How long does FAFSA parent invitation email usually take? Still waiting after sending request

lol i waited like 3 days for mine to come thru. fafsa systems r sooo slow this year bc of all the new changes

The whole contributor invitation system is COMPLETELY BROKEN this year!! I never got the email after waiting 4 days, had to call FSA like six times before finally getting someone who could help. They said they're having "technical difficulties" with the email system but wouldn't give any timeline for fixing it. The agent finally had to manually link my account to my daughter's application. This new FAFSA process is a DISASTER.

I had a similar issue last week with my daughter's FAFSA. The parent invitation emails are experiencing delays due to high volume. However, there are a few things you can try: 1. Have your son log back into his FAFSA and verify he entered your email correctly 2. Check if he can resend the invitation from his account 3. Try having him send it to a different email address if you have one 4. If all else fails, you might need to contact Federal Student Aid directly In my case, the email came after about 24 hours, but I've heard of delays up to 72 hours this year with the new FAFSA system. The important thing is to keep documentation of your attempts in case you need to appeal to the school about meeting the priority deadline.

Financial aid advisor here - this is unfortunately a common issue with the new FAFSA system. The parent invitation emails are being sent in batches to prevent system overload, which means some are delayed by 24-48 hours. If you don't receive anything within 48 hours, there are two alternatives: 1. Your son can remove you as a contributor and re-add you with the same or different email 2. You can create your own StudentAid.gov account first, then have your son add you using that existing account Regarding your October 1st priority deadline concern - many schools are being flexible with FAFSA deadlines this year because of the widespread system issues. I recommend contacting the financial aid office at your son's top choice school to explain the situation and ask about flexibility with the priority deadline.

I just went through this with my daughter's FAFSA last week. The parent invitation email took exactly 36 hours to arrive. When it finally came, it was at like 2:30 in the morning! So weird. Make sure to check your email first thing when you wake up. One thing that might help - my daughter's financial aid counselor told us they're seeing lots of these issues, and suggested taking screenshots of the "invitation sent" confirmation page as proof that you're actively trying to complete the application before the deadline. That way, if the delay causes you to miss the priority deadline, you have documentation showing you were attempting to complete it on time.

UPDATE: Just got my email after 52 hours! But now when I try to access the application through the link, it says "access denied" - this system is BROKEN! Anyone else had this happen?

Quick update - just received the invitation email this morning (took about 30 hours). For anyone else having this issue, all the suggestions here were really helpful! The email did come from noreply@studentaid.gov and was in my promotions folder in Gmail, so check there if you use Gmail. Also, I called my son's school financial aid office and they said they're aware of the FAFSA delays and are being flexible with the priority deadline for students who can document when they started the process. Very relieved!

So glad you finally got the email and that the school is being flexible! This gives me hope as a parent just starting this process with my youngest. For anyone else reading this thread - it seems like the key takeaways are: 1) expect 24-48 hour delays for parent invitation emails, 2) check all email folders including promotions/spam, 3) take screenshots for documentation, and 4) contact your school's financial aid office early if you're worried about deadlines. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is so helpful during these stressful times!