Pro tip from someone who went through this nightmare last month - if you're on mobile, the "View Student Aid Index Report" link is practically invisible! I had to zoom in like 200% to even see it. The desktop version is much easier to navigate. Also, if your FAFSA shows as "processed" but you still can't find the SAI link, try logging out and back in - sometimes there's a delay between processing completion and the link becoming available. Took about 24 hours in my case.

I had a similar issue and found that sometimes the SAI report link doesn't appear immediately even after the FAFSA shows "processed." Try refreshing the page or checking back in a few hours. Also, make sure you're looking at the correct tax year - I was accidentally checking my 2024-25 FAFSA instead of 2025-26! The SAI number should be clearly labeled at the top of the PDF once you download it. If all else fails, your school's financial aid office can usually pull up your SAI on their end while you're troubleshooting the website issues.

I'm dealing with a similar situation right now! My ex and I divorced 2 years ago and I just discovered he somehow used my email when he set up his FSA ID back in 2019. I had no idea until I tried to help my son with his FAFSA this year. One thing I learned from FSA customer service (after finally getting through) is that you should also check if your ex has your SSN linked to his account somehow. Apparently some people accidentally enter their spouse's info when creating accounts and it can cause even more complications down the line. They had to verify I wasn't him by asking detailed questions about my employment history and previous addresses. Also, make sure your daughter knows this might delay her application a bit - but colleges are usually understanding about technical issues with FAFSA, especially divorce-related ones. Most have seen this before and will work with you on deadlines if you can show you're actively trying to resolve it.

I'm going through this exact same nightmare right now! Been divorced for 2 years and just found out my ex somehow has my email tied to his FSA ID. The most frustrating part is that I can't even remember him ever using my email for anything financial, but here we are. What's been working for me so far: I called FSA at exactly 8:00 AM ET on Monday and actually got through after about 20 minutes on hold (miracle!). The agent was super helpful once I explained it was a divorce situation. They walked me through something called an "account separation request" and said it should take 3-5 business days to process. Pro tip: Have your divorce decree ready when you call. They asked for the case number and date to help verify that you should have separate accounts. Also make sure you know what year your ex might have created his account - they asked me about that too. Hang in there - I know it's stressful with college deadlines looming, but from what I've been told, this is way more common than we think and the FSA agents are pretty experienced with fixing it once you get someone on the phone.

UPDATE: For anyone else having this issue, I got through by using a private browsing window on Firefox (Chrome still didn't work for me). The site is definitely slower than usual but I was able to check my aid status. Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions!

As someone who's been through this process multiple times (helping my kids with FAFSA), I can confirm that these types of technical issues unfortunately happen every year around this time, but they usually resolve within a few days. The SAVE Plan injunction is definitely adding extra complications this year though. For future reference, I've found that the site tends to be most stable very early in the morning (like 5-6 AM) or late at night after 11 PM. Also, if you're still having trouble, don't forget that many public libraries have computers you can try if your home setup isn't working - sometimes a completely different network/computer combination does the trick. Hang in there everyone!

Just wanted to share my experience as someone who went through this last year. I'm also separated (for 2 years now), and I did NOT report my ex's 529 plan on my daughter's FAFSA. We got selected for verification, but once I provided documentation showing we lived at separate addresses and that the 529 was solely in his name, they approved everything without issues. The financial aid office at my daughter's college was actually really helpful in navigating this.

I went through something similar when my ex and I separated in 2022. One thing that helped me was calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly at 1-800-433-3243 to ask about my specific situation before submitting the FAFSA. They were able to clarify that since I met the separation criteria (living apart for 6+ months with documentation) and was the custodial parent, I should only report MY assets, not his 529. It gave me peace of mind knowing I was following their official guidance. Also, make sure you have copies of everything - lease agreements, utility bills, custody documentation - because if you do get selected for verification, having it all organized makes the process much smoother.

One more important thing - when you complete your section, you might see a message saying the application is "pending student validation" even after you submit your part. That's normal! The whole application will automatically progress once all validations complete. Just make sure you actually finish and submit your section completely.

Just wanted to add my experience - I was in the exact same situation two weeks ago and went ahead with my parent section while my daughter's validation was still pending. Everything worked perfectly! The key thing is to make sure you complete ALL required fields in your section and hit submit. Don't just save as draft. Once both validations were done (hers took 3 days, mine was instant), the full application automatically processed and we got our SAI within 24 hours. The new system is actually pretty efficient once you understand how it works!