Means Tested Benefits
Other Economic Options for Immigrants
TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF)
and MEDICAID
Who is eligible?
“Pre-enactment” qualified immigrants. Those who:
• Entered the country BEFORE August 22, 1996
• Are considered qualified immigrants for benefits purposes AND
• Have been continuously present since their last entry
prior to the enactment date.
TAXES
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Immigrants with Social Security Numbers valid for work who have earned below a certain
income threshold can receive a substantial credit through EITC.
Child Tax Credit: Immigrants who have worked and paid taxes,
even if not authorized to live and work in the U.S., and have
dependent children, may be eligible to receive the child tax
credit of about $1000 per child. Individuals can file returns
for up to three years previous and receive this credit for those
years.
Social Security Accounts: An immigrant who obtains a valid
Social Security Number (SSN) can ask the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) to transfer back earnings (under a false SSN) to
her new valid account.
*Qualified immigrants who entered ON OR AFTER August 22nd, 1996 are
NOT eligible to receive TANF or Medicaid in Texas.
CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN (CHIP)
Who is eligible?
• Qualified immigrant children whose families are income eligible,
regardless of when the children or parents entered the country.
• Pregnant immigrant women who are not eligible for Medicaid
may receive prenatal care and delivery services through CHIP.
*The earliest implementation date of this benefit is 09/01/06.
FOOD STAMPS
Who is eligible?
• Qualified immigrant children regardless of when the children
or parents entered the U.S.
• Qualified immigrants who receive a disability benefit regardless
of when they entered the country.
• Qualified immigrant adults who have been considered qualified
immigrants for five years, regardless of date of entry into the U.S.
SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI)
Who is eligible?
• Persons receiving SSI on August 22, 1996 or with SSI applications pending on August 22, 1996.
• Persons who are blind or have disabilities and were lawfully
residing in the U.S. on August 22, 1996, and are now “qualified”
immigrants.
• Lawful permanent residents (LPRs) with credit for 40 quarters
of work In addition, LPRs who physically entered the U.S. on or after
August 22, 1996 must have been in a “qualified” status for at least
five years.
CRIME VICTIM’S COMPENSATION (CVC)
Immigrant victims of crime are eligible to receive CVC
regardless of their immigration status if they meet all eligibility
criteria and file applications pursuant to statute.
A Social Security Number is not required to qualify for CVC
benefits, though an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
(ITIN) may be needed for direct reimbursement to the victim.
Survivors who resided with their abuser may be eligible for
rent and relocation assistance.
Immigrants’ Access
to Public Benefits
Information for Advocates
LEGAL ASSISTANCE
Abused immigrant spouses and children may receive legal
assistance from legal aid programs regardless of their own or
their abuser’s immigration status. Legal aids may represent
non-qualified immigrant survivors through utilization of non-LSC
funding.
UTILITY ASSISTANCE
Immigrant survivors may also qualify for various assistance
programs for utility services.
Immigrant survivors of family violence can also utilize waivers
of deposit for telephone, electric and gas services.
HIGHER EDUCATION
In Texas, some immigrant students, including undocumented
students, qualify as residents to receive in-state tuition.
For more comprehensive information on immigration issues, please
consult “Assisting Immigrant Survivors of Abuse” chapter of the 2005
Texas Advocate Guide.
TCFV’s Public Policy Department is available to provide technical
assistance to advocates and survivors on immigrant eligibility issues.
Call 1-800-525-1978 for assistance.
Supported by grant WF-04-V30-14108-08 awarded by the Criminal
Justice Division of the Office of the Governor and the Texas
Health and Human Services Commission.
