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FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES CERTIFICATION ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FNS 227 NON-CITIZEN REQUIREMENTS

31 Section 227 Change #1-2026 February 1, 2026 Non-covered Earnings -- Wages or self-employment income which do not require payment of FICA (social security) taxes. Quarter of Coverage (QC) -- Credit for a requisite amount of covered earnings assigned to a calendar quarter. Number Holder -- An individual who has a social security number assigned to him/her. QC History (QCH) -- A display of Quarters of Coverage (QC’s) by quarter and year. TPQY -- Third Party Query, the system which will be used to request QC Histories. Lag Quarters -- Current year quarters and preceding year quarters which may not appear in the QC history because the employer report has not been processed by SSA. This could be up to seven quarters depending on when a request for QC history is processed. CRITICAL CONCEPT: Quarters are based on ANNUAL EARNINGS, not actual quarters worked. The dates the person earned the income do not matter. An individual can earn all four QCs for a year in a single month if their earnings are high enough. B. Who Can Contribute Quarters The non-citizen's work and work by his/her parents and/or spouse (with certain exceptions) can be combined to attain the 40 qualifying quarters. These quarters may be used by more than one individual. For example, if a parent has 40 quarters, both children could use the full 40 quarters to qualify. 1. Number Holders Whose Quarters Can Be Credited a. The non-citizen individual — always b. Biological parents — only quarters worked prior to the non-citizen's 18th birthday (includes quarters earned before birth) c. Adoptive parents — only quarters worked prior to the non-citizen's 18th birthday (includes quarters earned before adoption) d. Stepparents — provided the step relationship still exists, only for quarters worked while the relationship was in existence and the non-citizen was under age 18 e. Current spouse — only for quarters worked during the spousal relationship. If a couple divorces, stop counting their quarters toward each other at next recertification, application, or reapplication.