Independent students who support themselves and live on their own are not required to provide parental information when filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. All other applicants must provide information for each parent they live with, including stepparents. This is required to determine your family's estimated contribution to your education. If your parents are not U.S. citizens and you are not an independent student, then your parents must have G-series visas or other government-issued ID that allows them to reside within the U.S. As the applying student, you must be a U.S. citizen or have a visitor or G-series visa, permanent resident card or other eligible noncitizen identification.
- Computer
- Your Social Security number
- Parents' income information
- Parents' resident information
- Parents' government-issued ID numbers
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Instructions
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1
Contact the financial aid office at the school that will be receiving your FAFSA information and explain your situation. Often a financial aid representative can help you through the application process.
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2
Fill out the FAFSA with your information and include a valid Social Security number or resident ID. Without this information, your application will be returned unprocessed.
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3
Fill out the basic information pertaining to your parents and select the citizen classification that applies to your family, if requested. Noncitizens in the U.S. on a G-series visa should be classified neither as citizens nor eligible noncitizens.
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4
Fill in your parents' government-issued ID numbers in place of Social Security numbers. This is the identifying number on the permanent resident or G-series visa that will allow the household income of a noncitizen home to be determined.