CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ― Ramiro Vazquez has lived in the Charlottesville area since he was 10 ― a graduate of Monticello High School, he’s continuing his education in Piedmont Virginia Community College’s culinary arts program.
But Vazquez pays nearly $200 more per credit hour than most of his peers. Although he’s been granted the right to work and stay in the country, he’s considered an out-of-state student by Virginia’s higher education officials.
Right now, he can only afford to go to school part-time, which could stretch his two-year program out to three-and-a-half years. He spends much of his time working.
“It’s harder for me,” he said. “I have to work extra hours just to cover out-of-state tuition.”
Vazquez is one of seven immigrant students suing the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for the right to pay in-state rates. All seven were allowed to stay and work in the U.S. for at least the next two years under an order issued by then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano ― Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ― in 2012.
But like many immigrant students around the country, they don’t qualify for lower resident tuition rates in the states where they graduated from high school.
Virginia grants in-state status to people who have lived in the state for at least 12 continuous months prior to enrollment and show “an intent to remain in Virginia indefinitely to establish domicile in Virginia,” according to the state council’s website.
