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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 states that he or she meets the veteran requirements but is unable to present the appropriate discharge papers as documentation, the worker 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 his classification. Documentation of active-duty status is the individual's Armed Forces of the United State Geneva Conventions Identification Common Access Card (CAC). The CAC, a “smart” card about the size of a credit card, is the standard identification for active-duty uniformed service personnel. Other types of verification of active-duty status include but are not limited to a copy of the soldier’s orders indicating active-duty status, an enlistment contract, or a letter from the soldier’s commanding officer. A blue (retiree) or beige (dependent) card is not evidence of active duty.

2402.20.47 Battered Non-Citizen (Spouse/Child)

Under Title VI of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, certain immigrants may be eligible for Medicaid benefits. Battered immigrants who are determined to be qualified non-citizens may be eligible to receive full coverage or emergency services. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioners or battered immigrants who meet the definition of qualified non-citizen and entered the country prior to 8/22/96 with a prima facie determination or have been in qualified status for five years are eligible for full coverage Medicaid.18 Battered immigrants who entered the country on or after 8/22/96 are subject to a five-year bar and will be eligible for emergency services only until they have held the qualified status for five years (or until status adjustment is approved to one eligible for full coverage with no five-year bar). The five-year waiting period begins the date applicant/member obtains qualified status and not when they enter the United States.19

To be considered to have a qualified status, a battered immigrant must show he or she has an approved OR pending petition which makes a prima facie case for immigration status under one of the following categories: