I have filled out the FAFSA for fall-2016, but have received this message with my SAR: “The Social Security Administration did not confirm that you are a U.S. citizen. Provide your financial aid office with documentation of your U.S. citizenship (such as your U.S. Passport, Certificate of Naturalization or Birth Certificate). If the documents support your status as a U.S. citizen, the financial aid office at your school will make a copy of your documentation and can continue to process your federal student aid…”.
I was naturalized, along with my parents around 7 years ago, and also have a passport. Based on previous threads, I’m assuming that I have to
Go to SSA office and update my citizenship status
email my colleges concerning what I have to send them
However, AFTER I go to the social security office and have my citizenship updated, do I have to re-process or redo the FAFSA? If so, how do I do that?
I doubt it. This happens all the time when people have a SSN and the status is not ‘citizen’ from the start. The person then becomes a citizen and either fails to notify SSA or the SSA ignores the status update and it never gets changed. The person then applies for something where they have to be a citizen (job, college financial aid) and the SSN won’t verify.
My daughter’s status did change correctly many years ago. MANY of her buddies have been discovering as they apply for driver’s licenses or college financial aid that their status was never corrected in the SSA system. It’s just the first time anyone has needed to verify their status (their original status was ‘Alien with right to work’ so even a job verification wasn’t a problem).
Most federal agencies do not ‘talk’ to each other. Just because the state department or homeland security declares you a citizen doesn’t mean the SSA gets notice. They don’t. You have to go into the office and change it, and then you have to double check that it has really been changed, and sometimes you have to still go back and change it again. It’s quite a system.
That is correct. The OP needs to go to SSA to update citizenship status. You are fine for aid … but you WILL have to provide documentation to the aid office(s). Just email them & ask what they want. I am an aid administrator, and I ask my students to send a copy of their paperwork (passport or naturalization papers) … I can award aid on the basis of the copy, but I also am required to see the document in person when the student arrives at school (that is a federal requirement).
Thanks for the replies! So Kelsmom, even AFTER I change my status at the SSA, I should still email each college individually and ask them what documents I need to send them?
You can only send the documents if you are willing to send the originals. The FA officer has to SEE the original passport or certificate of citizenship. A copy won’t do.
If the schools are not close to you, you’ll have to make arrangement to either send the original and have it sent back, or wait until you know which school you’ll be going to and just deal with that one.
To,the OP…call,your schools. Kelsmom is a financial,aid officer who,will,accept a copy and award aid based on that…but then must see the original,when the student is on campus.
@freecherng, you have already filed the FAFSA, so your citizenship check was completed. If you make an update to something on your FAFSA later, it’s possible the change at SSA may have been processed by then & your FAFSA won’t show a citizenship flag. But most likely, the flag will be there for this year … so just provide your documents, and you’ll be covered no matter what.
I imagine some schools might require that they see the original documents before they disburse any aid … the regs allow disbursement based on copies, but schools can have more stringent requirements (particularly if they aren’t confident students will bring the originals). Check with each school.
Thanks, kelsmom! I actually went to SS and changed my status, and refiled the FAFSA…and just as you said, the flg remained there
If you don’t mind, I have another question! I’ve applied to over 10 schools, so on the FAFSA, I would have to “remove” a few schools from my list and add the ones that haven’t been processed yet. It is safe to remove some schools from my FAFSA, even with my unconfirmed citizenship? (I have not contacted the schools yet regarding what documents I need to send them) @kelsmom
“I imagine some schools might require that they see the original documents before they disburse any aid … the regs allow disbursement based on copies…”
I’m surprised the aid regs allow this, as a Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization cannot be copied for the purposes of proving citizenship. It says so right on the certificate. The Copy Police will not come after you for making a copy for a file or record, but the documents cannot be accepted as proof of citizenship, and it seems to me the FA officer IS using the copy to prove citizenship. You cannot get a passport off a copy, but have to send the original (and that freaks a lot of people out because the document costs $600 to replace).
It’s like copying a passport. It’s good to have a copy if you lose your passport as the copy will have the numbers and other information needed to replace it, but the copy itself is not good to prove citizenship or get you in or out of the country, and will not be accepted at any government office as proof of citizenship, or even by an employer, to get state or federal benefits.
^^^
You’re ignoring the second part of what kelsmom said, which is that if a copy is initially provided, the student must follow up by producing the original document when the student arrives on campus. So no, the copy is not accepted as proof of citizenship, it just gets the ball rolling.
Well, he will know by May 1 at the latest which school he will attend, so hopefully he will only have to go in person to that school to show his original form.
@kelsmom posted a while ago that people should get their FSA IDs ahead of time in anticipation of filing FAFSA.
That way if there are any snafus with the SSA verification of soc sec number you would know earlier and maybe get it corrected in time.
Try to imagine what would happen if, within a short time after the student arrives on campus, there is no presentation of the original document. My guess is that the federal money is un-disbursed, and unless the student can replace it somehow, he/she is disenrolled.
I would imagine that even if the school is far from home that there will be an orientation event in early summer where you sign up for classes. Bills aren’t even generated until classes are registered for.
OP could show the document then. And his parent could take it home for safekeeping.
All aid is anticipated aid and can’t even be applied until 10 days before term starts I believe. So there should be time for verification.
If the school disburses without documentation, and if the student subsequently fails to provide documentation, the school is liable for the disbursement (which means they have to give it back, and the school is stuck trying to get the money from the student). That is why different schools will have different rules - not all schools want to take a risk without the originals, so some will hold up disbursement until the can verify that they have seen the original.
