Putting American Students First Act

This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to introduce new, stringent immigration and residency requirements for individuals seeking to participate in Federal TRIO programs. Its primary purpose is to define who is eligible for these federally funded educational support services. The legislation specifies that participants must meet certain immigration statuses to qualify. Specifically, eligible individuals must be a national of the United States , an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence , or an alien physically present for non-temporary purposes with documented intent to become a permanent resident. The bill also extends eligibility to citizens of the Freely Associated States lawfully residing in the U.S., aliens with CNMI Resident status, or lawful residents of the Freely Associated States. A critical provision of this amendment is the explicit prohibition against waiving these newly established eligibility requirements under any existing legal authority, including those related to Performance Partnership Pilots.