Citizenship Verification Form (PDF)
Effective January 1, 2009, USC Aiken must verify the citizenship or lawful presence in the United States of every student before they may enroll.
This policy has been adopted to comply with section 59-101-430 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended, which requires that lawful presence in the United States is verified before enrollment at any public institution of higher education.
The University will do all it can to verify citizenship using other means. For example, a student's citizenship may be checked by the federal government when applying for financial aid. If a student's citizenship can not be verified through other means a citizenship verification form will be mailed to the student. It must be completed and returned with one of the following documents before the student can enroll. Documents that may be used to verify citizenship are:
- REAL ID issued by any of the United States of America or territories
- Copy of South Carolina driver's license (if the student was born after January 1, 1986)
- Certified Birth Certificate indicating the student was born in the United States or a territory of the United States.
- Current U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport that has not expired more than ten years.
- Certificate of Naturalization - USCIS Form (N-550 or N-570)
- U.S. government issued Consular Report of Birth Abroad
- Certificate of Citizenship (N-560 or N-561)
- Unexpired U.S. Active Duty/Retiree/Reservist Military ID Card (DOD DD-2)
NOTE: If a name has changed since birth, the student must present all legal documents (i.e., adoption records, marriage certificate, certificate of naturalization, and court-ordered name change) supporting all name changes from the name which appears on the birth certificate or proof of citizenship to the present.
The university can accept photocopies of birth certificates and other citizenship documents; however, we reserve the right to demand the production of the certified original if we have any questions about whether the copy is true and accurate or in the event any of the information on the copy is unreadable.
For more information about the citizenship verification process, contact the campus Citizenship Verification Coordinator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..