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UPDATED: NOVEMBER 2009 621

OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS CITZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION STATUS QUALIFIED ALIENS

BATTERED QUALIFIED ALIENS

Immigrant victims of battery/abuse can be treated as a “qualified alien” for Medical Assistance benefit purposes if they meet the following four requirements:

1. Be a credible victim of battery/abuse or extreme cruelty, who or who’s child or parent has been battered, abused or subject to extreme cruelty in the U.S., by a spouse or a parent, or by a member of the spouse’s or parent’s family residing in the same household; and 2. Be able to show a substantial connection between the need for benefits sought and the battery or extreme cruelty; and 3. No longer resides in the same household as the abuser, and 4. Have an appropriate immigration status including a pending or approved I-130 petition for a alien relative (K or V visa status), a pending or approved I-360 self petition, or Notice of Prima Facie Case determination (I-797 Notice of Action), or an Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) order/letter granting suspension or cancellation under 8 U.S.C 1229b(b)(2) and 8 U.S.C. 1254(a)(3) or evidence that an application for suspension of deportation/cancellation of removal has been made with evidence that sets forth a prima facie case.

EVIDENCE OF ABUSE: An applicant who has an approved petition or court order granting him/her protection from the abuser has already shown battery or extreme cruelty and a new determination should not be made by the eligibility worker. Other evidence of battery/abuse that immigrants may present includes, but is not limited to: reports or affidavits from police, judges, court officials, medical personnel, school officials, clergy, social workers; counseling or mental health personnel; proof of a domestic violence conviction, and proof of seeking safe-haven in a battered shelter.

SUBSTANTIAL CONNECTION: There must be a substantial connection between the battery/abuse or extreme cruelty to which the immigrant, immigrant's child, or immigrant child's parent has been subjected to and the need for the medical assistance. The following list demonstrates circumstances in which a substantial connection exists between the battery and the need for medical assistance benefits:

o where the benefits are needed to enable the immigrant, immigrant's child, or an immigrant child's parent to become self-sufficient following separation from the abuser; (MRG)