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All County Letter No. XX-XX Page Four

 Has an application for asylum pending with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Five-Year Waiting Period for Certain LPRs

Certain LPRs are subject to a five-year waiting period before becoming eligible for CalFresh, unless they are exempt from the waiting period as specified under PRWORA. The five-year waiting period begins on the date the noncitizen obtains a qualified noncitizen status.

However, both before and after H.R. 1, there are groups of noncitizens who are exempt from the five-year waiting period and become immediately eligible for CalFresh after becoming an LPR. Although some of the following categories of non-LPR noncitizens are no longer eligible for CalFresh pursuant to H.R. 1, these humanitarian noncitizens continue to qualify for an exemption from the five-year waiting period, and, if all other eligibility requirements are met, are immediately eligible for CalFresh if and when they become LPRs:

• Noncitizens admitted to the U.S. as refugees • Noncitizens granted asylum • Noncitizens whose deportations were withheld • Cuban and Haitian entrants (eligible as CHEs before becoming LPRs) • COFA Citizens • Iraqis and Afghans with Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) • Certain Afghan Nationals Granted Parole Between July 31, 2021, and September 30, 2023 • Certain Ukrainian Nationals Granted Parole Between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024 • Noncitizens admitted to the United States as Amerasian immigrants • Victims of Trafficking

In addition, LPRs who meet any of the following criteria, continue to qualify for an exemption from the five-year waiting period, and, if all other eligibility requirements are met, are immediately eligible for CalFresh:

• Are under 18 years old • Have 40 qualifying work quarters • Are blind or disabled • Were lawfully residing in the U.S. and 65 or older on August 22, 1996 • Have a U.S. military connection • Are an American Indian born abroad • Certain Hmong or Highland Laotian tribal members