Frequently asked questions
Non-citizen Access to PUBLIC BENEFITS
I have Medicaid/FAMIS coverage – do I need to terminate the coverage?
- You do not need to terminate your coverage so long as you have properly been found eligible for benefits. At this time, the eligibility rules have not changed and you can continue to use and renew your benefits.
- For help with renewals and initial applications, please contact EnrollVA at 1-888-392-5132
I don’t qualify for Medicaid/FAMIS coverage, but my children are U.S. citizens and are covered – do I need to terminate their coverage?
- You do not need to terminate your children’s coverage so long as they are properly approved for benefits. At this time, the eligibility rules have not changed and your children can continue to use and renew benefits.
- For help with renewals and initial applications, please contact EnrollVA at 1-888-392-5132.
The Department of Social Services (DSS) has all of my information – will they give it to other government agencies?
- At this time, it is unlawful for DSS to share information with other government agencies (even the federal government) without your consent or withouta court order/warrant.
- DSS is not permitted to request information verifying immigration status of household members who are not seeking benefits. If you are seeking benefits, DSS is permitted to ask questions only to the extent that it would determine your eligibility for a program. If applying for Emergency Medicaid or FAMIS Prenatal, you are not required to provide information about your immigration status.
- If you receive improper verification requests, threats from DSS, or have other questions/concerns regarding your information, contact any LAJC office.
My children have SNAP benefits – do I need to terminate their case?
- At this time, if your children are eligible for SNAP benefits, they can continue to use them. Federal rules currently allow children who are eligible for SNAP benefits to receive benefits without inquiring into the eligibility of people who are not applying for benefits.
- If you did not apply for benefits for yourself, but you receive questions from DSS regarding your immigration status do not answer the questions and tell DSS that you are not required to provide that information as someone who is not applying for benefits for yourself, then please contact any LAJC office right away.
I was thinking of applying for SNAP benefits for my children – can I still apply?
- At this time, SNAP eligibility rules have not changed. If your children are eligible, you can apply for them.
- If you are not eligible for SNAP benefits, make sure you mark on the application or tell the person assisting you that you DO NOT seek benefits for yourself.
- DSS is not allowed to ask you about immigration statuses for people who are not applying for benefits for themselves, even if they are applying for someone else (such as their children).
Who is eligible for SNAP benefits?
You must meet income requirements (often at or below 150% of Federal Poverty Level, or $4019 per month for a household of 4)
- You must meet one of the below immigration status requirements:
- US Citizens
- Lawful Permanent Residents (after 5 years or with 10 years of work history)
- People with approved asylum
- Refugees
- People granted withholding of removal
- T-visa holders
- Children with the above statuses, without required waiting periods
- Others (please contact one of LAJC’s offices or the Virginia Poverty Law Center’s SNAP hotline at866-753-7627 for more information)
I have Medicaid and/or SNAP benefits – can that be used against me in my immigration proceedings?
- At this time, the Public Charge rule is limited to very specific situations (see below).
- The Public Charge rule is a test for “inadmissibility” (whether someone can access particular immigration benefits) in the United States. It is intended to identify people who may rely on government assistance for support now or in the future. If someone is determined likely to “become a public charge,” the government can deny that person’s application to enter the United States or their application for lawful permanent residence (green card).
- The Public Charge rule does not apply to all immigration statuses. It applies only to people seeking entry into the United States or seeking to change their status to a green card. The Public Charge rule does not apply to humanitarian immigrants, including refugees, asylees, some survivors of domestic violence, survivors of trafficking and other crimes, special immigrant juveniles, and certain people paroled into the US (even if they seek to adjust to a green card). Notably, most people who are subject to the Public Charge rule are not eligible for the benefits that may count in the assessment (see below).
The Public Charge Rule does not apply to all benefits.
Only benefits that can be considered “public cash assistance for income maintenance” or in-patient stays at long-term care facilities can be reviewed in a public charge assessment.
Benefits that are considered in the public charge assessment include:
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI): the individual must be directly receiving these benefits; payments to a family member or household member cannot be used to assess someone as a public charge. For example, if a parent holds a family visa and has a US citizen child receiving monthly SSI payments, the parent cannot be assessed as a public charge solely because their child receives SSI.
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- General Assistance / General Relief
- Long-term institutionalization: in-patient stays at long-term care facilities at the government’s expense (if paying privately for an in-patient stay, the rule does not apply)
Benefits that are not considered in the public charge assessment include:
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits
- Energy Assistance (heating assistance, PIPP, cooling assistance, and/or crisis assistance)
- Disaster relief
- Child care assistance
- WIC
- Section 8/other housing programs
- Other benefits that are provided with a specific purpose (e.g., SNAP benefits can only be used to purchase food)
- People subject to the public charge test cannot automatically be designated and refused access entry to the US or adjustment of their green card solely because they used or accessed public benefits. Immigration officers are not permitted to consider only one factor in determining whether someone is a public charge. Rather, they must consider all circumstances—such as age, health, income, education, etc. —in their assessment. The immigration officer may consider how long, how recently, and how much support the person received from the benefit program(s).
- For more about whether you may be subject to the Public Charge Rule, visit keepyourbenefits.org or https://pifcoalition.org/pc
** “Public charge” is language taken from the federal rules and regulations and is used here only to reflect the terms in circulation regarding access to benefits and regulations in place at the federal government level. LAJC recognizes that the term carries illegitimate negative connotations, which LAJC does not support.