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Title 13: Social Service Resources Page 15 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter G: Child Care Assistance Determining Eligiblity Revised June 14, 2024 Alien Status You will need to track the expiration of the five-year bar. When the five-year period expires, contact the family to determine if care is needed for that child. If the family requests care for the child, you will need to determine if the child is eligible for CCA. Battered Aliens Generally, when an alien is the spouse or child of a United States citizen or a lawful permanent resident, the citizen or resident must file USCIS form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, to allow these family members to remain in the United States. If the petition is not filed (or is withdrawn), the alien has no lawful immigrant status and may face being deported. In abusive situations, control over the alien’s immigration status strengthens the batterer’s hold on the victim. For example, the batterer may threaten to stop the visa process if the abused spouse or child attempts to leave the common home or reports the abuse to authorities. Since the 1994 enactment of the Violence Against Women Act, a battered alien may self-petition for lawful permanent residency with USCIS form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er) or Special Immigrant. The battered person may be the alien or the child or parent of the alien. The petition can be filed without the cooperation or knowledge of the abuser. See Alien Documentation Chart later in this chapter for more information on verification of battered alien status. NOTE: Because of the abusive relationship, these aliens may not have copies of documents they filed themselves or that were filed on their behalf. Refer applicants who do not have any documentation or who are not certain that a petition for lawful permanent residency has been filed on their behalf to the USCIS forms request line (1-800-870-3676). These families may already be working with a domestic violence service provider. If not, refer them to the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) or to the local domestic violence service provider. The domestic violence service provider may be able to assist the applicant in obtaining necessary documentation of alien status without jeopardizing the alien’s safety or immigration efforts.