Filling Out the FAFSA: I am a U.S. Citizen, But My Parents are Undocumented Immigrants

All U.S. citizens are eligible for federal financial aid, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. If you are a citizen, but your parents are undocumented immigrants or don’t have a Social Security number (SSN), you should still fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You and your parents are each considered FAFSA “contributors” who will fill out separate portions of the form.

However, though the new 2024-25 FAFSA launched on Dec. 30, parents without SSNs remain locked out of their portion of the online form. Many of their students cannot submit the FAFSA until the glitch is fixed — which is expected in the first half of March.

Once the FAFSA issue is resolved, parents without SSNs will be able to request an FSA ID — which is the username and password combination they’ll need to fill out the FAFSA — on FAFSA.gov. They will answer questions from the credit reporting agency TransUnion, like confirming their phone number or workplace.

If you have upcoming financial aid deadlines and cannot submit the FAFSA because a parent is undocumented, follow the Department of Education’s workaround. If you use the workaround, you’ll need to correct your FAFSA submission later.

The issue is frustrating, but it’s still essential to submit the FAFSA to qualify for college financial aid, like federal student loans, need-based Pell Grants, work-study and some scholarships.

You can use a temporary workaround if you have upcoming FAFSA submission deadlines for critical state or institutional financial aid, and if one or both of your parents are undocumented. An official step-by-step guide for the workaround is available here.

Here’s a summary of the steps students must take for the workaround:

2. Follow the prompts to invite all required contributors to your FAFSA. List contributor information exactly as it appears on an official I.D., such as a foreign passport, birth certificate or U.S. driver’s license. For contributors without SSNs, leave the SSN section blank.

3. Once you complete your portion of the FAFSA, select the schools you’d like to receive the form.

4. Sign your section of the form. From your “section complete” page, click the link to manually enter your parent’s information.

5. Provide information for your parent who does not have a SSN. You may need a copy of their 2022 federal tax return for this section. If you have two required contributors without SSNs, you will repeat this process for the second parent.

6. Submit the form without the signature of your undocumented parent(s). A pop-up window will warn you that you don’t have contributor consent; click “submit” again to move past the message.

7. Check your email for FAFSA submission confirmation. Save a copy of this message for your records and to share with any schools with upcoming FAFSA deadlines.

After your FAFSA is processed — which is slated to begin in the first half of March — your contributors who don’t have an SSN must return to the form to provide consent to share their information and to add their signature. Your FAFSA will not be considered “complete” until your parent(s) make these corrections.

You can check in on your form’s status by logging into your StudentAid.gov account.

If you don’t have any pressing financial aid deadlines, consider waiting until the online FAFSA is fixed so you don’t have to deal with this workaround. The fix is expected to roll out by early March.

Until the online FAFSA is fixed, students with undocumented parents can also submit a paper version of the FAFSA, according to a senior Education Department official.

This version of the form is much longer and can be more confusing to fill out, so the Education Department strongly encourages students with undocumented parents to use the online FAFSA workaround or wait until the online FAFSA is fixed.

Here’s how to submit the paper FAFSA:

1. Download and print a PDF of the 2024-25 FAFSA, which is available on StudentAid.gov in English and Spanish. Or, you can request a print-out of the PDF by calling the Federal Student Aid office at 1-800-433-3243.

2. Fill out the form. The student will fill out a portion of the form, and the parent will fill out the other portion. If a parent does not have a Social Security number, they should enter 000-00-0000 on their portion of the form.

3. Make a copy of pages 7 through 20 for your records.

4. Mail the original version of pages 7 through 20 to: Federal Student Aid Programs, P.O. Box 70204, London, KY 40742-0204. (You’ll have to pay for postage.)

If you don’t have any pressing priority financial aid deadlines, it may be easier to wait until the online FAFSA is fixed for parents without Social Security numbers. Once the online FAFSA is fully available, here’s what that process will look like for undocumented parents:

2. You’ll be directed to answer up to four identity verification questions via TransUnion, a credit reporting agency. For example, you may be asked to confirm your phone number or the name of your recent employers.

3. After completing the account creation process, you’ll see a confirmation page. If you passed the TransUnion process, you’ll receive an FSA ID soon, which you’ll use to fill out your parent portion of the FAFSA. 

4. If you failed the TransUnion process, you must call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243. After speaking to a representative, you will receive a verification email asking you to upload documents that establish your identity. You’ll also need to sign a form attesting that you are who you say you are.

5. If your documents are accepted, you’ll get a confirmation email and an FSA ID, which you can use to access and submit your portion of the FAFSA.

If you fail the TransUnion identity verification, you’ll be asked to submit one of the following documents (or combinations of documents):

• U.S. state or city ID card.

• Municipal ID cards + utility bill. 

• Community ID + utility bill. 

• Consular ID cards/Matricula Consular + utility bill. 

Some private lenders may allow you to borrow a student loan with a co-signer who is a U.S. citizen. Before considering private options, first submit the FAFSA so you exhaust all free money available, including federal, state and school grants and federal work-study. Then, move on to federal loans.

Use private loans as a last resort to fill in any gaps in your college costs. Private student loans don’t offer the same protections as federal student loans, such as income-driven repayment plans and loan forgiveness programs.