As long as the US citizen is 18 and LEGALLY a citizen (ie not in a “waiting for citizenship” status, or “applied but not yet granted citizenship”), yes, they can apply for FAFSA, even if that person’s parents are illegal. As an 18 yo, having reached legal age, it is YOU who will be then the person who is responsible for repaying the Stafford loans, etc. (and would have been anyway.) I do not know how and if your parents’ incomes and expenses will affect your loan amounts and estimated family contribution to your education, but that is a question better asked of the FAFSA people anyway. Their formulae can be pretty complicated. If you (or your parents) are working to support your family/relatives in any way or family in extremis outside of this country, be sure to attach that info w/ proof on your application as well.

Children of undocumented parents can apply however, depending on the child’s age, they will take the child’s parent’s income and expenses into consideration. If the child is under 22, then the FAFSA application needs to be completed using the parents’ most recent income tax return. this is because they need to estimate how much the parents can contribute to the child’s expenses. This should not be a problem if the parents’ have a TPIN (taxpayer i.d. number). Regardless of legal status, a TPIN can be used in lieu of an SSN…alot of kids come over here from other countries for school and their parents’ don’t have SSN’s altogether. A TPIN is fine.

However, if the parents’, like some undocumented families, are working “under the table” and not having taxes deducted, this can be a problem because there is no proof/documentation of their income.

If the child is over 22, the parents’ information does not even come into play.

Yes, I believe you can. However, you will still need to report your parents income (in US dollars) and I also know there are questions asking for both your mothers and fathers social security numbers. This could be a problem, but I’m sure this situation has happened before, so call the Dept of Education and ask them how they want you to report it. They may have an assigned %default% number they want you to use instead of leaving it blank… The phone number is 1-800-4FEDAID.

Good Luck.