Wash. Admin. Code § 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. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (CIS) 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), Office on Trafficking in
Person (OTIP), 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 and their spouses and children, paroled into the U.S. between July
31, 2021, and September 30, 2022, after evacuation from Afghanistan to the
U.S., or to a location over-seas: or
(A) an
individual who was paroled into the U.S. after September 30, 2022, and is the
spouse or child of an Afghan national as defined in subsection (iii) of this
section;
(B) an individual 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, 2023, 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) A parent, legal guardian, or primary
caregiver of an unaccompanied refugee minor or an unaccompanied child described
in subsections (A)-(C) of this section who is paroled into the United States
after September 30, 2023.
(c) Individuals who have been granted asylum
under INA §208.
(d) Cuban/Haitian
entrants. These are nationals of Cuba or Haiti who were paroled into the U.S.
or given other special status.
(e)
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.
(f) 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.
(g) Individuals granted
withholding of deportation or removal under INA §243(h) or §241
(b)(3).
(h) Individuals who were
admitted to the U.S. as conditional entrants under INA §203 (a)(7) prior to
April 1, 1980.
(i) Amerasians who
were born to U.S. citizen armed services members in Southeast Asia during the
Vietnam War.
(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 (1) of this section. Nonqualified aliens include but are not limited
to:
(a) Citizens of Marshall Islands,
Micronesia, or Palau;
(b)
Immigrants paroled into the U.S. for less than one year;
(c) Immigrants granted temporary protected
status; or
(d) 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.
(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. illegally; or
(b) Were lawfully admitted but whose status
expired or was revoked per United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS).
(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) American Indians born outside the U.S.
without regard to immigration status or date of entry if:
(i) They were born in Canada and are 50
percent American Indian blood (but need not belong to a federally recognized
tribe); or
(ii) They are members of
a federally recognized Indian tribe or Alaskan Native village or
corporation.
(c)
Individuals who have become naturalized U.S. citizens .
(d) Individuals born abroad to at least one
U.S. citizen parent depending on conditions at the time of their birth, per
title 8, sub-chapter III, section 1401 of the United States Code.
(e) 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.
(f) 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 .
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
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