Page 200

UPDATED: JUNE 2010

637

OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS CITZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION STATUS QUALIFIED ALIENS

VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING

1) Who has been subjected to a “severe form of trafficking in persons,” which is defined as “sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery”; and

2) Who has not attained the age of 18 years or who is the subject of a certification issued by the federal government pursuant to Section 107(b)(1)(E) of the Act.

For individuals who meet the above criteria, the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) will issue the certification letters for adults and the eligibility letters for children. To receive a certification or a letter, a victim of trafficking must be willing to assist with the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases AND either:

(1) Have made a bona fide application for a “T” visa that has not been denied. OR (2) Be an individual whose continued presence the Attorney General is ensuring to effectuate a Trafficking prosecution.

When a victim of trafficking applies for Medicaid, local districts must follow their normal procedures for establishing Medicaid eligibility for refugees. Local districts must also:

1. Accept the certification letter for adults, or eligibility letter for children in place of USCIS documentation. Please note, as of November 6, 2001, certification letters for adults and eligibility letters for children no longer contain an eight- month expiration date. Victims of severe forms of trafficking do not need to provide any other documentation of their immigration status. The local district must call the trafficking verification line at 1-866-401-5510 to verify the validity of the documentation. 2. Use the certification date as the “Date of Status” (DOS) for Medicaid purposes. The certification date is in the body of the certification letter or the eligibility letter for children. 3. Issue benefits to the same extent as other refugees, provided the victim of a severe form of trafficking meets other program eligibility criteria (e.g., income levels). (MRG)