FASFA Marriage Help

Hello,

So I think I got really bad information from financial aid before I got married. I wanted to submit my FASFA early and my husband and I had been talking about getting married because we were ready. So I was proactive and went to my financial aid office to ask about what I need to do if I get married and if I could submit my FASFA already. The officer said yes and that there should not be a problem with getting married after I submit FASFA. That’s all she said. Ok. So I did my due diligence. I submitted in November and my husband and I pulled the trigger and eloped in December.

To me, I had all my ducks in a row and I never updated my FASFA because of the advice of the financial aid official saying it would be fine. What I want to know is am I ok? I submitted my FASFA when I was single and I got married but my husband is not a US citizen and is working abroad as we are waiting on the visa process. All I am saying with this is he is not a dependent and I am not living with him at the moment.

I’m going to talk to financial aid tomorrow and should have done it sooner because they have constantly given me incorrect info but from my research this shouldn’t be detrimental or cause me to have to drop out of school. I can only afford school through financial aid. I just want to do everything the correct way and it sucks if one lazy financial aid staff gave me inaccurate info causing me to not update if I needed to.

Is your marriage legally recognized in the USA? What paperwork have you provided to adjust your status?

Yes we got married in the US and I didn’t provide any paperwork to adjust the status because I didn’t know I had to. Per the discussion with the financial aid officer.

I have the marriage certificate etc.

You do not have to go back and change the FAFSA information. If it was correct when you filed it, it is correct for the entire school year (2018-19). When you file for 2019-20, you will say you are married and you will need to use both your income and his. If you filed a joint tax return for 2017, you should be able to use the DRT.

If you want to file for more aid, you can request a review due to change of circumstances. The school may or may not consider you for more aid.

Thank you for your reply this must have been what the financial aid officer wasn’t referring too. I appreciate all your help.