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Title 7: SNAP Page 29 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter I: Specific Households and Participants Households with Alien Members Revised February 13, 2026 Sponsored Aliens If you receive the verification after determining the eligibility of the rest of the household, act on the information as a reported change in household membership according to the timeliness standards in 7-G. Aliens Sponsored Under Affidavit I-864 Legal reference: 7 CFR 273.4(c) In order to get SNAP benefits, aliens who have a sponsor must also be eligible aliens as defined in Who Is an Eligible Alien. The only qualified aliens with legally enforceable affidavits are family-sponsored LPRs, including immediate relatives, and a few employment-based LPRs who came to the United States to work for relatives AND who have filed for a visa application or applied for an adjustment to LPR status on or after December 19, 1997. More than one person may sign an Affidavit of Support, form I-864. If an alien has more than one sponsor, count the deemed income and resources of all sponsors towards the sponsored alien. For the purposes of deeming a sponsor’s income and resources, count the income and resources of the sponsor’s spouse only if the spouse has also executed Affidavit of Support, form I-864. Determine the amount of sponsor’s income to be deemed as follows: Step 1: Add the earned income of the sponsors. Step 2: Subtract 20% of the earned income. Step 3: Add the unearned income of the sponsors. Step 4: Subtract the gross monthly income limit for the household size of the sponsor, the sponsor’s spouse, and any other person who is claimed or could be claimed by the sponsor or the sponsor’s spouse as a dependent for federal income tax purposes. Step 5: Divide by the number of aliens sponsored by this sponsor, if known. If not known, the entire amount counts. Step 6: The result is the amount of income deemed per sponsored member (entered as unearned income on BCW2). Money actually paid to the alien by a sponsor is not considered income to the alien, unless the amount paid exceeds the amount deemed, as determined above. Consider the excess as unearned income to the sponsored alien in addition to the amount deemed.