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MEDICAL MEDICAL MEDICAL MEDICAL MEDICAL MEDICAL MEDICAL Division of Welfare and Supportive Services C-420.3 Medical Assistance Manual GENERAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 23 Jan 05 MTL 01/23 PAROLED AS REFUGEES AND CUBAN/HAITIAN ENTRANTS C-420.3 Paroled as Refugees and Cuban/Haitian Entrants Paroled as a Refugee and Cuban/Haitian Entrants: Some persons who fear persecution are “paroled” into the U.S. as refugees when the number of refugees allowed to enter that year has been exceeded. Such parolees are given an I-94 with “paroled as a refugee”, “207”, “paroled as humanitarian”, or “212(d)(5)” stamped or written on it. In the past, INS paroled in Cubans and Haitians under the designation “Cuban/Haitian entrant” or “Mariel Cuban.” All nationals of Cuba and Haiti are eligible for refugee assistance as “Cuban/Haitian entrants” so long as they have been granted parole under 207 or 212(d)(5) with form I-94 and/or a Cuban or Haitian passport, applied for asylum (form I- 797C) or are in exclusion or deportation proceedings but have not yet received a final order of deportation. Cuban and Haitian nationals paroled into the United States under section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act since October 10, 1980 are considered paroled in a “special status” for Cuban or Haitian nationals unless the parole into the United States was (1) in the custody of a Federal, State, or local law enforcement or prosecutorial authority for purposes of criminal prosecution in the Unites States, or (2) solely to testify as a witness in proceedings before a judicial, administrative, or legislative body in the United States. 8 C.F.R. § 212.5(h). If an applicant does not have another qualifying immigration status or category or has a qualifying immigration status that is subject to the five-year bar reflected in 8 U.S.C. § 1613, then the benefit-granting agency may need to determine that an applicant is a Cuban/Haitian Entrant (CHE). For example, an applicant may be a “qualified alien” under PRWORA due to having an eligible immigration status such as Lawful Permanent Resident or being paroled into the U.S. for more than one year, but they may still be subject to a five-year bar. However, if they are also a CHE, they are a “qualified alien” and exempt from the five-year bar requirement.