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actual non-citizen status of the individual and to the same extent as a non-citizen immigrant who is admitted to the United States as a refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In order to allow eligibility for a victim of trafficking, HCA will require a certification from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) that an adult is a victim of severe trafficking or that a child has been determined eligible as a minor victim of severe trafficking.

State funded Legal Non-Citizen A non-citizen who arrived in the United States on or after August 22, 1996, and who meets the definition of qualified non-citizen is not eligible for federally funded TANF assistance under the terms of Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (five years from the date the non-citizen residing in the U.S. received qualified non-citizen status). The qualified non-citizen may be included in the NMW benefit group, if otherwise eligible, and may receive cash assistance, with the cost of the non-citizen’s benefits paid entirely by state funds. Benefits paid to these individuals are claimed as part of the state’s MOE requirement.

Ineligible Non-Citizens Undocumented non-citizens who are not qualified non-citizens, non-citizens who are in the United States temporarily, or non-citizens who are not authorized to work in the United States, are not eligible for inclusion in the NMW benefit group.

Residence: To be eligible for NMW, the household must reside in New Mexico with the intent to remain. Persons traveling through, employed for a short term, present for medical care, or in similar situations do not meet residency requirements. The residence of the dependent child is based on the residence of the child’s parent, relative or caretaker.

Other Assistance: An individual who receives cash assistance from Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Bureau of Indian Affairs-General Assistance (GI-BIA), another State or Tribal TANF program, is ineligible for NMW based on concurrent receipt of assistance. Lifetime Limits: A benefit group is not eligible based on lifetime limits, if the benefit group contains an adult or minor head of household who is ineligible because of the lifetime limit: 60 Month Lifetime Limit

Adult or minor head of household members of the NMW benefit group are eligible lifetime limit of no more than 60 months of TANF cash assistance benefits (includes NMW cash assistance effective April 1, 1998, and its predecessor program known as PROGRESS, which was effective July 1, 1997). The counting of months began with July 1997 or the first month thereafter in which the individual received TANF cash assistance as an adult or a minor head of household or their respective spouse. Months that have benefits issued and those benefits are later fully recovered by the Department in a dormant EBT account will not be counted as a month of receipt in the 60-month lifetime limit. Waiver of the Lifetime Limit

Once the 60-month lifetime limit is reached, eligibility for the adult may continue if: