2140 Citizenship and Alien Status

See PM2000-12-01, re: Access to Benefits for Qualifying and Non-qualifying Aliens and Their Families .

Eligibility for assistance shall be limited to those individuals who are citizens or who meet qualified non-citizen status as specified in 2142 .

Non-citizens who are not described in 2142 , including persons not lawfully admitted to the United States and persons admitted for temporary purposes, shall not be eligible for benefits, except for emergency medical benefits as described in 2691 or TB as described in 2692 or victims of trafficking as described in 2144 . This is true even though the non-citizen may be receiving other government benefits such as Medicare. Other examples of non-eligible persons include those who are granted stays of deportation, persons admitted under the Family Unity provision, foreign visitors, tourists, diplomats, or students who enter the United States temporarily with no intention of abandoning their residence in a foreign country. A non-citizen who enters the United States for a limited period of time and subsequently decides to remain in the United States must go back to INS and obtain appropriate documentation before his or her eligibility can be established.

At the time of application, the client who signs the application form certifies under penalty of perjury the truth of the information concerning citizenship and non-citizen status of all household members for whom assistance is requested.

NOTE : For cases in which assistance is provided on behalf of a child, only the citizenship or non-citizen status of the child who is the primary beneficiary is relevant for eligibility purposes. Citizenship or non-citizen status should never be requested or newly verified through the Federal Data Hub for a non-applicant.