Status and Documentation Requirements for for the Office of Refugee Services

ORR State Letter # 00-17
Date: August 17, 2000

TO: STATE REFUGEE COORDINATORS
NATIONAL VOLUNTARY RESETTLEMENT
AGENCIES OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES

FROM: Lavinia Limón, Director Office of Refugee Resettlement

SUBJECT: Status and Documentation Requirements for The Federal Refugee Resettlement Program

Purpose of this Letter

This State Letter outlines: (1) the statuses that confer eligibility for Refugee Resettlement Program benefits; (2) the documentation that is needed to prove an individual has one of those statuses; and (3) a suggested process for making eligibility determinations. Along with confirming status, eligibility determinations must include confirmation of identity, the date that an individual initially became eligible for benefits ("entry" date) and, in cases involving Cuban and Haitian entrants, nationality. More than one piece of documentation may be needed to make all of these determinations. However, this State Letter will not discuss documentation that confirms identity, nationality, or "entry" dates. This State Letter only discusses status documentation.

Process

ORR asks agencies to use the following process when determining eligibility for Refugee Resettlement Program benefits.

  1. Eligibility workers should ask the applicant for a written declaration, under penalty of perjury, that he or she has an immigration status that makes him or her eligible for Refugee Resettlement Program benefits.

  2. Eligibility workers should review documentation of immigration status as outlined in charts included with this Guide.

  3. If status is supported by documents, eligibility workers may conclude that the applicant has a qualified status and continue with other eligibility verifications, such as verification of entry date and specific program requirements.

  4. If unable to confirm status after checking documentation, which suggests eligibility, agencies should provide benefits while using other methods to verify status. Agencies, if connected with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system should follow standard SAVE procedures. If not connected to the SAVE system, agencies may verify an applicant’s status by mailing a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form G-845, Document Verification Request, with photocopies (front and back) of the applicant’s immigration document(s) to a designated Status Verification Operations Office. In either case, the agency must have executed a Memorandum of Agreement with the SAVE Program. To learn more about SAVE or register for the program, agencies can visit www.uscis.gov/SAVE. In some cases, which are mentioned below, agencies may call the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) Automated Case Information Hotline at 800.898.7180. 5 If an agency follows the above procedures but remains uncertain about an applicant’s status, please contact the Refugee Policy Unit, at RefugeeEligibility@acf.hhs.gov.

Limitations

ORR has attempted to gather a comprehensive list of documents that shows statuses conferring eligibility for ORR programs. However, DHS produces a variety of documents, some of which may be useful in a status determination but which, for a number of reasons, may not have been included in this Guide. Moreover, due to the complexity of certain categorical definitions, documentation alone may not definitively confirm eligibility in some cases. Noting these difficulties, ORR asks agencies to follow the process suggested above. If an agency has concerns or questions at any point during the process, please contact the Refugee Policy Unit, at RefugeeEligibility@acf.hhs.gov.

Proposed Rule

In August 1998, the Attorney General published a proposed rule, Verification of Eligibility for Public Benefits, 63 FR 41662, ("Proposed Rule"), with a 60-day comment period. The Proposed Rule is not in force. However, the Attorney General is expected to issue a final rule concerning verification issues. At that time, ORR will reevaluate the guidance in this letter to ensure that ORR procedures are consistent with the final verification rules. Agencies should follow the guidance in this State Letter until a final rule is issued by the Attorney General.

Status Requirements

Individuals with the following statuses are eligible for Refugee Resettlement Program benefits (See 45 CFR § 400.43(a) (1)-(6) or statutory provisions cited below):

  1. Individuals paroled as refugees or asylees under § 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)

  2. Refugees admitted under § 207 of the INA

  3. Asylees whose status was granted under § 208 of the INA

  4. Cuban and Haitian entrants, in accordance with the requirements in 45 CFR § 401.2[1]

    1. Any individual granted parole status as a Cuban/Haitian Entrant (Status Pending) or granted any other special status subsequently established under the immigration laws for nationals of Cuba or Haiti, regardless of the status of the individual at the time assistance or services are provided

    2. A national of Cuba or Haiti who was paroled into the United States and has not acquired any other status under the INA and with respect to whom a final, non-appealable, and legally enforceable order of removal, deportation or exclusion has not been entered

    3. A national of Cuba or Haiti who is the subject of removal, deportation or exclusion proceedings under the INA and with respect to whom a final, non-appealable, and legally enforceable order of removal, deportation or exclusion has not been entered

    4. A national of Cuba or Haiti who has an application for asylum pending with DHS/USCIS or Department of Justice (DOJ)/EOIR and with respect to whom a final, non-appealable, and legally enforceable order of removal, deportation or exclusion has not been entered

  5. Lawful permanent residents provided the individuals previously held one of the statuses identified above (Note that this does not refer to Amerasians who are admitted as lawful permanent residents, or to Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants. See #6 and #7 below.)

  6. Certain Amerasians from Vietnam who are admitted to the United States as immigrants pursuant to § 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988 (as contained in § 101(e) of Public Law 100-202), as amended (8 U.S.C. § 1101 note).

  7. Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants per section 1244(g) of Div. A of Pub. L. 110-181, as amended (8 U.S.C. § 1157 note) and section 602(b)(8) of Div. F of Pub. L. 111-8, as amended (8 U.S.C. § 1101 note).

  8. Victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons per the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-386, as amended, 22 U.S.C. § 7105(b)(1)(A) and (C).