FAFSA won't process application for international parents who don't file taxes

I had a similar situation with my brother last year. For international parents, they need to convert their income to US dollars and report it as foreign income. There's a specific section for that on the FAFSA. If they truly don't file ANY tax documentation in Ecuador, your cousin needs to get an official letter (in English) from her parents' employers stating their annual income. Upload that as supporting documentation.

ur supposed to put zero for the tax info and then in the notes section explain they dont pay taxes in their country. thats what my roommate did for her parents in vietnam and it worked fine

This is a common issue with international parents. The FAFSA system is unfortunately designed primarily for US taxpayers. Your cousin needs to complete the Foreign Income Information Worksheet (it's not actually on the FAFSA itself). She needs to contact her college's financial aid office directly - they have protocols for handling international parent situations and can initiate an override. They'll likely ask for: 1. Employment verification letters (translated) showing annual income 2. Bank statements showing deposits 3. A signed statement explaining the tax system in Ecuador The FAFSA help desk can't solve this - you need to work directly with the financial aid office at her school.

I feel your frustration!!! The FAFSA system is COMPLETELY broken for international situations!!! My daughter's father lives in Brazil and we spent MONTHS trying to get her application processed. The whole system assumes everyone fits in the same neat little American box. It's ridiculous!

I went through this exact thing when I was applying! My parents are in the Philippines. What ended up working was getting my parents to create a simple income statement document, had it notarized at the US embassy there, then uploaded it to my FAFSA verification portal after I got flagged for verification. Have you been flagged for verification yet? That's actually when you can upload supporting documents.

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to an actual FAFSA agent? I was in a similar situation (parents in South Korea) and was getting nowhere with the regular help line. Someone recommended Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me connected to a real FAFSA agent in about 5 minutes instead of waiting for hours. The agent was able to add notes to my application about the international situation and pushed it through manually. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - saved me so much frustration!

I think you guys are overcomplicating this. My girlfriend just wrote "N/A" for all the tax questions for her dad who lives in Ukraine. She added a note in the comments section explaining he doesn't file US taxes and it went through fine without verification. The system is weird sometimes and works differently for different people. Just try different variations until one works.

Update: Thank you all for your advice! I used Claimyr to get through to an agent who confirmed we need to work with the school's financial aid office. We've scheduled a meeting with them tomorrow. The agent also added notes to her application explaining the international parent situation. I'll update again once we know if this resolves the issue!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now with my parents in Mexico! It's so frustrating how the system isn't designed for international families. One thing that helped me was contacting the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID and specifically asking to speak with someone about "international parent income reporting." They have specialists who understand these cases better than the general help desk. Also, make sure your cousin keeps detailed records of every call and conversation - it really helps when you're working with the school's financial aid office. Good luck with tomorrow's meeting!

I'm dealing with a similar situation with my parents in Canada right now! The FAFSA system really struggles with non-US tax situations. One thing that's helped me is getting a "Certificate of Non-Filing" or equivalent document from the tax authority in Ecuador (if they have one) that officially states your cousin's parents don't file taxes there. Some countries have these available through their revenue services. Also, I'd recommend having your cousin's parents write a detailed letter explaining Ecuador's employment/tax system and how it differs from the US - financial aid officers appreciate context. The key is showing you're being transparent about the situation rather than trying to work around it. Fingers crossed the meeting with the financial aid office goes well tomorrow!

As someone who just went through this nightmare with my parents in India, I feel your pain! Here's what finally worked for us: Contact your cousin's college financial aid office and ask specifically about "Professional Judgment" for international parents. This is a formal process where they can override FAFSA requirements. You'll need: 1) A signed affidavit from parents stating they don't file taxes in Ecuador and explaining their income sources, 2) Employment verification letters (get these translated and notarized), 3) Bank statements showing regular income deposits. The key is DON'T try to force the FAFSA system to accept something it wasn't designed for - let the school handle it through their override process. My application went from "impossible" to approved in about 2 weeks once we went this route. The financial aid administrator has broad authority to make exceptions for situations exactly like this!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share what worked for my family when we faced this exact issue with my parents in the Philippines. The breakthrough came when we contacted our congressman's office - they have caseworkers who specialize in federal aid issues and can escalate FAFSA problems directly to the Department of Education. They got our case resolved in about 10 days when we'd been stuck for months. Also, make sure your cousin documents everything in writing - dates, times, who she spoke with, reference numbers. When working with the school's financial aid office tomorrow, ask specifically about Form 4506-T exemptions for non-US taxpayers. Some schools have streamlined processes for this that bypass the normal FAFSA verification requirements. The system is definitely broken for international families, but there are people who know how to work around it. Don't give up!

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who works in financial aid at a state university. We see international parent situations regularly, and I want to emphasize that this is NOT an uncommon problem - you're not alone! The most important thing to know is that FAFSA's online system simply cannot handle these cases properly, which is why you keep hitting roadblocks. When you meet with your school's financial aid office tomorrow, specifically mention "Dependency Override" or "Special Circumstances Review" - these are the formal processes we use to handle situations exactly like your cousin's. Bring documentation of your attempts to resolve this through normal FAFSA channels (screenshots of error messages, call logs, etc.) as this demonstrates good faith effort. Most schools have a dedicated person who handles these complex cases, so ask to speak with whoever manages dependency overrides or special circumstances. The good news is that once you get to the right person at the school level, these issues are very solvable - we deal with them all the time. Hang in there!

I'm so glad you found this community and got so much helpful advice! I went through something very similar with my parents in Morocco a few years ago. One additional tip that saved me time - when you meet with the financial aid office tomorrow, ask if they have a "FAFSA International Parent Worksheet" or something similar. Many schools have created their own internal forms specifically for these situations that make the documentation process much smoother. Also, if your cousin's parents have any kind of official employment contracts or pay slips (even if they're not traditional W-2s), bring those too. The financial aid administrators are usually very understanding about these situations once they realize you're dealing with a legitimate international family scenario rather than trying to avoid reporting income. Wishing you the best of luck with tomorrow's meeting - it sounds like you're finally on the right track!