Make sure your husband creates his FSA ID ASAP and completes his section. Our son's SAI calculation was delayed by almost 3 weeks because my husband didn't complete his portion, and we almost missed priority deadlines for several schools. Once both parent sections are complete, the SAI calculation should happen within 3-5 days (though some are reporting longer times this year).

Just wanted to jump in as someone who went through this exact same confusion last month! Yes, both spouses absolutely need separate FSA IDs and must complete their individual sections even when filing jointly - it's one of the most frustrating changes to the new FAFSA system. What helped us was setting aside about 30 minutes one evening to get my husband's FSA ID created and his section completed. The good news is that once the first parent enters the tax info through IRS DRT, the second parent doesn't have to re-enter all those numbers - they just need to give consent and answer some personal verification questions. Don't wait though - our daughter's aid package was delayed by 2 weeks because we didn't realize this requirement! The sooner your husband completes his part, the sooner you'll get that SAI calculation and can move forward with financial aid applications.

UPDATE: We got it working!! After trying basically everything suggested here, what finally fixed it was: 1. Waiting 24 hours with no login attempts (thanks financial aid office worker!) 2. Using my dad's phone instead of his laptop (thanks for that suggestion!) 3. Making sure he was on our home WiFi, not his cellular data Not sure which of these was the actual fix, but the combination worked. He was able to log in, get past the secure code screen, and complete his section of my FAFSA. My application is finally submitted! Thank you all for the help - this forum saved us from missing my deadline!

Wow, this thread is a goldmine of information! I'm dealing with the exact same parent login issue right now and was getting so stressed about it. Reading through everyone's experiences makes me feel less alone in this mess. The combination of solutions that worked for Andre gives me hope - I'm definitely going to try the 24-hour reset approach first since that seems to be a common theme. It's really frustrating that the FSA support line doesn't mention these technical details about security flags and soft-locks. You'd think they would know their own system better! Has anyone else noticed if this problem is worse during certain times of the year? I'm wondering if it's related to high traffic periods when everyone's trying to submit their FAFSAs at once.

Great to hear your SAI came through! Four business days is pretty typical from what I've seen. For others still waiting, I'd recommend checking your account every morning rather than multiple times per day - the processing seems to happen overnight and you'll just stress yourself out refreshing constantly. Also make sure to screenshot your SAI once it appears, since you'll need that number for multiple applications and it's easier than logging in every time.

Just wanted to add that if you're really stressed about those scholarship deadlines, you might want to reach out to the scholarship organizations directly and ask if they'll accept your FAFSA submission confirmation page as temporary proof while you wait for your SAI to process. Most places are understanding about the processing delays, especially this year with all the system changes. I had to do this for two scholarship applications last month and both organizations were totally fine with it - they just asked me to send the actual SAI number once it was available. Better to be proactive than miss a deadline!

UPDATE: My SAI finally came through! It took 14 days total, and I did get an email notification (though it went to my promotions folder in Gmail, so I almost missed it). Now I can finally finish those scholarship applications. Thanks everyone for your help and for calming my anxiety!

Glad to see this worked out for you! As someone who just went through this process myself, I wanted to add that it's also worth checking if any of your target schools have their own institutional aid applications with earlier deadlines. Some schools require additional forms beyond just the FAFSA for merit scholarships, and those deadlines can be really tight. Also, if your SAI seems unusually high or low compared to what you expected, don't hesitate to reach out to the financial aid offices directly - they can often provide insight into how their specific school uses the SAI in their aid calculations. The whole process is definitely stressful when you're doing it solo for the first time, but you've got this!

UPDATE: Success! After trying different browsers, I found my saved application on Chrome (I originally used Safari). AND I found my save key written on a post-it note I had completely forgotten about. I'm now back in my application and can make the W-2 corrections before submitting. Thank you all for your help and suggestions!

This is such a common issue and it's really frustrating that FAFSA hasn't fixed it yet! For anyone still struggling with this, here's what worked for me last year: try logging in through an incognito/private browser window. Sometimes the regular browser session gets corrupted but incognito bypasses that. Also, if you're using any browser extensions or ad blockers, try disabling them temporarily - they can interfere with the save functionality. The system is definitely finicky but don't give up! And definitely write down that save key somewhere safe if you get prompted to create one.