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Example Mr. Sanchez and his two children apply for TANF and Medicaid. Mr. Sanchez and his two children are currently LPRs. Their 'green cards' were issued in 1997. The SAVE system verifies that Mr. Sanchez and his two children are LPRs, but it indicates a 'Date of Entry' of December 1996. However, Mr. Sanchez says that he and his children were in the U.S. prior to August 22, 1996, though they were not yet LPRs. The SSR should file a G-845 form and the G-845 Supplement form with INS. In the meantime, the SSR should encourage Mr. Sanchez to gather any evidence he has that indicates he resided in the U.S. prior to August 22, 1996. Mr. Sanchez brings the SSR a bank statement that covers July 1996 and one of his children’s report cards that covered the 1995-1996 school year. Regardless of the date of entry the INS reports back in response to the G-845 forms submitted, the SSR should accept Mr. Sanchez’s bank statement and school record as proof that the family had entered the U.S. prior to August 22, 1996.

Determining 'Continuous Presence' 7.8.2 ALL Some individuals, such as those on tourist visas, may have entered the country prior to August 22, 1996, but they were not continuously present in the United States. If an alien who currently meets the definition of a 'qualified alien' did not obtain their 'qualified' status prior to August 22, 1996 and traveled to and from the United States but did not establish a continuous presence until after August 22, 1996, the alien is not eligible for benefits on the basis of having entered the U.S. prior to August 22, 1996. To determine if a person was continuously present prior to August 22, 1996, complete the following steps. Step 1: Determine the latest date the person entered the country prior to August 22, 1996. Step 2: Determine whether the alien had a single absence from the U.S. of more than 30 days between the date of latest entry (prior to August 22, 1996), and the date the individual became a 'qualified' alien. If 'Yes,' the person is generally not considered to have 'entered the U.S.' prior to August 22, 1996, for purposes of eligibility determinations. Step 3: Determine whether the alien had cumulative absences from the U.S. of more than 90 days between the date of latest entry (prior to August 22, 1996) and the date the individual became a 'qualified' alien. If 'Yes,' the person is generally not considered to have 'entered the U.S.' prior to August 22, 1996. If an individual provides evidence that s/he had established residency (legal or not) in the U.S. but was absent for longer than the standards described in Steps 2 and 3 above for a legitimate reason, such as caring for an ill family member in the individual’s country of origin, the SSR should ask the Office of the Administrator to review the case and make a determination of whether the individual should be considered to have been 'continuously present' prior to August 22, 1996. If the individual has a passport that shows that s/he left the U.S. and reentered the United States after August 22, 1996, the date stamps in the passport should be used to determine whether the individual was 'continuously present' in the United States. Because of the difficulty in verifying periods of absence from the U.S., if the individual does not have a passport, the agency will accept the attestation of the applicant/recipient as to the amount of time s/he was absent from the country between the latest date of entry prior to August 22, 1996, and the date s/he obtained 'qualified' status. Once the SSR has established that the individual was physically present prior to August 22, 1996 (see Section 7.8.1: Methods of Determining Date of Entry in this Chapter) and the date the customer achieved 'qualified status,' the SSR should ask the customer: