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MEDICAL MEDICAL MEDICAL MEDICAL MEDICAL MEDICAL MEDICAL Division of Welfare and Supportive Services C-445 Medical Assistance Manual GENERAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 17 Sep 01 MTL 05/17 IRAQI AND AFGHANI SPECIAL IMMIGRANTS Afghans and some Iraqi special immigrants will have an Immigrant Visa category of SL1 S19 and some Iraqis will have an Immigrant Visa category of SQ1–SQ9. Date of Eligibility and Certification Period The effective date of eligibility as a qualified non-citizen is from the date the special immigrant enters the United States. The effective date of eligibility is the date of application for all programs. These immigrants must meet all eligibility requirements for any program applied for. Special immigrants applying under this status are not eligible for prior medical coverage. C-450 VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, adult victims of trafficking who are certified by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) at the Department of Health and Human Services are eligible for benefits to the same extent as refugees. Children who have been subjected to trafficking are also eligible like refugees but do not need to be certified. As of November 6, 2001, certification letters issued for adults and eligibility letters for children will no longer contain an expiration date. Individuals who were certified before this date received letters with 8-month expiration dates. As these letters expire, ORR will issue recertification letters without expiration dates. Victims of Trafficking are awarded a T-Visa for entry. Certain members of their family may also apply for and receive a Derivative T-Visa and meet eligibility under refugee criteria. If the victim of trafficking is under 21 at the time the T-Visa application was filed, Derivative T-Visas are available to the following members of their immediate family: spouse, children, unmarried siblings (under 18 at the time the application was filed) and parents of the victim of trafficking. In the case where an application is filed after the individual turns 21, only the victim’s spouse and children are eligible to apply for the Derivative T-Visa. When a victim of trafficking applies for benefits, all eligibility requirements must be met except the following: a. Victims are not required to provide any documentation of their immigration status. Accept the original, recertification letter or letter for children in place of INS documentation. The “entry date” will not change on the recertification letter.