TRENTON -- It is about to get a lot easier in New Jersey for the children of immigrants living in the country illegally to get state and federal aid to go to college.
The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority -- the state agency that oversees state grants and loans for college -- is changing a controversial rule that automatically denied applications from U.S.-born students who could not produce a valid Social Security number for their immigrant parents.
The change comes after years of legal fights with the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups who said New Jersey's application process was unfair to immigrant families who filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA form.
"Commencing in this coming academic year 2016-2017, to streamline the process for these students, HESAA has implemented a change to its processing system," the authority said in a statement. "Now, any student who answers that their parents are New Jersey residents on the FAFSA - even if an invalid Social Security number is provided - will no longer receive an initial denial."
CNNMoney first reported the rule change last week.
The new rule is expected to make it easier for thousands of New Jersey students born in the U.S. to unauthorized immigrant parents to apply for state loans and grants, including the state's popular Tuition Aid Grant program for low-income students.
The change will not affect students living in the U.S. illegally. They are not eligible for taxpayer-funded college financial aid under state and federal law.
Marcia Karrow, a HESAA spokeswoman, said the authority does not consider the rewritten application rules a policy reversal.
"HESAA did not make a change in a policy but in a process," Karrow said.
Under the old process, students who could not list a valid Social Security number for their parents on their FAFSA form received a letter saying they were denied financial aid because their parents were not legal New Jersey residents. The students were told they could appeal their rejected applications. All they needed was proof the student was a legal U.S. resident, even if their parents were unauthorized immigrants.
But many students said they were unaware of the complex appeal process. Others said they chose not to apply for financial aid at all because they feared exposing their parents' immigration status.
Under the new process, students will only need to say their parents are New Jersey residents on the application form, HESAA officials said. Applicants will no longer be rejected or need to file an appeal if their parents don't have valid Social Security numbers proving they are legal residents.
ACLU officials said they were pleased the state is changing the rule after years of complaints and legal challenges.
"We're disappointed it took two lawsuits," said Alexander Shalom, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of New Jersey.
In 2011, the ACLU and Rutgers University's legal clinic helped an American-born high school student - identified only as A.Z. - appeal to the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court after she was denied financial aid because her mother was an unauthorized immigrant.
The student won her case and the ACLU and Rutgers' law clinic filed a second appeal calling on the state to change its financial aid application rules for all American-born children of unauthorized immigrants.
"There was something so palpably unfair," Shalom said of the state's old financial aid rules.
The second court case, which Rutgers law school dean Ronald Chen argued before the appellate court, is still pending, Shalom said. It is unclear if the case prompted HESAA to revise its application rules.
It is unclear how many students will be affected by the changes.
During the 2015-2016 academic year, which is still ongoing, HESAA has received 526,281 applications for aid, the authority said. Of those applicants, 70,834 have received Tuition Aid Grant awards for low-income students. They include 436 students who went through HESAA's appeal process and got aid even through their parents did not have legal immigration documentation.
Immigrants living in the U.S. illegally can attend New Jersey's public colleges and universities at in-state tuition rates under a 2013 state law signed by Gov. Chris Christie. But unauthorized immigrants usually need to pay their own way or get private scholarships to pay their tuition.
Christie vetoed the portion of the Tuition Equality bill in 2013 that would have granted unauthorized immigrant students the same financial aid as other New Jersey residents. At the time, Christie said he could not support giving taxpayer-funded aid to students living in the country illegally given New Jersey's financial problems.
Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find NJ.com on Facebook.