1-800-525-1978
1-888-239-9035 (TTY)
www.tcfv.org
Benefits Available to All Immigrants
The following services “necessary to protect life and safety” are
available regardless of immigration status:
Health:
Emergency medical care
Emergency Medicaid
Immunizations
Diagnosis and treatment of communicable diseases (outside of
the Medicaid program)
Emergency mental health services
Substance abuse services
Prenatal care and delivery services through CHIP
Shelter:
Homeless Shelters
Domestic Violence Shelters
Transitional Housing
Nutrition:
Food banks
Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
Summer food programs
School lunch programs
Education:
Public education systems
*Workers should NOT ask for verification of immigration status if
eligibility does not rely on status.
Mixed Families
A “mixed family” is a family that consists of individuals of different immigration statuses (e.g., an undocumented mother with
citizen children).
An immigrant survivor may apply for public benefits for her U.S.
citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) children even if she,
herself, is ineligible for the benefits.
• Under federal law, agencies may ONLY verify the immigration status of the person who will actually be receiving benefits.
• Immigrants applying for benefits for their children only
should NOT answer any questions about their own immigration
status (it is not relevant to the application).
• Mixed families may apply for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funded public housing and Section 8 programs.
Rent will be prorated based on the number of persons in the
household who are eligible.
*Advocates are strongly encouraged to accompany immigrant survivors
to interviews with eligibility workers.
Immigrant Eligibility for
Federal Public Benefits
Eligibility for most other federal public benefits is based on:
• “Qualified” versus non-qualified immigrant status,
• Date of entry into the country
- “pre-enactment immigrants” - immigrants who entered
the U.S. before 8/22/96
- “post-enactment immigrants” - immigrants who entered
the U.S. on or after 8/22/96
• State’s decisions and resulting legislation based on options
the federal law gives
Qualified Immigrants Include
Lawful permanent residents
Refugees and asylees
Cuban/Haitian entrants
Veterans
Amerasians
Persons granted conditional residency
Persons paroled into the U.S. for one year or more
Persons granted withholding of deportation or cancellation of
removal
Victims of trafficking with certification from the Office of
Refugee Resettlement
Battered immigrant spouses and their immigrant children and
battered immigrant children and their immigrant parents
who fit certain criteria
A battered immigrant will be considered a “qualified” immigrant if:
• She has an approved/granted VAWA self-petition, a familybased petition (i.e., one filed on her behalf by a U.S. citizen or
lawful permanent resident family member), or VAWA cancellation
of removal OR
• She has received a prima facie determination from
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) based on a self-petition
or family-based petition that her application appears to meet all
the requirements.
[VAWA self-petitioners will automatically receive the prima facie determination from DHS prior to an approval. Family-based petitioners who
are survivors will need to request a prima facie from DHS.]
A qualified immigrant survivor will be eligible for federal public
benefits if she can also prove that she meets the standard
eligibility criteria for benefits and:
• She or her child has been battered or subjected to
extreme cruelty in the U.S. by her spouse or her child’s father
who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident;
• She no longer lives in the same household with the
abuser;
• A “substantial connection” exists between the need for
benefits and the violence.
*Oftentimes a VAWA self-petition approval or prima facie determination
will suffice to prove these additional requirements.
Federal Public Benefits Available to
All Qualified Immigrants Include
Subsidized housing
Social Security
Post secondary education loans and grants
Services funded through Title XX Social Services Block grant
Title V and Title X (Maternal and Child Health and Family
Planning)
Programs funded through the Administration on
Developmental Disabilities (ADD)
Independent Living programs
Low Income Home Energy Assistance
Title IV Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Payments
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) services
Eligibility in Texas for Federal
Means-Tested Benefits
The five federal means-tested benefits are: Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Plan
(CHIP), Food Stamps, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
In Texas, means-tested program eligibility relies on:
• Qualified vs. Non-qualified
• Date of entry and sometimes length of time as a qualified
immigrant
• Texas law
Federal public benefits, excluding the five means-tested programs,
are available to all qualified immigrants regardless of when they
entered the country.
Victims of trafficking certified by the Office of Refugee Resettlement or with T visas are eligible for all means-tested public
benefits regardless of their date of entry, as are refugees.