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ESA SNAP Policy Manual 326  QQ pattern Quarters of Coverage Pattern Values The pattern values are letter-based codes used to identify the source of the earnings that count toward a quarter of coverage. Some common pattern values include:  A: agricultural quarter of coverage  C: wage quarter of coverage (most common quarter of coverage)  D: military quarter of coverage  F: federal, state or local government wage quarters of coverage  G: gift quarter of coverage  J: Japanese interment quarter of coverage  M: military quarter of coverage  R: railroad quarter of coverage  S: self-employment quarters of coverage  X: wage quarter of coverage, which occurs for 1951 or 1952  *: a covered quarter of coverage An N code, meaning a quarter with no earnings, and non-QQ codes cannot be counted as a QQ. When the SSA record does not have enough information to determine a QQ, the pattern will show one of the following codes:  #: questionable quarter of coverage that can occur 1952 through 1977  Z: questionable quarter of coverage that can occur 1952 through present If the # or Z codes appear in a quarter and the applicant does not meet the 40-quarter requirement without them, contact SSA. SSA will investigate the earnings and either confirm or deny the quarter. The record ESA receives will not show the current year’s earnings or possibly last year’s earnings, depending on when ESA makes the request. SSA processes the QQ by the fall of the year following the year of earnings. Earnings for this period are called “lag” earnings. SSA will not develop these earnings because they will appear on SSA records when they are processed. See the section Reconciliation of QQs below for guidelines on how to develop the existence of lag earnings if these are needed to establish 40 quarters of work for the immigrant. If the immigrant has recent work activity, they should have acceptable evidence readily available. Making the Determination of a Qualified Noncitizen Based on Work Quarters ESA cannot count any QQ after December 31, 1996, if the applicant or the person whose SSN is being used received a federal means-tested public benefit during the quarter.

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