§ 668.138 Liability.

(a) A student is liable for any LEAP, FSEOG, Federal Pell Grant, ACG, National SMART Grant, or TEACH Grant payment and for any Federal Stafford, Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized or Federal Perkins loan made to him or her if the student was ineligible for the Title IV, HEA assistance.

(b) A Federal PLUS or Direct PLUS Loan borrower is liable for any Federal PLUS or Direct PLUS Loan made to him or her on behalf of an ineligible student.

(c) The Secretary does not take any action against an institution with respect to an error in the institution's determination that a student is an eligible noncitizen if, in making that determination, the institution followed the provisions in this subpart and relied on—

(1) An output document for that student indicating that the INS has confirmed that the student's immigration status meets the eligibility requirements for title IV, HEA assistance;

(2) An INS determination of the student's immigration status and the authenticity of the student's immigration documents provided in response to the institution's request for secondary confirmation; or

(3) Immigration-status documents submitted by the student and the institution did not have reason to believe that the documents did not support the student's claim to be an eligible noncitizen.

(d) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, if an institution makes an error in its determination that a student is an eligible noncitizen, the institution is liable for any title IV, HEA disbursements made to this student during the award year or period of enrollment for which the student applied for title IV, HEA assistance.

[58 FR 3184, Jan. 7, 1993, as amended at 63 FR 40626, July 29, 1998; 65 FR 38729, June 22, 2000; 71 FR 38003, July 3, 2006; 73 FR 35493, June 23, 2008]