Page 215

MRG

UPDATED: JANUARY 2009

652

OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION STATUS

PRUCOL

certified letter, return receipt requested, is proof not only of mailing but also of receipt. A U.S. Postal Service “signature confirmation” or “delivery confirmation” also verifies receipt. In addition, a letter that is properly addressed, stamped and mailed by regular first-class mail is presumed to have been received, although this presumption can be rebutted.

B. Affording the federal immigration agency a “reasonable period of time” to adjudicate the request for relief

The alien is not considered PRUCOL immediately upon mailing of the initial letter requesting relief. Before the alien may be considered PRUCOL, the federal immigration agency must be afforded a “reasonable period of time” to consider and act upon the request. This is consistent with 04 OMM/ADM-7, in which the Department stated that an alien may be PRUCOL when the federal immigration agency, despite having been notified of the alien’s presence in the U.S., fails after “a reasonable period of time” to respond to the alien’s letter requesting relief or fails to take any action to enforce the alien’s departure from the U.S.

Under federal law, the federal immigration agency is required to conclude matters presented to it “within a reasonable time” (5 U.S.C. § 555). There is no hard and fast rule that defines a “reasonable time.” What is “reasonable” depends on all the facts and circumstances of a case. However, local departments of social services may consider that a “reasonable period of time” is six months. This six-month period is measured from the date that the alien, or the alien’s representative, mailed to the federal immigration agency the initial letter requesting relief.

C. Subsequent contacts with the federal immigration agency within the six-month period

A single letter or other piece of correspondence requesting relief from the federal immigration agency does not establish PRUCOL status. (An exception applies to applications to USCIS or EOIR that are filed on official application forms, as previously discussed.) It is reasonable to expect that any alien who has submitted a good faith request for relief to a federal immigration agency would take steps to follow-up on the status of the original request. The same principle applies here.

The Medicaid applicant, or the applicant’s representative, must make reasonable efforts to follow-up with the federal immigration agency on