FAFSA loophole allows students with non-citizen parents to apply for government assistance

There is reportedly a loophole in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid that allows Texas students with non-citizen parents to apply for financial aid to colleges and universities before the March deadline, according to the New York Post.

The issue has lingered since the latest version of the online federal financial aid form was first made available in December. Parents who did not have a Social Security number would not have been able to add their financial information to complete the form.

However, that has changed. The U.S. Department of Education has made a temporary way for students to fill out the financial aid application without a parent's signature. The report noted that the students who do this will be notified via email that their FAFSA form was completed. They will be able to send out their applications to colleges and universities before the deadline hits.

KSAT reported that students who decide to go this route will need to insert the missing information after the loophole is closed, which the Department of Education said would happen before March 15. The report mentioned that it will be critical for students to get their parent's signatures, as their applications will be rejected if they do not do so.

The Department of Education also noted that students who do not have pressing deadlines can wait until the form is officially fixed before filling it out. College counselors are reportedly checking each student's situation before recommending whether they should wait or go ahead and fill out the form.

The New York Post reported that Every Texan — a left-leaning think tank — has estimated that one in four children in Texas has at least one parent who is not a legal citizen of the U.S. And those parents often do not have Social Security numbers.

The FAFSA is generally considered the best option for around 1.6 million Texan college students to access government funding for college or university study.

The federal government's decision to roll out the temporary loophole marks the first time the Department of Education has acknowledged the glitch and its potential impact on immigrant households. However, some immigration advocates have suggested that the process is confusing.

It is not clear how many Texas families will take advantage of the temporary loophole.

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