N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-3.15

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 10:90-3.15 - Eligibility of sponsored aliens and deeming of sponsor's income and resources to a sponsored alien for eligible aliens who entered the United States after August 22, 1996

(a) The income and resources of an alien's sponsor shall be deemed to be unearned income and resources of an alien applying for WFNJ for a period of three years following the alien's entry into the United States. For purposes of deeming, a sponsor is an individual who executed an affidavit of support, Form I-134, or similar agreement (except as noted in (j) below) on behalf of an alien (who is not the child of the sponsor or the sponsor's spouse) as a condition of the alien's entry into the United States.

1. No income or resources shall be deemed from a sponsor who is (or whose spouse is) receiving WFNJ or SSI.

(b) An alien may also be sponsored by a public or private agency or organization; however, alien sponsor deeming provisions are not applicable. In such situations, (b)1 below applies.

1. Any alien who was sponsored by a public or private agency or organization, and is not exempt from deeming provisions as described in (i) or (j) below, shall be ineligible for public assistance for a period of three years following his or her entry into the United States unless the county or municipal agency determines that the public or private agency or organization no longer exists or has been declared bankrupt by a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

(c) For a period of three years following entry for permanent residence into the United States, a sponsored alien who is not exempt from deeming, as described in (i) or (j) below, shall provide the county or municipal agency with any information and documentation necessary to determine the income and resources of the sponsor and the sponsor's spouse (if applicable and if living with the sponsor) that can be deemed available to the alien, and obtain any cooperation necessary from the sponsor.

1. If the alien's circumstances change during the three-year period such that the alien is no longer exempt from or subject to deeming in accordance with (i) or (j) below, the county or municipal agency shall reflect the resulting change in unearned income in the assistance payment.

2. A sponsored alien is ineligible in any month in which adequate information concerning the income and resources of the sponsor (or sponsor's spouse if living with the sponsor) is not provided.

3. Unsponsored family members may remain eligible even if a sponsored alien fails to provide information concerning the sponsor (or sponsor's spouse if living with the sponsor). However, any income the unsponsored family members actually receive from the sponsor must be reported and considered in determining their eligibility.

(d) The amount of income of a sponsor which shall be deemed to be the unearned income of an alien shall be determined as follows:

1. The sponsor's total monthly wages, salaries, and net earnings from self-employment (and that of his or her spouse if living with the sponsor) shall be reduced by 20 percent.

2. The amount determined in (d)1 above shall be added to the unearned income of the sponsor (and that of his or her spouse if living with the sponsor).

3. The amount determined in (d)2 above shall be reduced by the following:

i. The appropriate amount from Schedule VI at 10:90-3.18 (Schedule VI is also used for calculating lump sum income) for the sponsor, spouse, and other persons residing in his or her household who are or could be claimed by the sponsor as dependents for determination of Federal personal income tax liability and who are not recipients of WFNJ;

ii. Any amounts actually paid by the sponsor or sponsor's spouse to people not living in the household who are or could be claimed by them as dependents to determine their Federal personal income tax liability; and

iii. Actual payments of spousal support or child support with respect to individuals not in the household.

4. The remaining amount shall be deemed to the alien and shall be counted as unearned income in the determination of eligibility and cash assistance benefit.

(e) The amount of resources of the sponsor (and of the sponsor's spouse if living with the sponsor) shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter. The value of the sponsor's resources shall be reduced by $ 2,000 and remaining amount shall be deemed available to the alien and counted in the determination of WFNJ eligibility and benefit payment level.

(f) In any case where a person is the sponsor of two or more aliens, the income and resources of the sponsor (and the sponsor's spouse if living with the sponsor), to the extent the income and resources would be deemed to any one of the aliens under the provisions of this section, shall be equally divided among the sponsored aliens.

(g) Income and resources which are deemed to a sponsored alien shall not be considered in determining the need of other unsponsored members of the alien's family except to the extent the income and resources are actually available. The sponsor's obligatory contribution shall not exceed the per capita share of the eligible unit's adjusted allowance for the alien(s) for whom the sponsor is liable.

(h) Any individual sponsor of an alien, and the alien, shall be jointly and severally liable for any overpayment of public assistance made to the alien during the three years after the alien's entry into the United States that was caused by the sponsor's failure to provide correct information under the provisions of this section, except as provided in (h)1 below.

1. When a sponsor is found to have good cause or to be without fault for not providing information to the county or municipal agency, the sponsor will not be held liable for the overpayment and recovery will not be made from this sponsor.

2. An overpayment for which the alien or the sponsor and the alien are liable as described above shall be repaid to the county or municipal agency or recovered in accordance with the provisions of 10:90-3.21. If the county or municipal agency is unable to recover the overpayment through this method, the overpayment shall be withheld from future payments to which the alien or the alien and the individual sponsor are entitled under:

i. Any State administered or supervised program established by the Social Security Act; or

ii. Any cash benefit program administered by the Social Security Administration and established by the Social Security Act.

(i) These deeming provisions do not apply to any alien who is:

1. Admitted as a conditional entrant refugee to the United States as a result of the application of the provision of Section 203(a)(7) (in effect prior to April 1, 1980) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

2. Admitted as a refugee to the United States as a result of the application of the provisions of Section 207(c) (in effect after March 31, 1980) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101 et seq.);

3. Paroled into the United States as a refugee under Section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

4. Granted political asylum by the Attorney General under Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

5. A Cuban or Haitian entrant as defined in Section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 ( Public Law 96-422 );

6. The dependent child of the sponsor or sponsor's spouse; or,

7. An Amerasian admitted under Section 584 of the Foreign Operation Appropriations Act beginning March 20, 1988.

(j) The enforceable "Affidavit of Support", Form I-864, is required for family based immigrants, who apply for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status on or after December 19, 1997. The I-864 form is also required in employment-based cases where a relative of the immigrant filed the employment based immigrant petition or has a significant ownership interest in the entity that filed the petition.

1. The enforceable affidavit is a contract between the sponsor and the U.S. Government that requires the sponsor to maintain the immigrant at 125 percent of the Federal Poverty Level until the sponsor dies, the immigrant becomes a citizen, or the immigrant obtains credit for 40 qualifying quarters of work and becomes an otherwise eligible alien.

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:90-3.15

Amended by R.1998 d.42, effective 1/20/1998.
See: 29 N.J.R. 3971(b), 30 N.J.R. 389(a).
Amended by R.2003 d.226, effective 6/16/2003.
See: 34 N.J.R. 2713(a), 35 N.J.R. 2670(a).
In (a), inserted reference to Form I-134 and "(except as noted in (j) below)"; added (j).
Amended by R.2011 d.078, effective 3/7/2011.
See: 42 N.J.R. 2561(b), 43 N.J.R. 630(a).
In (b)1, deleted "a" preceding "public or private".