Alien Eligibility

Public Law 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) and Public Law 105-33, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, restricted eligibility of aliens to those who meet the definition of "qualified alien." An alien who meets the definition of qualified alien has various criteria that must be met before he/she is eligible to participate in the Food Stamp Program.

Public Law 105-185, the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA), amends sections 401 and 403 of PRWORA which (1) expands the definition of qualified alien, (2) extends the eligibility for certain qualified aliens from 5 years to 7 years after being admitted to the United States or granted status, and (3) adds two classifications of lawfully admitted aliens who do not meet the definition of qualified alien but who nonetheless may be eligible for food stamps for an indefinite period of time. These changes result in a change to Ohio's State-Funded Food Stamp Program for Qualified Aliens (SFSPQA). The change is that a qualified alien must have resided in the United States for 7 years (formerly 5 years) and be in the process of naturalization or be unable to naturalize because of age or disability, including language disability. Obviously, these changes result in revisions to the verification requirements of SFSPQA. (Please note that rule 5101:4-10-01 does not include a requirement that the alien has to have been at least 60 years old but no older than 65 years old as of August 22, 1996 to qualify for the SFSPQA. Subsequent to the issuance of FACT 15, it was determined that this specific age group would meet the SFPQA eligibility criteria under paragraph (D) of rule 5101:4-10-01 without adding the additional language.)

Qualified aliens who meet one of the following criteria may now be eligible for federal food stamp benefits:

Refugees, asylees, deportees, Cubans, Haitian, and Amerasians may be eligible for 7 years (instead of 5 years) after admitted or granted status;

An alien who is receiving payments or assistance for blindness or disability, as defined in the Food Stamp Act [Section 3(r)], and who was lawfully residing in the United States on August 22, 1996;

An individual who was lawfully residing in the United States on August 22, 1996, and was 65 years of age or older as of August 22, 1996; and

A child who was lawfully residing in the United States on August 22, 1996, and is now under the age of 18.

The following aliens are eligible even if they are not qualified aliens, and they are eligible for an indefinite period of time:

American Indians born in Canada to whom the provisions of section 289 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1359) apply and members of an Indian tribe as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450(e)). This provision is intended to cover Native Americans who are entitled to cross the United States border into Canada or Mexico. It is intended to include, among others, the St. Regis Band of the Mohawk in New York State, the Micmac in Maine, the Abanaki in Vermont, and the Kickapoo in Texas.

An individual who is lawfully residing in the United States and was a member of the Hmong or Highland Laotian tribe at the time that the tribe rendered assistance to United States personnel by taking part in a military or rescue operation during the Vietnam era beginning August 5, 1964 and ending May 7, 1975. The spouse or unremarried surviving spouse and unmarried dependent children of such individual may also be eligible for food stamps. (FNS is to provide additional verification guidance on this provision at a later date.)

OAC rules 5101:4-3-07 and 5101:4-10-01 have been revised. The Application for State-Funded Food Stamp Program for Qualified Aliens (T-206) and Worksheet for State-Funded Food Stamp Program for Qualified Aliens (T-207) have also been revised.

Implementation: The alien provisions in this law are effective on November 1, 1998. County agencies must implement these provisions no later than November 1, 1998, for newly applying assistance groups. A county agency may want to suggest to aliens made eligible by AREERA and who do not qualify for the State-Funded Food Stamp Program for Qualified Aliens that they may wish to wait to file applications for food stamp benefits until October 1, 1998, because they must be denied before then. If an assistance group applies in October and is not eligible until November, the assistance group should be certified for November, provided necessary verification is submitted. The current caseload shall be converted to these provisions at the assistance group's request, at the time of recertification or when the case is next reviewed, whichever occurs first. The county agency must provide restored benefits, as may be appropriate under Chapter 8000 of the FSCH, back to November 1, 1998, or the date of application, whichever is later.

Aliens participating under Ohio's State-Funded Food Stamp Program for Qualified Aliens are to be converted to the federal program without making the assistance group reapply if: (1) there is an application on file; (2) the county agency has sufficient information to determine eligibility and benefits; and (3) the assistance group's certification period extends beyond November 1, 1998. If the assistance group's certification period ends before November 1, 1998, the county agency should recertify the individual under the state-funded program and then convert the person to the federal program November 1, 1998, but in no event any later than March 1, 1999.

This transmittal obsoletes FACT No. 15.

November 1998 rule review of rule 5101:4-3-07

Effective September 26, 1996, Substitute House Bill 473 (Sub. H.B. 473) required each state agency to review its rules a minimum of once every five years. The intent of the law is to ensure that rules are clearly written and that program requirements are accurate, up-to-date, and clearly expressed. To the extent possible, unnecessary paperwork will be eliminated and local agencies will be given increased flexibility. The purpose of the rule review is to determine whether a rule should be continued without amendment, be

amended, or be rescinded, taking into consideration each rule's purpose and scope.

The rule review has been conducted in conjunction with the changes mandated by PL 104-193. Changes made as a result of the review are: the addition of headings to many paragraphs, breaking down lengthy paragraphs into ranked lists, and restoring language, which appears in paragraph (F), that provides a summary of aliens who are ineligible to participate in the Food Stamp Program (federally funded and state-funded).