Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
The deeming of income and assets rules for sponsored
noncitizens do not apply to categorically eligible households as defined in
106 CMR
365.180: Categorically Eligible
Assistance Units.
The deeming of income and assets rules for sponsored
noncitizens will be applied to any household which contains a member
disqualified from receiving SNAP benefits due to: a failure to comply with the
ABAWD Work Program at
106 CMR
362.320; a failure to comply with TAFDC
Income Reporting requirements at
106 CMR
366.110: Household Reporting
Responsibilities; or any of the reasons listed in
106 CMR
367.800: Disqualification
Penalties. In addition, non-SSI elder and/or disabled households with
income, not including the income of the sponsor(s), that exceeds the
Categorical Eligibility Gross Income Standards at
106 CMR
364.976: Gross Monthly Categorical
Eligibility Income Standards will be subject to sponsor deeming
requirements.
(A)
Definitions.
(1)
Sponsor. A sponsor is any person, including a cosigner
spouse, who executed a legally enforceable affidavit of support or similar
agreement on behalf of a noncitizen as a condition of that noncitizen's entry
into the United States.
(2)
Sponsored Noncitizen. A sponsored noncitizen is a
noncitizen who has been admitted to the United States as a legal permanent
resident and for whom a legally enforceable affidavit of support was signed as
a condition of entry into the United States.
(3)
Affidavit of
Support.
(a) An affidavit of
support is a contract meeting the requirements of Section 213A of the INA, in
which a sponsor agrees to financially support the noncitizen, so that the
noncitizen will not become primarily dependent on the government, demonstrated
by either receipt of cash assistance or institutionalization for long-term care
at government expense.
(b) The
affidavit of support is a contract which is legally enforceable against the
sponsor by the federal, state and local agencies which provide any means-tested
public benefits program.
(4)
Sponsor Deeming.
Sponsor Deeming is the counting of the income and assets, in accordance with
106 CMR 363.100 through
363.230, of the
sponsor(s) based on the amount on the affidavit of support or current
verification of the sponsor's circumstances, whether or not monies are actually
given to the sponsored noncitizen.
(B)
Requirements.
(1) When a sponsored noncitizen adult (18
years of age or older) applies for SNAP benefits, the income and assets of the
sponsored noncitizen shall be deemed to include the income and assets of the
sponsor(s) in accordance with 106 CMR 362.270(E) unless the Sponsor Deeming
provisions do not apply in accordance with 106 CMR 362.270(D).
(2) When a sponsored noncitizen adult has:
(a) provided acceptable verification of his
or her noncitizen immigration status;
(b) provided or applied for a Social Security
Number; and
(c) indicates an
inability or unwillingness to provide acceptable verification of the income and
assets of the sponsor(s).
The sponsored noncitizen shall be ineligible. The Department
shall not continue to obtain documentation. SNAP benefits will be determined
for the remaining members of the household who verify an eligible noncitizen
status and meet other eligibility requirements in accordance with
106 CMR
365.520(B).
(3) When sponsored noncitizen adults are the
only members of a household and indicate an inability or unwillingness to
provide acceptable verification of the income and assets of the sponsor(s) the
entire household shall be ineligible.
(C)
Verification.
(1) If the sponsored noncitizen was granted
legal permanent resident status on or after June 1, 1998, the Department will
presume the noncitizen was sponsored under a legally enforceable affidavit of
support. The sponsored noncitizen can rebut this presumption by verifying that
he or she was not sponsored by a family member or was sponsored by an affidavit
of support which is not legally enforceable.
(2) The following information must be
provided to the Department by the noncitizen before certification or
recertification unless 106 CMR 362.270(B)(2) or (3) apply:
(a) The name and address of the sponsor(s);
and
(b) The income and assets of
the sponsor(s). All income and assets of the sponsor(s) shall be verified in
accordance with
106 CMR 363.000:
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Financial Eligibility
Standards.
(D)
Noncitizens Not Subject to
Sponsor Deeming.
(1) The Sponsor
Deeming provisions shall not apply to any noncitizen, present in the United
States for whom a legally enforceable affidavit of support was not required.
Noncitizens not subject to sponsor deeming include:
(a) asylees pursuant to section 208 of the IN
A;
(b) refugees pursuant to section
207 of the INA;
(c) parolees
pursuant to section 212(d)(5) of the INA for a period of at least one
year;
(d) members of a Hmong or
other Highland Laotian tribe at the time the tribe rendered assistance to
United States personnel by taking part in a military or rescue operation during
the Vietnam Era beginning August 5, 1964 and ending May 7, 1975;
(e) noncitizens whose deportation is being
withheld pursuant to section 243(h) or 241(b)(3) of the INA;
(f) Cuban/Haitian entrants (as defined by
section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980);
(g) Amerasian immigrants (as defined by
section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 1988);
(h)
conditional entrants pursuant to section 203(a)(7) of the INA;
(i) veterans or active duty personnel as
provided in
106 CMR
362.240(F);
(j) noncitizens sponsored by a public or
private organization or group rather than by an individual; or
(k) noncitizens living in the same SNAP
household as the sponsor.
(2) At the option of the sponsored
noncitizen, the Sponsor Deeming provisions shall not apply for a period of 12
months if the sponsored noncitizen claims and verifies one of the following
exceptions.
