Compact of Free Association: Entry, Benefits, and Green Cards

The Compact of Free Association lets citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau enter, live, and work in the United States indefinitely without a visa. Their status is nonimmigrant, but it has no expiration date. It is not a green card, and it does not automatically lead to one. A 2024 law significantly expanded what federal benefits these citizens can receive.

Who the Compacts Cover

Three Pacific island nations are party to separate compacts with the United States: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau.¹ Each is a sovereign country that manages its own internal and foreign affairs. The compacts formalize a partnership, not a territorial relationship, and that distinction shapes how their citizens fit into U.S. immigration and benefits systems.

If you hold citizenship in one of these three nations, the rules below apply to you. If you don’t, they don’t.

Entering and Staying in the United States

You present a valid national passport to Customs and Border Protection at a port of entry and receive a Form I-94 confirming admission.² The I-94 is your proof of lawful admission and the document employers, schools, and agencies will ask for.³

There is no expiration date on the stay. You can remain in the country as long as you want without renewing or extending your status.

Working

Compact citizens receive Social Security cards without the “Valid for Work Only with DHS Authorization” restriction. On Form I-9, the Social Security card serves as a List C document to establish work authorization, and the passport and I-94 handle identity.²

State IDs and Driver’s Licenses

An unexpired passport from one of the three nations, paired with an approved I-94, is accepted at state DMVs as identity documentation for a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license or ID card.⁴

What Can End Your Status

Indefinite does not mean unconditional. Compact citizens are subject to the same removal grounds that apply to other nonimmigrants, including convictions for aggravated felonies, controlled substance offenses, domestic violence, and firearms violations.⁵

A financial requirement also applies. Compact citizens who cannot demonstrate sufficient means of support in the United States may be deportable.² Steady employment or documented financial support satisfies this in practice, but arriving without resources and no plan to work can lead to removal proceedings. This requirement doesn’t apply to most other nonimmigrant categories.

Green Cards and Citizenship

Compact admission does not put you on a track to permanent residency or U.S. citizenship. To become a Lawful Permanent Resident, you have to qualify through the same channels as any other foreign national: family sponsorship, employer sponsorship, or another eligible immigration category.²

Once you have a green card, naturalization works the standard way: five years as a permanent resident, or three if married to a U.S. citizen. Military service is another route. Compact citizens who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces may naturalize through military-specific provisions that can shorten the residency requirement.⁶

Until you naturalize, you cannot vote in federal elections, run for federal office, or exercise other rights reserved for U.S. citizens.

Federal Benefits After the 2024 Change

For nearly three decades after the 1996 welfare reform law, compact citizens lived in a strange gap: lawfully present, taxpaying, often working or serving in the military, but locked out of most federal safety-net programs.

The Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2024 added citizens of all three nations to the definition of “qualified aliens” under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act. That change opened eligibility for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The law also exempts compact citizens from the five-year waiting period other qualified aliens must serve, so they can apply on arrival.⁷

Compact citizens also pay Social Security payroll taxes and can collect retirement or disability benefits when they meet the same work-credit thresholds as any other worker.

Student Aid and In-State Tuition

Students from the three nations qualify for Pell Grants, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. They are not eligible for federal Direct Loans or TEACH Grants.⁸ Grants don’t require repayment, but the lack of access to federal student loans can make financing a degree considerably harder.

On the FAFSA, select “eligible noncitizen” and leave the Alien Registration Number field blank. The application skips the DHS match, and the financial aid office will ask for a copy of the passport or I-94 to confirm citizenship in a Freely Associated State.⁸

Since July 1, 2024, every public college or university that participates in federal financial aid programs must charge compact citizens no more than the in-state tuition rate, regardless of how long they have lived in the state.⁹

Taxes

Compact citizens living and working in the United States generally owe federal income tax under the same rules as other noncitizens. The trigger is the substantial presence test: at least 183 days of physical presence across a three-year calculation period makes you a resident alien for tax purposes with a filing obligation.¹⁰ Most compact citizens working in the U.S. meet this easily.

The original compacts contained language suggesting an income tax exemption for citizens domiciled in their home countries, but subsequent legislation clarified that the income tax exemption does not apply.¹¹ Expect the same federal tax bill your coworkers face. State income tax follows where you live.

If you remain domiciled in your home country and earn income from both places, and your home government taxes income that is also subject to U.S. tax, you can claim relief through the foreign tax credit or the foreign earned income exclusion.¹¹

Military Service and Selective Service

Citizens of all three nations can volunteer for the U.S. Armed Forces without being U.S. citizens. They cannot be involuntarily drafted unless they have resided in the United States for at least one year.¹²

Male compact citizens ages 18 to 25 who live in the United States for more than one year must register with the Selective Service System. Two exceptions apply: those in the U.S. as employees of their home government, and full-time students who entered specifically for that purpose and maintain that status.¹³ Skipping registration can block federal student aid and certain government jobs later on.

1
U.S. Department of the Interior. Compacts of Free Association
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Status of Citizens of the Freely Associated States of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands
3
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Arrival/Departure Forms: I-94 and I-94W
4
Federal Register. Designation of REAL ID Identity Documents for Citizens of the Freely Associated States
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Naturalization Through Military Service
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Citizens of the Freely Associated States Eligible for PRWORA Benefits
8
Federal Student Aid. U.S. Citizenship and Eligible Noncitizens – 2025-2026 Federal Student Aid Handbook
9
Federal Student Aid. In-State Tuition and Title IV Eligibility for Citizens of the Freely Associated States
10
Internal Revenue Service. Determining an Individual’s Tax Residency Status
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 48 USC Ch. 18 – Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau
12
U.S. Department of State. Compact of Free Association, as Amended, Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
13
Selective Service System. Who Needs to Register