RCW 388-424-0001 - Citizenship and immigration status-Definitions
For the purposes of determining an individual's citizenship and immigration status for public assistance, the following definitions apply:
(1)
"Lawfully
present" are immigrants or noncitizens who have been inspected and
admitted into the United States and have not overstayed the period for which
they were admitted, or have current permission from the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security or other federal agency to stay or live in the U.S.
(2)
"Qualified aliens" are
lawfully present immigrants defined in federal law as one of the following:
(a) Individuals lawfully admitted for
permanent residence (LPRs).
(b)
Individuals who are admitted to the U.S. as refugees under INA § 207. The
following individuals are treated the same as refugees in their eligibility for
public assistance:
(i) Hmong or Highland Lao
are members of a Hmong or Highland Laotian tribe which rendered military
assistance to the U.S. during the Vietnam era (August 5, 1964, to May 7, 1975),
and are "lawfully present" in the U.S. This category also includes the spouse
(including unremarried widow or widower) or unmarried dependent child of such
tribal members.
(ii) Victims of
trafficking according to federal law are:
(A)
Individuals who have been certified as victims of trafficking by the federal
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or have been granted a T
visa.
(B) Immediate family members
of trafficking victims. Immediate family members are the spouse or child of a
victim of any age and the parent or unmarried minor sibling if the victim is
under 21 years old.
(iii)
Afghan nationals paroled into the U.S. between July 31, 2021, and September 30,
2023, whose initial parole period has not expired or who have been granted
reparole, after evacuation from Afghanistan to the U.S.: or
(A) An individual who was paroled into the
U.S. after September 30, 2023, and is the spouse or child of an Afghan national
as defined in subsection (iii) of this section; or
(B) An individual who was paroled into the
U.S. after September 30, 2023, and who is the parent or legal guardian of an
individual defined in subsection (iii) of this section who is determined to be
an unaccompanied child;
(iv) Special immigrants from Iraq and
Afghanistan are individuals granted:
(A)
Special immigrant status under INA § 101 (a)(27);
(B) Special immigrant conditional permanent
resident; or
(C) Paroled under
section 602 (B)(1) AAPA/Sec 1059(a) NDAA 2006.
(v) Individuals from Ukraine and their family
members admitted as humanitarian parolees between February 24, 2022, and
September 30, 2024, and whose parole has not been terminated by the Secretary
of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who are:
(A) Citizens or nationals of
Ukraine;
(B) Non-Ukrainian
individuals who were habitually residing in Ukraine, and have documentation
confirming last habitual residence in Ukraine;
(C) Individuals who were first granted
humanitarian parole, and then obtained temporary protected status (TPS). They
are eligible for federally funded assistance until the end of their parole term
due to underlying receipt of humanitarian parole;
(D) A spouse or child of an individual
described in subsections (A)-(C) of this section who is paroled into the United
States after September 30, 2023;
(E) An individual who is paroled into the
U.S. after September 30, 2023, as a parent, legal guardian, or primary
caregiver of an unaccompanied refugee minor or an unaccompanied child described
in subsections (A)-(C) of this section.
(vi) Individuals who have been granted asylum
under INA §208.
(vii)
Cuban/Haitian entrants. These are nationals of Cuba or Haiti who were paroled
into the U.S. or given other special status.
(viii) Amerasians who were fathered by an
American citizen and born in Vietnam between January 1, 1962, and before
January 1, 1976, and their spouses, children, parents, or guardians
accompanying them.
(c)
Abused spouses or children, parents of abused children, or children of abused
spouses:
(i) When the alien no longer resides
with the person who committed the abuse, and has one of the following:
(A) A pending or approved I-130 petition or
application to immigrate as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen or as the
spouse or unmarried child under age 21 of a lawful permanent resident
(LPR);
(B) A notice of "prima
facie" approval of a pending self-petition under the violence against women act
(VAWA); or
(C) Proof of a pending
application for suspension of deportation or cancellation of removal under
VAWA.
(ii) Children of an
abused spouse do not need their own separate pending or approved petition, but
are included in their parent's petition if it was filed before they turned 21
years old. Children of abused persons who meet the conditions in this section
retain their "qualified alien" status even after they turn 21 years
old.
(d) Individuals who
have been granted parole into the U.S. for at least a period of one year (or
indefinitely) under INA §212 (d)(5), including "public interest"
parolees.
(e) Individuals granted
withholding of deportation or removal under INA § 243(h) or § 241
(b)(3).
(f) Individuals who were
admitted to the U.S. as conditional entrants under INA § 203 (a)(7) prior
to April 1, 1980.
(g) Citizens of
the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and
the Republic of Palau.
