidavit.

Full List of Financial Aid Deadlines

Federal School Code

Include this on your CADAA to ensure your financial aid is processed for your home college.

• American River College: 001232
• Cosumnes River College: 007536
• Folsom Lake College: 038713
• Sacramento City College: 001233

For more information, visit the Financial Aid Office or the UndocuScholar/Undocu-Resource/Dream Center.

Assembly Bill 540 (AB 540) is a California law passed in 2001 that can determine if undocumented students who meet certain requirements can be exempted from nonresident tuition at California public colleges and universities. This includes California Community Colleges (CCC), California State Universities (CSU), and the Universities of California (UC).

In 2014, Assembly Bill 2000 (AB 2000) was passed and expanded the definition to allow additional flexibility for those who can meet the requirements. In 2018, Senate Bill 68 (SB 68) went into effect, further expanding the criteria.

These laws are important because the exemption allows eligible undocumented students to pay the in-state tuition rate instead of the non-resident student tuition rate at California Community College (see current tuition and fees).

The California Dream Act allows undocumented and nonresident students who qualify for a non-resident exemption under Assembly Bill 540 (AB 540) to receive certain types of financial aid such as:

• private scholarships
• state-administered financial aid
• California College Promise Grant
• Cal Grants

The California Dream Act is unrelated to the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Information provided on the CADAA is not provided to the federal government nor is it checked against any federal databases. CADAA information is protected by privacy and information security laws. CADAA students will be required to submit parental income and asset information. The demographic information students provide on the CADAA typically overlaps with information students have already given to their high schools.

Source: Protection of Student Information for CADAA Applicants

No, applying for or receiving state aid does not impact how you can change your immigration status. “Public charge” is a test that determines if an immigrant is likely to use public cash assistance or long-term institutional medical care. Financial aid is not considered a public charge. If students have questions about their immigration status or public charge, they can schedule a free immigration consultation by visiting findyourally.com. 

Source: Financial Aid for Undocumented Students in California