I am a DACA student and I wanted to file my TASFA and FAFSA. My parents are immigrants from Mexico and have never filed taxes because they’re afraid they will get deported. My dad is an electrician and makes about 58k a year and my mom is a stay-at-home mom. I do not know what to do about my situation and I do not want to talk to my councilors because I feel like they will judge my parents. I am going to visit UNT and I want to have everything done by then. How can I file for at least FAFSA without needed my parents file return? Also, I work 2 jobs and make about 500 a paycheck and was wondering if I could use that instead.
As a dependent student, you can’t submit a completed FAFSA and get federal aid if your parents refuse to file a tax return and pay their tax liability.
You can’t get federal financial aid, but I’d suggest filling out the FAFSA regardless. As for your parents’ concerns, more than a million undocumented immigrants pay taxes. There is NOTHING to fear regarding deportation. You can obtain ITIN number and use that in place of the SSN on tax returns. Your parents MUST file taxes in order to apply for any kind of financial aid at any school.
The Texas high school counselors and college financial aid officers will know more about DACA and what you qualify for than anyone else as they work with it and their available funds all the time. Ask them what to do, what to file. You can’t file FAFSA online because you are not a citizen, but the school may take the information on a hard copy and qualify you for state aid.
If there is a school you are particularly interested in, or one near your home, start there. I don’t think you are going to find big buckets of money, so you might have to go to a college near your home and commute. It’s going to take some time and work on your part. Write down everything they tell you so you’ll have the instructions when you need to refer to them. Write down the name of the person at the college you talk to.
Good luck.
From UT Austin regarding state aid for DACA students
I would strongly recommend that you apply for THeDream. US Scholarship when it opens next month as there are some schools in texas where you will be eligible for a full tuition scholarship (if you are eligible)
http://www.thedream.us/colleges/
While you may not be able to file the FAFSA, your dad still needs to get a ITIN and file his taxes, in order to be eligible for texas state aid or dreamers scholarship (because he has an income).
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My parents are immigrants from Mexico and have never filed taxes because they’re afraid they will get deported. My dad is an electrician and makes about 58k a year
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Your dad may also be resisting because he may owe back-taxes.
You can’t file without your parents’ info.
You may just have to pay your way thru…commuting from home…maybe starting at a CC.
Frankly, with the amount that YOU earn, and the amount that your parents SHOULD be paying in taxes, that total amount could pay to attend a local school.
How much are your parents willing to pay EACH year towards your college costs?
Depending on your stats, you might find some schools that would give you a lot of merit scholarships for your stats…no FAFSA required.
Please…have your dad contact someone who can help him file his 2015 taxes.
@happymomof1 or @sybbie719 who could he contact for this help?
If the OP is in a community with a lot of immigrants, it is likely that there are organizations that can help with all of the paperwork. I like the suggestion of starting with the counselors at the high school and/or colleges. They have seen this all before, and should have better access to current information than most of us do.
Is the dad WILLING to “get help” and do what should be done? I get the feeling that even with all the help out there, he won’t do it because he’ll owe back taxes, and maybe will be forced to buy health insurance or pay a fine.
As mentioned above, this student doesn’t qualify for federal aid, so the FAFSA would only be useful if the target colleges/universities use FAFSA to determine their own institutional aid. The student also needs to check out the rules for TASFA. It is possible that neither of those forms will be necessary at all.
This student needs to speak directly with the financial aid offices, and find out what they need.
@happymomof1 I totally agree that the student should check with the colleges. BUT if this student is hoping for need based aid, it’s my opinion they will need to tell the schools the actual income the parents are earning. To do otherwise would be dishonest.
Yes the student will have to provide evidence of income, but there may be no need for a US tax record.
Getting straight with the IRS is a separate issue.
Op would need tax statements for US dream scholarship
For Texas state aid, OP would have to document income.
@mom2collegekids I am currently in an Early College, I have busted my behind and have a 3+ GPA and 2 years of college in the bag. My dad makes enough to get me through 2 years of college but he’s been having a hard time with all my other siblings. He wants to fix things but he doesn’t know how and who to trust since he doesn’t speak English and can be fooled fairly easily. I plan to attend University of North Texas and with my class rank and SAT scores, I am instantly admitted. The hard thing is paying for Room and board. I have applied to as many scholarships that I qualify but no response there and I have tried to figure out how to fix my TASFA instead of my FAFSA.
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My dad makes enough to get me through 2 years of college but he’s been having a hard time with all my other siblings.
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Did he tell you that?
Please go to your school to get help with this. Is there a school social worker available to you? Or sometimes there is an AVID point person that knows about this.
You are not the only one in this predicament.
You might also look into reaching out to someone in UNT’s admissions dept. There may be a point person there to help DACA students.
Don’t give up.
Look into the Terry Scholarship at UNT.
Sorry, there may be a citizenship requirement to Terry. But it may still be a good idea to contact UNT for specific scholarships available to you.
@mom2collegekids I wouldn’t be saying it if it wasn’t what came out of his mouth
Here is a resource page that may be helpful for your dad: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-you-by-volunteers .