my financial aid adviser told me its impossible to add parents without ssn and that id have to file as independent which i dont qualify for 😡 im showing them this post tomorrow!!

This is incredibly helpful! I've been stuck on this exact issue for my younger sister who's applying for the 2025-2026 FAFSA. Our dad is from the Philippines and doesn't have an SSN, and we kept hitting the same verification wall you described. I had no idea that the order of account creation mattered so much. Quick question - when your mom created her FSA ID, did she need to provide any specific documentation beyond the usual identity verification, or was the process pretty straightforward? Also, about how long did it take from submission to getting your SAI back? Thanks for sharing this solution - you probably just saved dozens of families from the same headache!

This is such a relief to hear your update! I'm actually dealing with a similar situation right now - my mom is a non-citizen contributor and we've been stuck on the signature page for weeks. I had no idea about the FSA Electronic Announcement you mentioned. Do you happen to know the specific date or title of that announcement so I can reference it when I contact my school's financial aid office? Also, did your school require any specific documentation beyond the screenshots of the error messages? Thanks so much for sharing your solution - it's giving me hope that I might actually be able to get my aid sorted out before classes start!

Wow, this thread is incredibly helpful! I'm dealing with almost the exact same issue - my husband is a non-citizen contributor and we've been stuck on the signature page for about 3 weeks now. Like you, we've tried everything: different browsers, devices, clearing cache, different times of day. We're up to about 87 confirmation emails with no progress. I had no idea this was such a widespread issue or that there were workarounds available. I'm definitely going to contact my school's financial aid office tomorrow morning and reference the June 29th FSA Electronic Announcement that was mentioned. Thank you so much for documenting your entire process and solution - this gives me real hope that I can get my aid sorted out before the semester starts!

Good luck!!! The paperwork is a nightmare but WORTH IT

I'm new here but going through something similar! My family had an unusual income spike in 2022 due to a business sale, and our SAI came back way higher than expected. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea about Professional Judgment requests! A few questions for those who've been through this process: 1. Do all schools have the same deadlines for PJ requests, or does it vary by institution? 2. If multiple schools adjust your SAI differently, can you use that information when appealing to other schools? 3. Should we also be looking into state grant programs that might have different income thresholds? Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is a lifesaver for navigating this confusing process!

Just remmber that different schools have different policies on apeals. My son applied to 6 schools and each one had completely different requirements for the special circumstances appeal. One wanted a massive pile of documentation, another just needed a simple form and proof of income change. Call each school financial aid office directly to ask about their specific "professional judgment" process.

One thing that really helped us was documenting the "necessary" nature of your emergency savings. Since you mentioned your house is over 110 years old and you're dealing with high property taxes, make sure to get estimates for any major repairs that might be needed (roof, plumbing, electrical, etc.) and include those in your appeal. We had to do this when my mom's income dropped after she became disabled - we showed that our savings weren't just sitting there, but were earmarked for specific necessary expenses. The financial aid office was much more understanding when they could see we had $15k set aside for a new roof that was already leaking, rather than just "emergency savings." Also, definitely emphasize that your dad's early retirement wasn't voluntary - corporate downsizing is a legitimate hardship that most schools will take into consideration.

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Been stuck on the spouse DOB page for hours. One thing I noticed is that when I tried using Safari instead of Chrome, I got a slightly different error behavior - it actually showed me a brief validation message before looping back. The message mentioned something about "records verification" which makes me think it's definitely a backend issue with matching Social Security data like others have mentioned. I'm going to try the suggestions about the middle initial and name formatting. Really hoping the Department of Education fixes these technical problems soon because this is incredibly stressful when you're trying to meet deadlines!

I'm going through the exact same nightmare right now! I've been battling this spouse DOB loop for three days straight and I'm losing my mind. What's really frustrating is that the system worked fine for all my other information, but just completely breaks down on this one field. I've tried literally everything - different browsers, clearing cache, different devices, using dashes vs slashes for the date format, and nothing works. The most maddening part is that there's no actual error message, it just silently loops you back like nothing happened. I'm definitely going to try the suggestions about the middle initial and name formatting without hyphens. Has anyone had success getting through to FSA recently? I've been trying to call for days but keep getting disconnected due to high call volume. This whole redesigned FAFSA system feels like a complete disaster - how are students supposed to meet deadlines when the basic functionality doesn't even work?