(3)
"Nonqualified aliens" are
noncitizens who are lawfully present in the U.S. and who are not included in
the definition of qualified aliens in subsection (2) of this section.
Nonqualified aliens include but are not limited to:
(a) Immigrants paroled into the U.S. for less
than one year;
(b) Immigrants
granted temporary protected status; or
(c) Nonimmigrants who are allowed entry into
the U.S. for a specific purpose usually for a limited time are also
nonqualified. Examples include:
(i) Business
visitors;
(ii) Students;
and
(iii) Tourists.
(4)
"Survivors of
certain crimes" are noncitizens, and any of their qualifying family
members, as defined in subsection (5) of this section, who have:
(a) Filed or are preparing to file an
application for a T visa (trafficking victim);
(b) Filed or are preparing to file an
application for a U visa (crime victim); or
(c) Been harmed by one of the specific crimes
described below; and
(i) Was granted continued
presence by U.S. Homeland Security; or
(ii) Has filed or is preparing to file an
application for asylum status.
Specific crimes include:
(A) Those related to human trafficking,
kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, custodial interference, luring, trafficking,
coercion of involuntary servitude, and others under chapter 9A.40
RCW;
(B) Sexual exploitation of
children and others under chapter 9.68A RCW; or
(C) Substantially similar crimes under
federal law or the laws of another state.
(5)
"Qualifying family
members" are the spouse and child(ren) of survivors of certain crimes,
and the parents or unmarried minor siblings if the survivor is under 21 years
old. Qualifying family members do not include a person charged with or
convicted of attempt, conspiracy, solicitation, or commission of a crime,
listed under subsection (4)(c) of this section, against the survivor of certain
crimes.
(6)
"Undocumented
aliens" are noncitizens without a lawful immigration status as defined
in subsections (2) or (3) of this section, and who:
(a) Entered the U.S. without inspection;
or
(b) Were lawfully admitted but
whose status expired or was revoked per the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security or other federal agency.
(7)
"U.S. citizens" are one of
the following:
(a) Individuals born in the
United States or its territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin
Islands; also residents of the Northern Mariana Islands who elected to become
U.S. citizens).
(b) Individuals who
have become naturalized U.S. citizens.
(c) Individuals born abroad to at least one
U.S. citizen parent depending on conditions at the time of their birth, per
title 8, subchapter III, section 1401 of the United States Code.
(d) Individuals who turn 18 years of age on
or after February 27, 2001, automatically become U.S. citizens if the following
conditions are met while the individual is under age 18 per INA 320.
(i) The individual is granted lawful
permanent resident (LPR) status;
(ii) At least one of the individual's parents
is a U.S. citizen by birth or naturalization; and
(iii) The individual:
(A) Resides in the U.S. in the legal and
physical custody of the citizen parent; or
(B) Was adopted according to the requirements
of INA 101 and resides in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody of the
citizen parent.
(e) Individuals, who turned 18 before
February 27, 2001, would have automatically became a citizen if, while still
under 18, they became a lawful permanent resident and both of their parents
were naturalized. Such individuals also may have derived citizenship when only
one parent naturalized, if the other parent was dead or a U.S. citizen by
birth, or the individual's parents were separated and the naturalized parent
had custody.
(8)
"U.S. nationals" are persons who owe permanent allegiance to the
U.S. and may enter and work in the U.S. without restriction. The following are
the only persons classified as U.S. nationals:
(a) Persons born in American Samoa or Swain's
Island after December 24, 1952; and
(b) Residents of the Northern Mariana Islands
who did not elect to become U.S. citizens.
(9)
"American Indians" born
outside the U.S. are eligible for benefits without regard to immigration status
or date of entry if:
(a) They were born in
Canada and are 50% American Indian blood (but need not belong to a federally
recognized tribe); or
(b) They are
members of a federally recognized Indian tribe or Alaskan Native village or
corporation.
Notes
Statutory Authority:
RCW
74.04.050,
74.04.057, and
74.08.090. 11-16-056, §
388-424-0001, filed 7/29/11, effective 8/29/11. Statutory Authority:
RCW
74.04.050,
74.04.055,
74.04.057,
74.08.090,
74.08A.020, and Sec. 8120 of Pub.
L 111-118 (DOD appropriations law); USDA Food and Nutrition Service federal
guidance from January 29, 2010; U.S. DHHS Administration for Children and
Families, Office of Family Assistance federal guidance letter No.
TANF-ACF-PI-2010-05 issued on June 16, 2010. 10-15-045, § 388-424-0001,
filed 7/13/10, effective 7/27/10. Statutory Authority:
RCW
74.04.050,
74.04.055,
74.04.057,
74.08A.320,
74.08.090, and Public Law 110-161
Section 525; Public Law
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.