From the NSF REU Program Announcement (NSF Publication 00107):

An undergraduate student is a student who is enrolled in a degree program (part-time or full-time) leading to a baccalaureate or associates degree. Students who are transferring from one institution to another and who are enrolled at neither institution during the intervening summer may participate in an REU program. High school graduates who have not yet enrolled and students who have received their bachelor's degree and are no longer enrolled as undergraduates generally are not eligible.

U.S. Legal Permanent Residents

Under NSF program guidelines, every REU participant must be either a citizen or a legal permanent resident of the United States or its possessions. A legal permanent resident of the United States is someone who has been granted Lawful Permanent Residency by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Such a person is issued a Permanent Resident Card (commonly known as a "Green Card").

Temporary visitors, such as persons admitted to this country on student or exchange visas, are not legal permanent residents of the United States, and are therefore not eligible to participate in an REU program.

The REU project offered at Department of Computer Science and Engineering in University of South Florida under the aegis of National Science Foundation are particularly interested in increasing the participation of women, members of those racial and ethnic groups under-represented in science and engineering: Native Americans (American Indians and Alaskan Natives), Blacks (African Americans), Native Pacific Islanders (Polynesians or Micronesians), and Hispanics, and persons with disabilities.

Students belonging to any of these groups are strongly encouraged to apply to the REU program.

Forward your Questions to REU Co-ordinator, Dr. Miguel A. Labrador.