Hi I was helping set up my parents account for the fsfsa as they are undocumented and didn’t realize my parent put their ITIN as the SSN (Which they dont have) but now it will not let me change it as it is greyed out and only allows me to change their name or birthday and now I’m it doesnt let me invite them to put their information, is there anyway to fix this? I have tried calling FAFSA but it only says “We are experiencing High call volume please try contact us through…” and then hangs up
@kelsmom can explain…but right now, many folks are unable to make FAFSA corrections.
Also, if your screen name is your real name, I would strongly suggest you change it asap. Here is how:
Let’s start at the beginning. Did your parent enter their ITIN in the space for the SSN? There is a box to check for no SSN, and checking that box prompts additional questions that will verify your parent’s identity. If their identity is not verified, their FSA account should not have been approved. If it was approved, please let me know that. Or are you still trying to set up their FSA account & haven’t yet been able to submit their account for approval?
We did it a few weeks ago but it does seem like it got accepted? Because they didn’t check the “No SSN” box and when I go into the settings and look at the account information I am able to change the name and birthday but am not able to change or remove the “SSN” or in my case the ITIN
Okay, so it looks like they are good on their end. Have you completed your sections of the FAFSA? It’s recommended that you complete your sections prior to inviting the parent.
Yes I have, so is it ok to use their ITIN as SSN? I have completed my part but when I send the invite it does not appear on their account, I’m guessing this is because I did check the NO SSN on my end in parent information should I instead input their ITIN instead of leaving it as “NO SSN”
You can invite them without the SSN. See this: NASFAA AskRegs: What Information Is Required When Inviting a Contributor To Complete the FAFSA?.
In particular: “When a parent does not have an SSN, the student checks the “My parent doesn’t have a SSN” box on the invitation screen and it will flip to asking them to enter the parent’s full mailing address instead; the mailing address will have to match what is in the parent’s FSA ID to complete the linking process.
If the student incorrectly entered any of the parent’s information, the student will have to go back in and correct it before the parent will be able to log in and link up with the student’s FAFSA.”
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Double check everything you entered against everything in your parent’s account. Make sure you enter it exactly the same … even something seemingly small, like Rd. instead of Road, can keep it from linking up.
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Just wondering if you got it to work?
In case you’re still stuck, please read this. It was published today:
Updates for Students who have Required Contributors without Social Security Numbers
The Department has implemented a solution to resolve an error received by some applicants when they invited a contributor without an SSN to participate in the online FAFSA form. As detailed in a March 12, 2024 Electronic Announcement, this error occurred due to a mismatch of personally identifiable information (PII) that is entered on the invitation compared to the PII attached to the contributor’s StudentAid.gov account or when the person sending the invitation to participate in the FAFSA form sends multiple invitations, often with different variations of PII.
The Department has implemented a daily process that will archive duplicate contributor StudentAid.gov accounts. With this update, all applicants who previously experienced challenges inviting their non-SSN contributor to their form may now do so. It is important to note that applicants can still encounter the issue if they again enter inaccurate information on a contributor’s invitation or send multiple invitations to the same contributor, resulting in duplicate accounts. If an applicant encounters this issue, they will see messaging on the invitation page that notes “An Error Has Occurred”. Applicants will then need to wait until the next day, after the nightly data cleanup process is completed, to add their contributor again.
The Department has updated messaging on StudentAid.gov to notify students and families that the issue has been resolved, and provided refreshed guidance for students who have a contributor without an SSN. These applicants should follow the updated instructions for submitting a FAFSA form to ensure they do not receive additional error messages. We also remind applicants and their families of some best practices for ensuring they do not encounter other issues and may successfully complete the 2024-25 FAFSA form.