Guidance counselor struggling to help students with undocumented parents complete FAFSA - feel completely lost

You're not alone in this struggle! The FAFSA can feel like a minefield for families with undocumented parents. The most important thing to communicate is that the student's parents' immigration status does NOT affect the student's eligibility for federal financial aid if the student is a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen. Parents without SSNs should enter 000-00-0000 in that field on the FAFSA. Also reassure them that the Dept of Education DOES NOT share FAFSA information with immigration enforcement agencies. I've been working with similar populations for 7 years and always emphasize this confidentiality piece.

my sister went thru this last yr with her daughter. its scary but the skool counselor told them that the FAFSA ppl dont share info with ICE or border patrol. parents used zeros for SS# but they still had to report income with tax forms. she was so scared but it worked out fine and my niece got pell grant $$$

This is sooooo frustrating!!! I'm a first gen college student and my mom is undocumented and I remember going through this EXACT same issue back in 2018 when I applied. It's crazy that counselors STILL aren't properly trained on this!!! Not trying to be mean but the system is failing these kids. My mom almost didn't let me apply for college because of FAFSA fears. The schools NEEEEEED to hire counselors who understand immigrant families or at least TRAIN them!!!!

As a financial aid administrator, I can provide some concrete steps for your next workshop: 1. Print out the FAFSA section on parent information in both English and Spanish 2. Prepare a handout specifically addressing confidentiality protections under federal law 3. Have students whose parents don't have SSNs enter 000-00-0000 in that field 4. For tax information, parents with ITINs should report their income exactly as it appears on tax returns 5. If parents haven't filed taxes, you'll need to help with income estimation 6. Reassure students that the Education Department cannot legally share FAFSA data with immigration enforcement The 2025-2026 FAFSA specifically states that parent citizenship status is not considered in determining student eligibility.

have you tried reaching Federal Student Aid directly? they have ppl who specialize in these situations. when i called them last month about my own weird situation (i'm 24 but couldn't provide parent info) they were actually super helpful. might be worth calling to get official answers you can pass to your students

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - make sure students understand the difference between their SAI (Student Aid Index) and their actual financial aid package. Many of my students with undocumented parents got a low SAI which qualified them for significant aid, but they were confused about next steps. The FAFSA is just step 1 - they'll need to watch for aid award letters from each college to see what they're actually getting. Also, some states have additional forms for state-based aid that undocumented families can access.

Our school partners with a local nonprofit that specializes in helping first-gen and immigrant families with college applications. They provide FAFSA workshops with trained interpreters who understand the complexities. Maybe reach out to similar organizations in your area? Also, College Board has some decent resources specifically about FAFSA for undocumented families that you could distribute.

i remember my cousins high school had special fafsa sessions just for families w/out papers. they held it in the evening and had translaters and everything. maybe u could do something like that?

Also don't forget that the CSS Profile (which some private colleges require) is WAY more complicated for undocumented families than FAFSA... if any of your students are applying to private schools make sure you warn them about this extra form!!!

One practical solution that worked well at my previous school: We created a one-page reference sheet that listed exactly what documents parents should bring to FAFSA workshops (tax returns, W-2s, bank statements, etc.) along with FAQs about immigration status concerns. We translated it into multiple languages and sent it home 2 weeks before our workshops. This significantly increased both attendance and successful completion rates. Happy to share a template if that would help.