Background: Public Law 110-161 granted Afghan aliens special immigrant visas (SIV) under section 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Individuals and family members granted this special immigrant status are eligible for resettlement assistance, entitlement programs, and other benefits the same as refugees admitted under section 207 of the INA. For Afghan aliens, this eligibility was limited to six months from the date of entry to the United States.

New Policy: Public Law 111-8, effective March 10, 2009, under section 602 of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 extended the Afghan special immigrant eligibility period for Ohio Works First, Refugee Cash Assistance and Food Assistance to eight months from their date of entry to the United States or the date of adjustment to special immigrant status.

5101:4-3-07Food Assistance: Nonfinancial Eligibility Standard-Citizenship and Alien Status

The following policy was changed to reflect the extension of the eligibility time limit for Afghan aliens with a special immigrant status. This time limit has been extended from six to eight months. Food Assistance Change Transmittal (FACT) 35 previously authorized this change.

For Afghan aliens with special immigrant status the Food Assistance certification period shall not exceed eight months from the date of entry or the SIV grant date if he or she applied from within the United States. When this eight month limit has passed the individuals must meet one of the other citizenship requirements listed in this rule in order to receive benefits. County agencies that discover or become aware of any special immigrants who were terminated or denied any benefits or services on or after March 10, 2009 should re-determine those terminations or denials using this current policy.

Additional Revisions

In order to simplify rule 5101:4-3-07 it has been rescinded and filed as new. This rule has been reformatted to make the rule easier to read and understand. This rule has also been updated to reflect the program name change from "Food Stamps" to "Food Assistance."

Alien Charts

• The "Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants-Eligibility for Public Assistance Eligibility Period Chart," which provides examples of how to determine the eligibility period of an Iraqi or Afghan alien with a SIV, has been updated. This chart can be found in the desk aid section of the appendix in the Food Assistance Certification Handbook.
• The "Simplified Guide for Determining Eligibility of Noncitizens," which provides eligibility criteria for noncitizens, has been updated. This chart can also be found in the desk aid section of the appendix in the Food Assistance Certification Handbook.
• These documents are also available on the Innerweb under the Office of Family Stability, Food Assistance Policy. This page can be directly accessed by using the following web address: https://innerweb.odjfs.state.oh.us/OFam/foodstamps.shtml

Food Assistance Certification Handbook- Additional Links

To make it easier to apply this rule, we will add links to the PDF versions of the Department of Justice (DOJ) Interim Agreement (62 FR 61344) and to the Federal Register list of American Indian tribes (73 FR 18533) under a "notes" section for rule 5101:4-3-07 in the Food Assistance Certification Handbook. The links will be located on the same page as rule 5101:4-3-07. The links will be found at the bottom of the page.

Instructions: This transmittal letter obsoletes FACT number 35. Remove it and file as obsolete.