(VitalNews.org) – A new workaround allows Texas students with non-citizen parents to apply for a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, before the March deadline.
Before this, parents without a Social Security number couldn’t add their financial information in order to apply for aid. However, the US Department of Education rolled out something that would allow students who have parents without a Social Security number to submit forms without a parent’s signature at all.
The Texas Tribune said that students would get an email confirmation that they could use as proof and verification for a completed FAFSA application. The Department of Education said that they will have a fix for the glitch by mid-March, allowing students a couple of weeks to fill out FAFSA without a parent’s signature.
An analysis was done by the think tank Every Texan, which stated that one in four children has at least one parent who is not a United States citizen. With FAFSA being the best option for Texas college students to receive college aid, this would have a huge impact on immigrant families.
With the Department of Education rolling out a temporary workaround, it proves that there is knowledge behind the impact of this for immigrant families. With this said, some people are against it or feel as if it’s confusing or burdensome. Texas college counselors are evaluating each case to determine whether or not they should submit their FAFSAs now or wait until the glitch is fixed.
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