UPDATE: We finally got it working! It was a combination of issues - my husband's hyphenated last name needed to be entered exactly as it appears on his FSA ID, AND both of us needed to log into our FSA ID accounts first to "refresh" them in the system. Once we did those two things, the invitations went through perfectly. Thanks everyone for your help! For anyone else dealing with this issue, try ALL the suggestions in this thread because it might be multiple small things causing the problem.

As someone who just went through this nightmare last month, I feel your pain! The FAFSA parent invitation system is incredibly buggy this year. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure your son is using the EXACT browser that was used when the parents originally created their FSA IDs. I know it sounds crazy, but we had issues where my mom's account was created in Safari but my brother was trying to send invitations through Chrome, and it kept failing. Also, try doing it during off-peak hours (early morning or late evening) - the system seems less glitchy when fewer people are using it. The combination of matching browsers and timing finally worked for us after days of frustration!

the whole college process is SO STRESSFUL!!! our fafsa got flagged for verification last year and we nearly lost our deposit window too. glad they gave u an extension!

That's fantastic news about getting the extension! You made absolutely the right call waiting for the complete financial aid package. With your SAI of 432, there's a real possibility of significant additional aid that could save you thousands over four years. Your son might be anxious now, but he'll thank you later when he graduates debt-free or with minimal loans. The 10-day extension should give you plenty of time to make an informed decision with all the financial information in hand.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! This has given me a much better idea of what to expect. I'll definitely talk to the financial aid offices at both our schools when the time comes, and I'll make sure we both submit our FAFSAs as early as possible. I'm going to start researching institutional scholarships too, since it sounds like we can't count on the multiple-students-in-household benefit anymore with the new SAI system. Any other tips for parent-student combos are still welcome!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who went through this exact situation! I was finishing my nursing degree when my daughter started her freshman year in 2023. One thing that really helped us was creating a shared spreadsheet to track all our important FAFSA dates, deadlines, and requirements. We also made sure to save copies of all our tax documents and financial records in one place since we both needed access to the same family financial information. Also, don't forget that some states have their own grant programs that might have different rules than federal aid - definitely worth checking with your state's higher education agency. In our case, my state grant actually wasn't affected by my daughter's enrollment status at all. The whole process was less scary than I expected once we got organized!

After going through this last year with my son, I can tell you it all worked out fine even though my ex claimed him on taxes. I submitted our divorce decree showing I had primary custody, and financial aid office accepted that I was the contributor parent. My son still got his full Pell Grant and subsidized loans based on my income alone.

I'm going through almost the exact same situation right now! My ex claimed our daughter on his taxes but refuses to help with any college costs. Reading through all these responses has been so helpful - I didn't realize the new SAI system actually separates tax dependency from FAFSA contributor status. One thing I wanted to add is that I called my daughter's college financial aid office directly to explain our situation before submitting the FAFSA, and they were really understanding. They said divorced parent situations are super common and they're used to handling verification for these cases. The counselor told me to keep detailed records of all expenses I pay for my daughter (rent, groceries, medical, etc.) in case verification is needed. It's so frustrating that non-contributing parents can still claim kids on taxes and create these complications, but at least it sounds like the financial aid system has ways to sort it out. Hang in there - you're doing everything right by advocating for your daughters!

One more thing to check - make sure your FAFSA listed a US mailing address somewhere (like a relative's address) rather than only your foreign address. Some schools' systems have trouble processing FAFSA results without a US address on file, even though it's not technically required. This small detail caused huge problems for us when we were in Japan. Also, be aware that some aid counselors may be confusing in-state tuition eligibility (which often does require physical residency) with federal aid eligibility (which doesn't). These are completely separate issues, but I've seen them conflated repeatedly.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this stress right before tuition is due! As someone who just went through a similar situation with my daughter while we were living in the UK, I wanted to share what worked for us. The breakthrough came when I realized I needed to speak specifically to someone in the financial aid office who handles "unusual circumstances" or "professional judgment" cases - not the general intake counselors. When I called and asked to be transferred to someone who deals with expatriate or international student situations, I finally got connected to a supervisor who actually understood the rules. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1. Email the financial aid director (find their name on the university website) and request an urgent meeting 2. In your email, specifically state "US citizen eligibility for federal financial aid while residing abroad" 3. Mention that you're requesting a professional judgment review of your case 4. Ask them to provide in writing which specific federal regulation they believe makes you ineligible The key phrase that helped me was asking them to cite the specific CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) section that supports their denial. Most of the time, they can't because it doesn't exist for citizens living abroad temporarily. Don't give up - this is absolutely fixable! Michigan is a great school and they'll figure this out once you get to the right person.