(a)
Battered
Noncitizen Exception. The noncitizen verifies he or she was
battered and there is a substantial connection between the need for SNAP
benefits and the battery (in the opinion of the Department, which opinion is
not subject to review by any court):
1. if
the noncitizen was battered or subject to extreme cruelty in the United States
by a spouse or a parent, or by a member of the family of the spouse or parent
residing in the same household as the noncitizen and the spouse or parent
consented or acquiesced to such battery or cruelty; or
2. if the noncitizen's child has been
battered or subject to extreme cruelty in the United States by a spouse or a
parent of the noncitizen (without active participation of the noncitizen in the
battery or cruelty), or by a member of the family of the spouse or the parent
residing in the same household as the noncitizen and the spouse or parent
consented or acquiesced to such battery or cruelty; and
3. if the battered noncitizen or the battered
noncitizen's child is no longer living in the same household as the individual
responsible for such battery or cruelty.
This exception may be reviewed and benefits continued after the
12-month period if the noncitizen demonstrates that such battery or cruelty
described above has been recognized in an order of a judge or administrative
law judge or a prior determination of the USCIS, and that such battery or
cruelty has a substantial connection to the need for benefits.
(b)
Indigent
Exception. The noncitizen verifies that the sum of the sponsored
noncitizen's SNAP household's own income and any cash or in-kind assistance
provided by the sponsor(s) or others is less than the Maximum Gross Monthly
Income Standard found at
106 CMR
364.950:
Maximum Gross Monthly Income
Standards.
Each indigence determination is effective for 12 months and may
be renewed for additional 12-month periods.
The Commissioner or designee shall notify the Attorney General
of each indigency determination, including the names of the sponsor(s) and the
sponsored noncitizen adult(s).
(3) The Sponsor Deeming provisions shall end
when:
(a) The sponsored noncitizen becomes a
United States citizen through naturalization pursuant to Chapter 2 of Title in
of the IN A; or
(b) The sponsored
noncitizen has worked a minimum of 40 qualifying quarters pursuant to Title II
of the Social Security Act; or
(c)
The sponsored noncitizen can be credited with a total of 40 qualifying quarters
under Title II of the Social Security Act as worked by:
1. the noncitizen;
2. the parent(s) of the noncitizen prior to
the birth of the noncitizen until the noncitizen became 18 years of age;
and/or
3. the spouse of the
noncitizen during their marriage if the noncitizen remains married to the
spouse or is widowed.
However, no quarter may be claimed after December 31, 1996 if
benefits from a means tested program were received from any state during that
same quarter.
(d)
The sponsored noncitizen no longer has a status of a noncitizen lawfully
admitted for permanent residence and has left the United States; or
(e) The sponsor(s)
dies.
(E)
Determination of Available Income from a Sponsor. The
total monthly countable income of the sponsor(s) is identified in accordance
with
106 CMR 363.220:
Countable Income. Excluded income listed in
106 CMR 363.230:
Excluded Income is not counted. The portion of the monthly
income of the sponsor(s) that shall be deemed as unearned income to the
sponsored noncitizen adult(s) shall be calculated as follows:
(1) Subtract 20% from the monthly gross
earned income and add that result to the monthly gross unearned income, if
any;
(2) Subtract from the result
of (1) the Maximum Gross Monthly Income Standards at
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dta/program-eligibility-charts-and-tables.html
for the household equal in size to the sponsor(s) and any other person who is
claimed or could be claimed by the sponsor(s) as a dependent for federal income
tax purposes;
(3) Divide the result
of (2) by the number of sponsored noncitizens; then
(4) Multiply the result of (3) by the number
of sponsored noncitizen adults applying for SNAP benefits. This is the
sponsors' deemed income amount.
(F)
Determination of Countable
Assets from a Sponsor. The total countable assets of a sponsor(s)
are identified in accordance with
106 CMR 363.130:
Countable Assets. Excluded assets listed in
106 CMR
363.140: Noncountable Assets
are not counted. The assets of a sponsor(s) which shall be deemed to the
noncitizen shall be calculated as follows:
(1) Add the countable assets
together;
(2) Subtract $1500 from
the result of (1);
(3) Divide the
result of (2) by the number of sponsored noncitizens; then
(4) Multiply the result of (3) by the number
of sponsored noncitizen adults applying for SNAP benefits. This is the
sponsors' deemed asset amount.
(G)
Sponsorship of More than One
Noncitizen. If an individual has sponsored more than one
noncitizen, the total monthly income and total assets of the sponsor(s), shall
be prorated among all the sponsored noncitizens.
(H)
Request for
Reimbursement.
(1) The sponsor
is obligated to reimburse the Department for any means-tested public benefit
which was provided to the sponsored noncitizen, unless the sponsor's obligation
terminates as provided in 106 CMR 362.270(D)(3). The termination of the
sponsor's support obligation does not relieve the sponsor of responsibility to
reimburse the Department for means-tested benefits that were recevied before
the support obligation terminated.
(2) The request for reimbursement shall be a
written request notifying the sponsor that the sponsor must, within 45 days of
the date of service, respond to the request for reimbursement either by paying
the reimbursement or arranging to begin payments. If within 45 days the sponsor
does not indicate a willingness to pay, the Department may sue the sponsor in a
state or federal court.
