FAFSA citizenship proof deadline panic - expired passport rejected, need alternatives ASAP!

omg same thing happened to my brother last yr! expired passport is supposed to be fine according to studentaid.gov website but some schools are super strict. dont panic tho, he used his birth certificate + social security card combo and they accepted it in like 3 days

Financial aid advisor here. Your daughter has several options that are much faster than waiting for a new passport: 1. Birth certificate (original or certified copy) plus photo ID 2. Certificate of Naturalization/Citizenship if applicable 3. Consular Report of Birth Abroad if born outside the US to citizen parents 4. Original Social Security card can sometimes work as supporting documentation The school's financial aid office has flexibility in what they can accept. I recommend your daughter call them directly to confirm exactly which document combinations they'll accept rather than waiting and hoping. Many schools have different internal policies despite what the Federal Student Aid guidelines state.

Everybody always blaming the financial aid office but nobody realizes they're dealing with thousands of students all with "urgent" issues. And half the time students don't submit the right docs in the first place. Just sayin

I worked at a university FA office for 6 years. This is actually pretty common. The schools don't make these rules - they have to follow federal guidelines. The expired passport confusion happens because regular FAFSA verification is different from citizenship verification. For basic FAFSA verification, an expired passport is technically acceptable. But for citizenship verification specifically, it must be unexpired. Your fastest options: 1. Birth certificate + photo ID (driver's license) 2. Apply for a passport EXPEDITED service (2-3 weeks instead of 6) 3. If really desperate, the State Department has emergency passport appointments for life-or-death situations, but financial aid doesn't qualify Most importantly: GET THIS RESOLVED ASAP. Schools have internal deadlines for verification documents, and if you miss them, your daughter could lose priority for institutional scholarships and grants even if she still qualifies for federal aid.

I had citizenship verification issues with FAFSA two years ago and it nearly caused me to miss out on my entire aid package. The whole system is RIDICULOUS. Different schools interpret the rules completely differently. One school wanted my original birth certificate mailed to them (ABSOLUTELY NOT) while another accepted a scanned copy. The FAFSAs stupid verification process is just designed to make it harder for people to get aid IMO.

Have you tried calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly? They can clarify exactly what documents are acceptable for citizenship verification. I had to deal with this for my son last year, and getting the official word from FSA helped convince our financial aid office to accept his documentation. If you're having trouble reaching someone at FSA by phone (which is common), I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a live agent in about 10 minutes instead of waiting on hold for 2+ hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Once I spoke with the FSA agent, they emailed me the official documentation policy which I forwarded to our financial aid office. That resolved everything within 48 hours.

another thing ur daughter can try is asking for provisional aid while waiting for the documents!! some schools will do this if u explain the situation

One more important point: If your daughter is already enrolled at this school (not an incoming freshman), check if they have her citizenship status on file from previous years. Schools should only need to verify citizenship status once, not every year. If she's previously submitted citizenship documentation to this same school, remind them of this fact and ask them to check their records.

This is why FAFSA drives me CRAZY!!! Everything is so inconsistent and rigid. Like others said, birth certificate + photo ID should work. But as a backup, you could also try to get a new passport with expedited processing. It costs extra (like $60 more) but can come in 2-3 weeks instead of 6. My family had to do this for my brother's study abroad program when his passport expired and we didn't notice until 3 weeks before departure. Do both approaches simultaneously just to be safe? This is your daughter's education and financial future on the line!!

UPDATE: We finally got through to the financial aid office this morning! They confirmed that birth certificate + driver's license is acceptable. My daughter is heading to campus tomorrow to bring the original documents in person rather than uploading them (the advisor said in-person is faster processing). Thank you all SO MUCH for your help and suggestions! I'll update once everything is officially resolved.

So glad you got through to the financial aid office and have a clear path forward! This thread has been super helpful - I'm bookmarking it in case I run into similar issues with my own kids' FAFSA in the future. The birth certificate + driver's license combo seems to be the go-to solution for citizenship verification when passports aren't available. Fingers crossed everything processes smoothly for your daughter tomorrow!