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PY26 WHEAP Manual

Revised: August 2025 • If the homeless applicant cannot secure a home energy account due to large arrearages on a previous account, or does not have the money for a deposit, prevention services may be used to assist them with securing energy services.

It may be necessary for the local WHEAP agency or a homeless shelter to assist the applicant in gathering information or obtaining a current vendor and an account number.

3.2.2.4 Non-citizens If an individual is not a U.S. citizen, they shall be identified as either an eligible or ineligible non- citizen for WHEAP benefits.

If the applicant states a household member does not have an SSN or valid immigration records, the individual shall be marked an ineligible non-citizen. This individual may not be the case head of the application. See Section 3.2.1 and Section 3.2.6.2 for more information.

Before a non-citizen is marked an eligible non-citizen on the HE+ Application, the local agency intake staff must complete the following steps: 1. Run the provided SSN through the verification process. The SSN must be positively verified before proceeding to the next steps in eligibility determination. 2. If the SSN has been verified, verify if the individual is receiving FoodShare or any form of monthly Social Security income. a. If yes to either, mark the individual an “Eligible Non-citizen” and document in HE+ System Notes the method of verifying receipt of FoodShare or Social Security income. b. If no, each individual must be defined as one of the following categories, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in order to mark an eligible non-citizen: i. A non-citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) ii. A non-citizen granted asylum under section 208 of the INA iii. A refugee admitted to the United States under section 207 of the INA iv. A non-citizen paroled into the United States under section 212(d)(5) of the INA for at least one year v. A non-citizen whose deportation is being withheld under section 243(h) of the INA as in effect prior to April 1, 1997, or whose removal is being withheld under section 241(b)(3) of the INA vi. A non-citizen granted conditional entry pursuant to section 203(a)(7) of the INA as in effect prior to April 1, 1980 vii. A non-citizen who is a Cuban or Haitian entrant as defined in section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 viii. A non-citizen who (or whose child or parent) has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States and otherwise satisfies the requirements of § 431(c)