To amend section 404 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to allow public institutions of higher education to use the employment eligibility confirmation system established under that section to verify immigration status for purposes of determining eligibility for in-State tuition.

H.R. 4459 would allow public colleges and universities to use the federal employment eligibility verification system, commonly known as E-Verify, to check the immigration status of current and prospective students. The bill’s primary purpose is to provide these institutions with a standardized tool to determine whether a student qualifies for lower in-state tuition rates based on their legal residency status. If enacted, this would expand the use of a system originally designed for hiring purposes to assist school administrators in enforcing state residency and tuition requirements.