305.13 Qualified Aliens Eligible Without Restriction (FSM)

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The following categories of qualified aliens are eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits without restriction, if all other SNAP eligibility criteria are met:

• refugees, from the individual’s date of entry into the U.S. with such status;

 Exception: Non-citizens who have been certified as a victim of trafficking by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), and who do not meet the definition of qualified aliens, may still be eligible for SNAP benefits as if the individuals were admitted to the U.S. as refugees in accordance with the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-386). Certified victims of trafficking must meet all other SNAP eligibility criteria in order to receive benefits. The ORR certification letters contain expiration dates which are 8 months from the initial certification date, and can be renewed, if the trafficking circumstances continue to be met, only by ORR.

• asylees, from the date of INS action to grant asylum;

• Cuban/Haitian Immigrants, from the date of entry into the U.S. with such status;

• Amerasian Immigrants; and

• non-citizens whose deportation are being withheld, from the date of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) action to withhold deportation.

 • COFA Migrants- individuals who lawfully reside in the United States who have citizenship from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau in accordance with the Compact of Free Association (COFA)

References: 7 CFR 273.4(a)(6)(ii), 8 USC 1611-1613, 8 USC 1641