Revision 18-1; Effective January 1, 2018

TANF and Medical Programs except TA 31, TP 32, TP 33, TP 34, TP 35 and TP 36

LPRs admitted prior to Aug. 22, 1996, meet the alien eligibility requirement by having 40 qualifying quarters of social security coverage.  LPRs admitted on or after Aug. 22, 1996, meet the alien eligibility requirement by having 40 countable qualifying quarters of social security coverage, if five years have passed since the legal date of entry. An LPR does not have to meet the 40-quarter requirement, including the five-year wait, if any of the following apply.

The alien:

• has a military connection;
• entered the U.S. with a status described in Chart C of A-342, TANF and Medical Programs Alien Status Eligibility Charts, and meets the eligibility criteria for refugees, asylees, etc., or meets the criteria in A-343, How to Determine Eligibility for Battered Aliens; and
• is a qualified immigrant or non-immigrant child age 18 and under who lawfully resides in the U.S. with a status described in Chart D of A-342, TANF and Medical Programs Alien Status Eligibility Charts.

SNAP

LPRs with 40 qualifying quarters meet the alien eligibility requirement. An LPR does not have to meet the 40-quarter requirement if the alien:

• lawfully resided in the U.S. as a qualified immigrant for five years from the date of entry;
• was admitted to the U.S. on or before Aug. 22, 1996, and was age 65 or older on Aug. 22, 1996;
• meets the definition of disability in B-432, Definition of Disability (regardless of when the alien acquired a disability or entered the U.S.);
• is currently under age 18 (regardless of when the alien entered the U.S.);
• has a military connection; or
• qualifies as a refugee, asylee, etc., as shown in Chart A of A-341, SNAP Alien Status Eligibility Charts.

Related Policy

Verifying 40 "Qualifying Quarters," A-354

 

 

A-331 Whose Quarters Can Be Considered

Revision 15-4; Effective October 1, 2015

All Programs except TA 31, TP 32, TP 33, TP 34, TP 35 and TP 36

For purposes of establishing eligibility through the use of the 40 "qualifying quarters" requirement,  LPRs are credited with quarters of earnings for the:

• LPR,
• LPR's current spouse or deceased spouse regardless if the spouse is an LPR or a U.S. citizen, and
• LPR's parent before the LPR turned age 18. This includes adoptive parents or stepparents.

Note: All of the quarters earned by the LPR's parents through the quarter the LPR turns age 18 are counted.

When determining whether to credit the quarters to an individual's spouse, the advisor must count quarters earned:

• beginning with the quarter from the date of marriage, and
• by a deceased spouse only if the marriage was not terminated before the spouse died.

Quarters earned by divorced spouses for either ex-spouses do not count. LPRs who divorce after certification retain their eligible alien status through the end of the current certification period. This also applies to stepchildren.

Until the quarter a child turns age 18, to meet the 40-quarter requirement, a child may use quarters earned by:

• natural or adoptive parents;
• stepparents from the date of marriage to the legal parent; and
• deceased parents.

Related Policy

Verifying 40 "Qualifying Quarters," A-354