SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

(Economic Services Administration)

[Filed May 25, 2022, 1:16 p.m., effective June 25, 2022]

Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

Purpose: The department is amending WAC 388-424-0001 Citizenship and alien status—Definitions, 388-424-0020 How does my alien status impact my eligibility for federally funded Basic Food benefits?, and 388-466-0005 Immigration status requirements for refugee cash assistance, to align state rules for public benefits eligibility of special immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan paroled in the United States under Section 602 (B)(1) of Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 or Sec. 1059(a) of National Defense Authorization Act.

Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-424-0001, 388-424-0020, and 388-466-0005.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, and 74.08.090.

Adopted under notice filed as WSR 22-08-092 on April 5, 2022.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 3, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 3, Repealed 0.

Date Adopted: May 25, 2022.

Katherine I. Vasquez

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 22-02-014, filed 12/27/21, effective 2/1/22)

WAC 388-424-0001Citizenship 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 overseas.

(((iii)))(iv) Special immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan are individuals granted:

(A)((special))Special immigrant status under INA §101 (a)(27)((.));

(B) Special immigrant conditional permanent resident; or

(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

(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 above 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;

(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

(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

(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 ((fifty))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.

(d) 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.

(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 ((eighteen))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.

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 12-18-024, filed 8/27/12, effective 9/27/12)

WAC 388-424-0020How does my alien status impact my eligibility for federally funded Basic Food benefits?

(1) If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. national as defined in WAC 388-424-0001 and meet all other eligibility requirements, you may receive federal Basic Food benefits.

(2) If you are not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national, you must fall within (a) or (b) of this subsection, and meet all other eligibility requirements, in order to receive federal Basic Food benefits:

(a) You are a member of one of the following groups of lawful immigrants as defined in WAC 388-424-0001:

(i) Amerasian;

(ii) Asylee;

(iii) Cuban or Haitian entrant;

(iv) Deportation or removal withheld;

(v) Refugee;

(vi) Afghan nationals paroled into the U.S. between July 31, 2021, and September 30, 2022;

(vii) Special immigrant from Iraq or Afghanistan;

(((vii)))(viii) Victim of trafficking;

(((viii)))(ix) Noncitizen American Indian; or

(((ix)))(x) Hmong or Highland Lao tribal member.

(b)(i) You are a member of one of the following groups of qualified aliens as defined in WAC 388-424-0001:

(A) Conditional entrant;

(B) Lawful permanent resident (LPR);

(D) Abused spouse or child or parent or child of an abused spouse or child.

(ii) And, one of the following also applies to you:

(A) You have worked or can get credit for forty Social Security Administration (SSA) work quarters - as described in WAC 388-424-0008;

(B) You are an active duty personnel or honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. military or you are the spouse, unmarried surviving spouse, or unmarried dependent child of someone who meets this requirement, as described in WAC 388-424-0007;

(C) You receive cash or medical benefits based on supplemental security income (SSI) criteria for blindness or disability;

(D) You have lived in the U.S. as a "qualified alien" as described in WAC 388-424-0001 for at least five years;

(E) You are under age eighteen; or

(F) You were lawfully residing in the U.S. on August 22, 1996 and were born on or before August 22, 1931.

(3) If you are a legal immigrant not eligible for federal benefits under Basic Food only because of your alien status, you may be eligible for state-funded food assistance program (FAP) benefits under WAC 388-400-0050.

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 12-19-037, filed 9/12/12, effective 10/13/12)

WAC 388-466-0005Immigration status requirements for refugee cash assistance.

(1) You may be eligible for refugee cash assistance (RCA) if you can provide documentation issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), that you are:

(a) Admitted as a refugee under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationalities Act (INA);

(b) Paroled into the U.S. as a refugee or asylee under section 212 (d)(5) of the INA;

(d) Granted asylum under section 208 of the INA;

(e) Admitted as an Amerasian Immigrant from Vietnam through the orderly departure program, under section 584 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, incorporated in the FY88 Continuing Resolution P.L. 100-212;

(f) A Cuban-Haitian entrant who was admitted as a public interest parolee under section 212 (d)(5) of the INA;

(g) Certified as a victim of human trafficking by the federal office of refugee resettlement (ORR);

(h) An eligible family member of a victim of human trafficking certified by ORR who has a T-2, T-3, T-4, or T-5 Visa;

(i) Afghan nationals paroled into the U.S. between July 31, 2021, and September 30, 2022;

(j) Admitted as Special Immigrant from Iraq or Afghanistan under section 101 (a)(27) of the INA, or special immigrant conditional permanent resident, or paroled under section 602 (B)(1)AAPA/Sec 1059(a) NDAA 2006.

(2) A permanent resident alien meets the immigration status requirements for RCA if the individual was previously in one of the statuses described in subsections (1)(a) through (g) of this section.