The eligibility of legal immigrants to receive federal student financial aid in the United States is under review in the 104th Congress. The Federal Republic of Germany has also restricted its benefits to immigrants in recent years, but non-citizens still remain eligible for federal student financial aid. In general, non-citizens must be other than temporary residents in Germany and linked to the economy in some way.
Comparative studies provide valuable contexts for legislation in the United States.
The Federal Republic of Germany is an appropriate country with which to compare U.S. higher education policies in that it is the world's third largest economy, it is a federal republic like the United States, it is increasingly dependent on high technology output from its universities, and it has also struggled with immigration questions in the 1990s.