It's complicated. The other comment is only half right.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. He cannot be a ND resident for getting in state tuition and an AZ resident for the purpose of you claiming him as a qualifying child dependent.
But, there are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and
standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they
don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there
is a residency test and the support rule is different.
He cannot be your qualifying child since he does not reside with you. So the support test is not if he provided less than half of his own support. It is that you, the taxpayer, provided more than half his support. Because there is also an income test, for a qualifying relative; he must have less than $4050 taxable income. See full dependency rules below.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:
1. He is under age 19, or under 24
if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally &
permanently disabled
2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are
considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.
3. He lived with the parent
(including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half
the year. If he has established ND residency, he is not temporarily absent from you home.
A
person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child,
if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a
dependent:
1. Closely Related OR live
with the taxpayer ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4,050 (2016)
3. The taxpayer must have
provided more than 1/2 his support
In either case:
4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada
or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint
return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the
qualifying child of another taxpayer
