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MS 2900 [3]

(a) Covered earnings include wages or self-employment income or any earnings of a noncitizen for work legally performed in the U.S. (b) For couples that are still legally married, the quarters can be credited to a spouse. The aliens lose the quarters of the ex- spouse when they become divorced. For qualifying work quarters after 1/1/97, the alien must not have received any federal means-tested public benefits, such as Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP), SSI, or SNAP, during that quarter. If the member received means- tested assistance in any month of any quarter, the quarter does not count as a qualifying quarter. (c) The Social Security Administration (SSA) is the primary source of information concerning qualifying quarters worked by an individual. Some aliens may have 40 quarters clearly established, while others may not. Migrant workers in particular may have difficulty obtaining verification of employment. (d) Qualifying quarters are verified via SSA. When the household states that an alien has 40 quarters, answer “Yes” to the question “Does the alien have 40 quarters of qualified Social Security Credits?”. The system will automatically interface with the SSA file to check. If the alien has quarters, the system will prepopulate with the verification source of “Interface” and the date attained. If it cannot verify the quarters, the verification source will prepopulate to “Not Verified”, and the client will be required to obtain verification.

B. Effective 12/19/09, Section 8120 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (DDAA) of 2010 provides that Iraqi and Afghan Special Aliens (SIVs) are eligible for SNAP to the same extent and for the same period of time as refugees pursuant to Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Please see MS 2910 for acceptable forms of verification for Afghan/Iraqi Special Aliens.

C. The following aliens may be eligible even if they are not qualified aliens as listed above, and may be eligible for an indefinite period of time:

1. An individual lawfully residing in the U.S. who was a member of a Hmong or Highland Laotian tribe that rendered assistance to U.S. personnel by taking part in a military or rescue operation during the Vietnam Era (8/5/1964-5/7/1975). This also includes the spouse (or unremarried surviving spouse) or unmarried dependent children of these individuals. 2. American Indians born in Canada to whom section 289 of the INA applies, and members of an Indian tribe as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

D. Under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, a child will automatically acquire citizenship on the date that all of the following requirements are satisfied: 1. At least one parent is a U.S. citizen;