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Citizenship And Immigrant Status - SNAP (Food Stamps)

In order to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamp Program) benefits, a household member must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible immigrant. If a household member is not a U.S. citizen or an eligible immigrant, then she or he cannot receive benefits, but the remaining household members can receive benefits.

However, if your household customarily purchases and prepares meals with an ineligible immigrant, some of the ineligible immigrant's assets and income may be counted when determining the household's eligibility and may result in the household being ineligible or receiving a lower benefit amount than that calculated by WorkWORLD.

If you are an immigrant and you entered the U.S. within the last three years and you were sponsored by an individual, then some of your sponsor's assets and income may be deemed to your household. WorkWORLD does not ask you questions about your sponsor's assets and income. Consequently, your household's benefits, if you are still eligible, may be lower than what this program calculates.

The Food Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2002 provides for partial restoration of benefits to legal immigrants, with various effective dates. This provision restores SNAP eligibility to qualified aliens who are otherwise eligible AND who:

·                   are receiving disability benefits regardless of date of entry (current law requires them to have been in the country on 8/22/96) – effective FY 2003;

·                   are under 18 regardless of date of entry (current law limits eligibility to children who were in the country on 8/22/96) – effective FY 2004 & beyond; or

·                   have lived in the U.S. continuously for 5 years as a qualified alien beginning on date of entry – effective April 2003.

Effective FY 2004, the provision also eliminates the deeming requirements for immigrant children that count the income and resources of the immigrant's sponsor when determining SNAP eligibility and benefit amounts for the immigrant child.

NOTE: WorkWORLD does not include the assets of non-eligible household members. Consequently, if your household contains a non-U.S. citizen/eligible immigrant, you may have higher assets and thus be found ineligible.

The following individuals are eligible immigrants:

·        Veteran, person on active U.S. military duty, or spouse or unmarried dependent of a veteran or person on active duty;

·        Member of Hmong/Laotian tribe when the tribe rendered assistance to U.S. military personnel during the Vietnam era or spouse, unmarried dependent child, or surviving spouse (who has not remarried) of such a tribe member;

·        American Indian born in Canada;

·        Other American Indian who is a member of tribe whose members are eligible for programs provided by the United States due to their tribal membership (this includes tribal members who were born in Canada or Mexico who are entitled to freely cross the U.S. borders into Canada or Mexico);

·        Lawful U.S. resident on August 22, 1996 who was 65 years or older on August 22, 1996, is currently under 18, or is currently receiving disability-related benefits;

·        Legal Permanent Resident who entered the country before August 22, 1996 and who meets the 40-Quarters exemption;

·        Legal Permanent Resident who entered the country on or after August 22, 1996, has been in the country at least five years in a 'qualified status,' and meets the 40-Quarters exemption (no one will meet this criteria until August 23, 2001); or

·        Person who entered the country or was granted status as a refugee, asylee, withholding of removal (deportation has been withheld), Cuban/Haitian entrant, or Amerasian immigrant in the last seven years.

While you are not eligible for Federal SNAP if you do not meet the above criteria, you may be eligible for State food assistance if you live in one of a number of states. Contact your local SNAP agency or the Food Stamp State Information Hotline for your state for further information.

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