FAFSA contributor invitation not showing up on parent accounts - stuck in approval limbo

This is unfortunately a common issue with the new FAFSA system. There are a few things you should try: 1. Make sure your son actually completed the 'Add Contributor' section fully - sometimes students think they've sent the invitation but missed the final confirmation step 2. Verify all email addresses are typed correctly 3. Have your son log in and check if the system shows the invitations as 'pending' or 'sent' - if they're pending, he needs to complete additional steps 4. Try having him delete the current invitations and send fresh ones 5. Make sure you and the other parent have fully set up your FSA IDs with email verification completed

same thing happened with me and my daughter last week!! so frustrating!!! we ended up having to call fsa and wait FOREVER on hold. the agent said its a known bug in there system. something about the contributor emails not linking properly to parent accounts.

I had this exact problem with my daughter's FAFSA last month. After trying everything with no success, I used Claimyr to get through to an FSA agent without the insane hold times. It connects you with FSA agents quickly - you can see how it works in their video demo (https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ). The agent had to manually link my account to my daughter's application since the system wasn't doing it automatically. Once they fixed it on their end, I immediately saw the contributor section when I logged in to my studentaid.gov account. Worth checking out their site at claimyr.com if you're still stuck.

This is a technical issue that's affecting quite a few families this application cycle. As a financial aid counselor, I've seen this happen with about 15% of our students' applications. There are two distinct problems that could be happening: 1. Contributor invitation delivery failure - The system shows the invitation as sent but the linking process between accounts fails 2. Account visibility error - The contributor link is properly registered in the system but isn't displaying in the parent dashboard In either case, there's a backend fix that FSA agents can apply. You'll need to have both your FSA ID and your son's FSA ID (not password) when you call. They can manually associate the accounts. If you're using different email domains (like if your son uses a .edu email and you use gmail or yahoo), that can sometimes trigger this bug. It's definitely worth getting this resolved quickly rather than waiting, as contributor sections take time to complete properly.

Have you tried accessing the FAFSA from different devices or browsers? Sometimes the contributor section doesn't show up because of browser compatibility issues. I had to switch from Firefox to Chrome before my daughter's FAFSA appeared in my account. Also, are you and the other parent logging in with your own separate FSA IDs that you created before the invitation was sent? The system gets confused if you create your FSA ID after receiving the invitation.

why is the fafsa so complicated???!! my kid is first in our family to go to college and this whole process is making me want to pull my hair out. we cant even figure out the parent stuff either.

i think everyone needs to chill about the october 1 deadline thing... its not like they stop taking fasfa then. my cousins roomate did his in december last year and still got aid. your not gonna lose anything if it takes a few more days to figure out.

Update on your situation: I just encountered another family with this exact issue yesterday. The FSA agent explained it's specifically a problem with the contributor invitation system. The fix requires the student to: 1. Log into their studentaid.gov account 2. Go to their FAFSA application 3. Navigate to the 'Help' tab (not the contributor section) 4. Select 'Contact Us' and submit a case specifically about the contributor invitation not appearing 5. Include both parent email addresses and FSA IDs in the message They're escalating these cases and resolving them within 24-48 hours since it's affecting so many families. Much faster than trying to get through on the phone right now with their call volumes.

UPDATE: We got it fixed! After trying the Help/Contact Us method that @profile2 suggested, we still didn't see any change after 3 days. Finally broke down and used that Claimyr service to get through to an FSA agent without the 2+ hour wait. The agent confirmed it was indeed a known system issue with the contributor invitations not linking properly. They had to do some kind of manual override on their end - took about 15 minutes while on the phone. We immediately saw the application appear in both parent accounts afterward! For anyone else facing this issue, definitely worth getting help directly from FSA rather than waiting to see if it resolves itself. Thanks everyone for your help!

So glad to see this thread with the solution! I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now - my daughter sent invitations to me and my ex-husband last Tuesday and we still can't see anything in our accounts. It's reassuring to know this is a widespread technical problem and not something we're doing wrong. I'm going to try the Claimyr service route since calling FSA directly seems like a nightmare with the wait times. Thanks @anastasia for the detailed update about what information to have ready when you do get through to an agent!