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2402.20.44 CROSS BORDER NATIVE AMERICANS (S)

Native Americans with treaty rights to cross the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico, regardless of whether born on the Canadian or Mexican side of the border are eligible for SNAP effective 11/1/98.

Following the enactment of H.R.1 on July 4, 2025, Cross Border Native Americans are only eligible for SNAP if they are Lawful permanent residents.

2402.20.45 VETERAN OR ACTIVE-DUTY MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES

As explained in the previous sections, immigrants with certain USCIS classifications who would otherwise be subject to assistance limitations can be eligible if: • veterans, • on active duty in the military, • have served minimum active-duty service requirements, or • are spouses or dependent children of veterans or military personnel who died during active military duty.

The exemption for veterans also applies to individuals who served in the Philippine Commonwealth Army during World War II or as Philippine Scouts following the war.

An eligible veteran is a person who served in the active U.S. military, naval, or air service, and was released with a discharge characterized as honorable and not on account of alienage. Veterans should have received a full copy of DD Form 214 (Certificate of Release of Discharge from Active Duty) that contains the necessary information. An honorable discharge is denoted by the entry of "Honorable" in the "Character of Service" block of DD Form 214. If the evidence characterizes the discharge as anything other than "Honorable", such as "Under Honorable Conditions", the individual and family members cannot be determined eligible based on the veteran exception. Eligibility based on veteran status cannot be established if the reason for discharge was based on alien status, lack of U.S. citizenship or other "alienage" reasons, or if the "Separation Code" block contains an entry JCP, KCP, SCP, or YCP. Those codes establish discharge based on alienage. If the individual attests to meeting the veteran requirements but is unable to present the appropriate discharge papers as documentation, the caseworker should contact the Veterans Affairs Regional Office.

The eligibility exception for veterans also applies to the Hmong and other Highland Lao tribal people who fought on behalf of the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam conflict.

Persons who fulfill the minimum active-duty service requirements or their un-remarried surviving spouse and dependent children are also exempt from other alien requirements. Minimum active duty served by a person who initially enters service after 9/7/80 is 24 months of continuous active duty or the full period for which the person was called or ordered to active duty. A person who is on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces (other than active duty for training) is also not subject to the assistance limitations placed on immigrants in their classification.