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The Residency Rules Atlas

In-state tuition eligibility by visa type, all fifty states and DC — the difference is roughly four years of out-of-state surcharge per child. Each state page carries the governing rule, the H-4 and F-1 answers, the waiting clock, any high-school path, and the primary-source citation, each with the date it was verified.

The shape of the country verified 2026-08-19

For the H-4 child of a work-visa parent domiciled a year or more: 22 states say yes by published rule, 7 have a named side-door, 6 decide case by case, 14 say no, and 2 are unresolved (and say so on their pages rather than guessing). F-1 students cannot establish residency anywhere on the domicile route — the openings that exist are high-school-attendance paths, and each state page names its own.

Alabama

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Alaska

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Arizona

H-4 child: Unresolved — see what to check

Arkansas

H-4 child: Yes, through a side-door — read on

California

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Colorado

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Connecticut

H-4 child: Case-by-case — the campus decides

Delaware

H-4 child: Case-by-case — the campus decides

District of Columbia

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Florida

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Georgia

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Hawaii

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Idaho

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Illinois

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Indiana

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Iowa

H-4 child: Case-by-case — the campus decides

Kansas

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Kentucky

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Louisiana

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Maine

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Maryland

H-4 child: Case-by-case — the campus decides

Massachusetts

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Michigan

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Minnesota

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Mississippi

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Missouri

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Montana

H-4 child: Yes, through a side-door — read on

Nebraska

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Nevada

H-4 child: No — by published rule

New Hampshire

H-4 child: No — by published rule

New Jersey

H-4 child: Yes, through a side-door — read on

New Mexico

H-4 child: Yes, through a side-door — read on

New York

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

North Carolina

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

North Dakota

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Ohio

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Oklahoma

H-4 child: Yes, through a side-door — read on

Oregon

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Pennsylvania

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Rhode Island

H-4 child: Yes, through a side-door — read on

South Carolina

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

South Dakota

H-4 child: No — by published rule

Tennessee

H-4 child: Case-by-case — the campus decides

Texas

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Utah

H-4 child: Unresolved — see what to check

Vermont

H-4 child: Case-by-case — the campus decides

Virginia

H-4 child: Yes, through a side-door — read on

Washington

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

West Virginia

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Wisconsin

H-4 child: Yes — by published rule

Wyoming

H-4 child: No — by published rule

We already computed the public version — it is complete and stays free. Add three facts and the atlas becomes standing: Join DesiSquare and the Square remembers your dates, re-runs this when the rules change, and puts a credentialed human one message away.