Md. Code Regs. 07.03.17.09

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 22, November 1, 2024

Section 07.03.17.09 - Citizenship and Immigrant Status

A. An individual may not participate in the Program unless the individual is:

(1) A United States citizen;

(2) A United States non-citizen national as defined in Regulation .02B of this chapter;

(3) A Native American born in Canada who possesses at least 50 percent of blood of the Native American race to whom the provisions of Immigration and Nationality Act § 289 apply as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1359 or a member of an Indian tribe as defined in 25 U.S.C. § 450(e);

(4) Lawfully residing in the United States, and:

(a) Was a member of a Hmong or Highland Lao tribe at the time the tribe assisted the U.S. armed forces during the Vietnam War;

(b) Is the spouse or surviving spouse of an individual described in §A(4)(a) of this regulation; or

(c) Is an unmarried biological or legally adopted dependent child of an individual described in §A(4)(a) of this regulation if the child is:

(i) 17 years old or younger,

(ii) 21 years old or younger and a full time student, or

(iii) Disabled and 18 years old or older if the child was disabled and dependent on the individual described in §A(4)(a) of this regulation when the child was younger than 18 years old; or

(5) Both a qualified alien as defined in Regulation .02B of this chapter and an eligible immigrant as described in §§B-F of this regulation.

B. Time Limited Eligibility. An immigrant is an eligible immigrant if the individual has:

(1) Been admitted to the United States as a refugee under § 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(2) Been granted asylum under § 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(3) Had the immigrant's deportation or removal withheld under § 243(h) or § 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(4) Been granted status as a Cuban and Haitian entrant as defined in § 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980;

(5) Been admitted to the United States as an Amerasian immigrant under 8 U.S.C. § 1612(a)(2)(A); or

(6) Been certified by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement as a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons in accordance with Public Law 106-386Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

C. Work Quarters. An immigrant who is lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act is eligible if the individual:

(1) Has worked 40 qualifying quarters of coverage as defined under Title II of the Social Security Act; or

(2) Can be credited with the qualifying quarters.

D. Military Connection. An immigrant who is a qualified alien is eligible if the individual is:

(1) An honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. armed forces who fulfills the minimum active duty service requirements of 3 8 U.S.C. § 5303A(d), including an individual who died in active military, naval, or air service;

(2) On active military duty, other than active duty for training in the U.S. armed forces;

(3) The spouse or unmarried dependent child of an individual described in §D(1) or (2) of this regulation if the:

(a) Marriage fulfilled the requirements of 3 8 U.S.C. § 1304; and

(b) Spouse has not remarried; or

(4) An unmarried biological or legally adopted dependent child of an individual described in §D(1) or (2) of this regulation if the child is:

(a) 17 years old or younger,

(b) 21 years old or younger and a full time student, or

(c) Disabled and 18 years old or older if the child was disabled and dependent on the individual described in §D(1) or (2) of this regulation when the child was younger than 18 years old.

E. An immigrant who is a qualified alien and who was lawfully residing in the U.S. on August 22, 1996, is eligible if the individual was born on or before August 22, 1931.

F. An immigrant who is a qualified alien as defined in Regulation .02B of this chapter is eligible if the individual:

(1) Is disabled as described in Regulation .02B of this chapter;

(2) Has resided in the United States as a qualified alien for 5 years or more, beginning on the date of the immigrant's entry into the United States; or

(3) Is a child younger than 18 years old.

G. While waiting for acceptable verification, an immigrant is ineligible until the household provides acceptable proof, except if the:

(1) Local department has sent a copy of a document furnished by the household to INS for verification;

(2) Applicant or local department has sent a request to the Social Security Administration (SSA) for information about the number of quarters of work as described in §C of this regulation, SSA has responded that the individual has fewer than 40 quarters, and the individual provides documentation from SSA that SSA is investigating to see if SSA can credit more work quarters; or

(3) Applicant or local department has submitted a request to a federal agency for proof of information that has a bearing on the individual's immigrant status.

Md. Code Regs. 07.03.17.09

Regulation .09A amended effective July 31, 1995 (22:15 Md. R. 1118)
Regulations .09 adopted effective December 25, 2000 (27:25 Md. R. 2280)
Regulation .09 amended as an emergency provision effective November 1, 2001 (28:24 Md. R. 2122); amended permanently effective March 18, 2002 (29:5 Md. R. 502)
Regulation .09 amended effective November 25, 2002 (29:23 Md. R. 1810); April 1, 2003 (30:6 Md. R. 419); October 27, 2003 (30:21 Md. R. 1528)