Southwest
FAFSA workaround allows Texas students with non-citizen parents to apply for college financial aid
A workaround to a glitch in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) reportedly allows Texas students with immigrant, non-citizen parents to apply for financial assistance to colleges before the March deadline.
Parents without a Social Security number have not been able to add their financial information and complete the FAFSA since the latest version of the online federal financial aid form launched in December.
But the U.S. Department of Education rolled out a temporary workaround allowing students facing approaching deadlines from their universities and colleges to submit an incomplete FAFSA online without a parent’s signature.
Those students will receive an email that confirms they submitted the FAFSA, which can be shared with their colleges or universities to meet the deadline, The Texas Tribune reported.
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The Department of Education rolled out a FAFSA workaround for immigrants. (Jenna Watson/IndyStar via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
The Department of Education said it expects that a fix for the glitch will be completed by the first half of March.
Students who at first submitted an incomplete version of the form will then have to go back and have their parents add their signatures or risk having their FAFSAs ultimately rejected.
The state’s priority deadline to apply for financial aid is March 15.
Students can submit an incomplete version of FAFSA forms to meet deadlines. (Jenna Watson/IndyStar via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
The left-leaning think tank Every Texan estimates through an analysis of census data that one in four children in Texas has at least one parent who is not a U.S. citizen. Those parents often do not have Social Security numbers.
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A left-leaning think tank estimates one in four Texas children have at least one parent who is not a U.S. citizen. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
FAFSA is considered the best option for about 1.6 million Texas college students to access federal, state and school grants and scholarships. The federal government’s decision to roll out the temporary workaround represents the first time the Department of Education publicly acknowledged the glitch and its impact on immigrant households.
Yet some immigration advocates who spoke to the Tribune considered the workaround confusing and burdensome.
According to the Tribune, Texas college counselors are evaluating each case of students with non-citizen parents before advising whether they should wait to submit their FAFSAs until the glitch is fixed or use the workaround.
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A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was violently attacked by a robber in downtown Long Beach. On June 18, Jennifer Silva, 34, was attending a World Cup watch party at a Hooters restaurant at 90 Aquarium Way. After the game ended, she left the restaurant just before 11 p.m. As she walked […]
Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
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