Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
This rule sets forth who is a sponsored alien, when a sponsor's
income and resources are counted to determine eligibility and the county
agency's responsibilities.
(A) Who is
a sponsored alien?
A sponsored alien is an alien for whom a person (the sponsor)
has executed an affidavit of support (INS form I-864 or I-864A)
(10/2019) with the United States citizenship and
immigration services (USCIS) on behalf of the alien pursuant to section 213A of
the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.
(B) When is the income and resources of the
alien's sponsor and sponsor's spouse counted?
The county agency must attribute a portion of the
sponsor
and sponsor's spouse's income and resources until the alien gains U.S.
citizenship, has worked or can receive credit for forty qualifying quarters of
work as described in rule
5101:4-3-07 of the
Administrative Code, or the sponsor dies.
(C) What portion of the
sponsor
and sponsor's spouse's income is attributed to the sponsored alien?
(1) A portion of the
sponsor
and sponsor's spouse's monthly income shall be counted as unearned income
to the sponsored alien's assistance group. The monthly income of the sponsor
and the sponsor's spouse shall be determined in accordance with rules
5101:4-4-19 and
5101:4-4-13 of the
Administrative Code at the time the assistance group containing the sponsored
alien applies or is recertified minus the deductions listed as follows:
The county agency shall:
(a) Apply the twenty per cent earned income
deduction to the earned income of the sponsor and the sponsor's spouse;
and
(b) Subtract an amount equal to
the monthly gross income standard for an assistance group equal in size to the
sponsor, the sponsor's spouse, and any other person who is claimed or who could
be claimed by the sponsor or the sponsor's spouse as a dependent for federal
income tax purposes.
(2)
The county agency shall consider as income to the alien any money the sponsor
or the sponsor's spouse pays to the eligible sponsored alien, but only to the
extent the money exceeds the amount attributed to the sponsored alien in
accordance with paragraph (C)(1) of this rule.
(3) When the alien has already reported gross
income information for his or her sponsor in compliance with Ohio works first
(OWF) sponsored alien rule
5101:1-2-35 of the
Administrative Code, the county agency may use that income amount for the
supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP).
(D) What portion of the
sponsor and sponsor's spouse's resources are attributed to the sponsored
alien?
The county agency must attribute the total amount of the
resources of the sponsor and the sponsor's spouse as determined in rule
5101:4-4-01 of the
Administrative Code reduced by fifteen hundred dollars.
(E) How are the income and resources of the
sponsor and sponsor's spouse attributed when he
or she sponsors multiple aliens?
When a sponsored alien can demonstrate to the county agency's
satisfaction that his or her sponsor is the sponsor of other aliens, the county
agency shall divide the income and resources attributed under paragraphs (C)
and (D) of this rule by the number of such sponsored aliens.
(F) When are the sponsor and sponsor's spouse's income and resources not attributed to the
sponsored alien?
The county agency shall not attribute a portion of a
sponsor and sponsor's spouse's income or resources when the sponsored alien
is:
(1) An alien who is a member of
his or her sponsor's assistance group.
(2) An alien who is sponsored by an
organization or group as opposed to an individual.
(3) An alien who is not required to have a
sponsor under the Immigration and Nationality Act, such as a refugee, a
parolee, an asylee, or a Cuban or Haitian entrant.
(4) An ineligible alien as described in rule
5101:4-3-07 of the
Administrative Code.
(5) An
indigent alien that the county agency has determined is unable to obtain food
and shelter taking into account the alien's own income plus any cash, food,
housing, or other assistance provided by other individuals, including the
sponsor(s).
(a) For purposes of this
paragraph, the phrase "is unable to obtain food and shelter" means that the sum
of the eligible sponsored alien's assistance group's own income, the cash
contributions of the sponsor and others, and the value of any in-kind
assistance the sponsor and others provide, does not exceed one hundred thirty
per cent of the federal poverty income guideline for the assistance group's
size. In accordance with rule
5101:4-4-11 of the
Administrative Code, the one hundred thirty per cent of the federal poverty
income guideline amounts are issued through a food assistance change
transmittal and adjusted annually.
(b) The county agency must determine the
amount of income and other assistance provided in the month of application.
When the alien is indigent, the only amount that the county agency shall
attribute to such an alien will be the amount actually provided for a period
beginning on the date of such determination and ending twelve months after such
date. Each indigence determination is renewable for additional twelve-month
periods.
(6) A battered
alien spouse, alien parent of a battered child, or child of a battered alien,
for twelve months after the county agency determines that the battering is
substantially connected to the need for benefits, and the battered individual
does not live with the batterer. After twelve months, the county agency shall
not attribute the batterer's income and resources when the battery is
recognized by a court or the USCIS and has a substantial connection to the need
for benefits (for guidance, see the department of justice interim guidance
published on November 17, 1997 (62
C.F.R. 61344)), and
the alien does not live with the batterer.
(7) A child who is under eighteen years of
age.
(G) What are the
responsibilities of the sponsored alien?
(1)
Obtaining the cooperation of the sponsor and sponsor's
spouse and for providing the county agency at the time of application and
reapplication with the information and documentation necessary to calculate
deemed income and resources.
(2)
Providing the names and other identifying factors of other aliens for whom the
alien's sponsor has signed an affidavit of support. The county agency shall
attribute the entire amount of income and resources to the sponsored alien
until he/she provides the information in this paragraph.
(3) Reporting the required information about
the sponsor and sponsor's spouse should the alien obtain a different sponsor
during the certification period and for reporting a change in income should the
sponsor or the sponsor's spouse change, lose employment or die during the
certification period. Such changes shall be handled in accordance with
timeliness standards and procedures described in rule
5101:4-7-01 of the
Administrative Code.
(H)
What are the responsibilities of the county agency?
(1) The county agency shall notify the state
agency when it determines a sponsored alien is indigent, including the names of
the sponsor and sponsored alien involved, so the information can be forwarded
to the attorney general.
(2) The
county agency shall exclude any sponsor who is participating in SNAP from any
demand for restitution as set forth in 8
C.F.R. 213a.4(a)
(8/2011) for the value of SNAP benefits issued to an eligible sponsored alien
he or she sponsors.
(I)
What happens when the sponsored alien does not cooperate with providing
necessary information and verifications?
(1)
Until the sponsored alien provides information or verification necessary to
carry out the provisions of this rule and meets the provisions described in
rule 5101:4-2-01 of the
Administrative Code, the sponsored alien is ineligible. The county agency shall
determine the eligibility of any remaining assistance group members. The county
agency shall consider the income and resources of the ineligible alien
(excluding the income and resources of the alien's sponsor and the sponsor's
spouse) in determining the eligibility and benefit level of the remaining
assistance group members.
(2) When
the county agency subsequently receives the information or verification, it
shall act on the information as a reported change to the assistance group
members in accordance with the provisions of rule
5101:4-7-01 of the
Administrative Code.
(3) When the
same sponsor is responsible for the entire assistance group, the entire
assistance group is ineligible until such time as the assistance group provides
the needed sponsor information or verification. The county agency shall assist
aliens in obtaining verification in accordance with the provisions of rule
5101:4-2-09 of the
Administrative Code.
