NORTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA
June 8, 2009

IM 5070

TO:		County Social Service Directors
Economic Assistance Policy Regional Representatives
Economic Assistance Policy Quality Control Reviewers

FROM:	Tove Mandigo, Director, Economic Assistance Policy
		Maggie Anderson, Director, Medical Services

SUBJECT:	Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrant Eligibility

PROGRAMS:	TANF and SNAP

EFFECTIVE:	March 11, 2009

RETENTION: 	Until Manualized

SECTIONS 
AFFECTED:	SNAP:  430-05-30-60-10 – Eligibility Criteria
		TANF: 400-17-15-40 – Citizen or Alien Status

This IM is effective March 11, 2009 and supersedes Amended IM 5029.  

Special Immigrant Status for Certain Afghans 
The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 Section 602(b)(8) grants Afghans admitted with special immigrant status under section 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act the same benefits as those for Iraqi special immigrants.  This law extends the time-limited exemption period from 6 months to 8 months, effective March 11, 2009.  A hard card identifying which alien documents will verify this status is available on the County Intranet folder under the folder:  CountyIntranet\Economic Assistance-Health Care Coverage\Medicaid-Healthy Steps\Hard Cards.

TANF, Medicaid and Healthy Steps
Effective March 11, 2009, both Afghan and Iraqi immigrants are eligible for up to 8 months of TANF, Medicaid or Healthy Steps benefits, beginning with the month in which the special immigrant enters the United States.  As with all aliens, verification of entry under this section must be provided.

Example:  An Afghan individual, his wife and two small children were admitted to the U.S. as special immigrants, on March 30th, and arrived in North Dakota on April 1, 2009.  The family began to receive TANF, Medicaid and Healthy Steps assistance in April 2009.  The 8 month exemption/eligibility period began with the month of March, date of entry into the U.S.  This family may remain eligible for benefits through October, 2009.

Once the 8 month exemption/eligibility period ends, these Afghan and Iraqi special immigrants are no longer exempt from the 5 year bar on receipt of TANF, Medicaid, and Healthy Steps.   These Afghan and Iraqi special immigrants are lawful permanent residents (LPR) and, except for the 8 month exemption/eligibility period, they are subject to the same treatment in terms of eligibility for TANF, Medicaid and Healthy Steps as other LPR’s who enter the U.S. on or after August 22, 1996 and are subject to the 5 year bar on receipt of TANF, Medicaid, and Healthy Steps benefits.

This change also applies to previous and currently eligible Afghan special immigrants as follows:

•	If the 6 month exemption/eligibility period ended prior to March 11, 2009, there is no eligibility for the extension.
•	If the Afghan special immigrant is still within the previous 6 month exemption/eligibility period on March 11, 2009, they may remain eligible to receive up to 8 months of assistance. 
•	 If the case closed on or after March 11, 2009 due to reaching the maximum 6 months of eligibility, the case must be reverted to open and eligibility determined for the remainder of their 8 months.

SNAP 
Effective March 11, 2009, both Afghan and Iraqi immigrants are eligible for up to 8 months of SNAP benefits, beginning with the month in which the immigrant was granted special immigrant status.

This change applies to currently eligible Afghan special immigrants and those who may apply in the future.  The following chart illustrates how this new provision is implemented:

Current or Previously Eligible Households	
Granted Special Immigrant Status	6-Month Eligibility Period End Date	8-Month Eligibility End Date	Date of Eligibility Review	Eligibility Period	
July 8, 2008	December 31, 2008	February 28, 2009	December 15, 2008	Ineligible for additional 2 months as 8 month period expired prior to March 11, 2009 effective date of law.	
September 1, 2008	February 28, 2009	April 30, 2009	February 11, 2009	March 11, 2009 through April 30, 2009.  (Ineligible March 1st through 10th as prior to the effective date of the law).	
December 16, 2008	May 31, 2009	July 31, 2009	May 15, 2009	June 1, 2009 through July 31, 2009.	
New Applicant Households	
Granted Special Immigrant Status	8-Month Eligibility Period End Date	Date of Application	Eligibility Period	
December 16, 2008	July 31, 2009	March 31, 2009	5 months – March 31, 2009 through July 31, 2009.	
February 2, 2009	September 30, 2009	March 6, 2009	7 months – March 6, 2009 through September 30, 2009	
April 21, 2009	November 30, 2009	April 7, 2009	8 months – April 21, 2009 (the date special immigrant status was granted) through November 30, 2009.	

LIHEAP
Iraqi and Afghani aliens and family members who claim special immigrant status must provide verification that they have been admitted under section 101(a) (27) of the INA. Once found eligible for LIHEAP the household would be eligible for the full season in which they applied.

CCA 
Because an individual must be either a U. S. citizen or a qualified alien to be eligible for Child Care Assistance, and because the 5-year ban and 40 work quarters are not a CCAP requirement, this change has no relevance.

If you have any questions, please contact your regional representative.