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 immigrants who are ineligible because of their immigration status, for example, an LPR without five years of qualified residency;  immigrants who become naturalized citizens;  immigrants who can be credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work;  immigrants whose sponsors have died; or  immigrants who are found to be indigent.

Determining if a Immigrant is Indigent 7.7.3 ALL An indigent immigrant is an LPR whose sponsor signed an I-864 Affidavit, but the sponsored immigrant would, in the absence of the assistance provided by IMA, be unable to obtain food and shelter taking into account the alien’s own income plus any cash, food, housing or other assistance provided by other individuals, including the sponsor. MA N/A TANF Pending GC There is no requirement to deem income from an alien sponsor to the immigrant. IDA There is no requirement to deem income from an alien sponsor to the immigrant. FS An immigrant is considered indigent if the sum of the immigrant’s household’s own income and any cash or in-kind assistance provided by the sponsor or others is less than 130 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) in effect at the start of the fiscal year. If an immigrant is indigent, only the actual support received from his/her sponsor is countable. Each indigence determination is effective for 12 months and may be renewed for additional 12-month periods. Since the gross monthly income limit for most households is 130 percent of FPL, most sponsored immigrants should qualify for an indigent exemption. Households that include sponsored immigrants who have been determined as indigent may opt into sponsor deeming and have their benefits determined based upon the income and resources that would be deemed if the immigrant was not indigent

Determining if an Immigrant’s Sponsor Signed a Binding Affidavit 7.7.4 ALL Persons requesting Federally-funded means-tested benefits for immigrants are expected to cooperate in determining if the immigrant has a sponsor who is legally bound to provide support. Applicants who indicate in their applications and/or on their Immigration and Citizenship Initial Declaration Form that their household includes an LPR for whom they want assistance should complete a “Declaration of Sponsorship” (see Exhibit IV-10). The Declaration of Sponsorship poses a series of questions that should lead to a determination of whether the LPR has a sponsor who signed a legally binding I-864 Affidavit. If the applicant provides incomplete or questionable information about the sponsorship of a non-exempt LPR granted status on or after December 19, 1997, IMA must request verification of sponsorship status from INS. Verifying Whether an Immigrant Has a Sponsor who Signed a Binding Affidavit 7.7.5

ESA must ask INS to verify sponsorship of an LPR when: • the immigrant’s LPR status was granted on or after December 19, 1997,  no sponsor was declared,  the LPR has no evidence of converting from a immigration status, such as refugee, exempt from sponsor deeming rules, and  the LPR does not qualify for any exception to sponsor deeming.

Requests to verify whether an immigrant has a sponsor who signed an I-864 Affidavit must be submitted to INS on INS Forms G-845 and G-845 Supplement (see Exhibits IV-6 and IV-7 at the end of this chapter). Pending verification from INS, IMA cannot delay, deny, reduce, or terminate the LPR’s benefits based on the LPR’s immigration status.