Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 340 - Department of Human Services
Chapter 10 - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Subchapter 15 - Conditions of Eligibility - Citizenship and Alienage
Section 340:10-15-1 - Citizenship and alien status

Universal Citation: OK Admin Code 340:10-15-1

Current through Vol. 41, No. 13, March 15, 2024

(a) A person eligible to be included in a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefit, must be:

(1) a citizen or a national of the United States (U.S.), including the 50 states, District of Columbia, commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands. A person may be a citizen of the U.S. by being born in the U.S. or by being born in some other country but moving to the U.S. and being granted U.S. citizenship through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) a bureau of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; or

(2) a qualified alien described as:
(A) an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA);

(B) an alien who is paroled into the U.S., per Section 212(d)(5) of INA for a period of at least one year;

(C) an alien who is granted conditional entry, per Section 203(a)(7) of INA as in effect prior to April 1, 1980;

(D) an alien who is granted asylum, per Section 208 of INA;

(E) a refugee who is admitted to the U.S., per Section 207 of INA;

(F) an alien whose deportation is withheld, per Section 241(b)(3) of INA;

(G) an alien who is a Cuban or Haitian entrant as defined, per Section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980;

(H) battered aliens and their children or parents as defined, per Section 431(c) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act as amended, Section 1641(c) of Title 8 of the United States Code (8 U.S.C. § 1641(c);

(I) an alien and his or her eligible relatives who are victims of a severe form of trafficking, per Section 107(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 that was reauthorized and amended by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2013;

(J) an Iraqi admitted in special immigrant status as defined in Section 101(a)(27) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27), and Section 1059, Public Law (P.L.) 109-163, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, and Section 1244 of P.L. 110-181, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, per Section 525 of Division G of P.L. 110-161, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, Section 1244 of P.L. 110-181, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, and Section 8120 of P.L. 111-118. The person must be treated as a refugee;

(K) an Afghan admitted in special immigrant status as defined, per Section 101(a)(27) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(27) and Section 1059, P.L. 109-163, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, Section 602, Division F, P.L. 111-08, the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, pursuant to Section 525 of Division G of P.L. 110-161 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2009, and Section 8120 of P.L. 111-118. The person must be treated as a refugee; or

(L) an Afghan non-special immigrant parolee, known as a humanitarian parolee, per the Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Act 2022 enacted on September 30, 2021, Section 2502 of P.L. 117-43, paroled into the U.S. between July 31, 2021 and September 30, 2022, who meets all other factors of eligibility from October 1, 2021 until March 31, 2023, or the term of parole, whichever is longer.

(b) A qualified alien who enters the U.S. on or after August 22, 1996, is not eligible for TANF benefits for a five year period beginning on the date of the alien's entry into the U.S. with a qualified alien status unless the alien is:

(1) admitted to the U.S. as a refugee, per (a)(2)(E) of this Section;

(2) granted asylum, per (a)(2)(D) of this Section;

(3) one whose deportation is being withheld, per (a)(2)(F) of this Section;

(4) a Cuban or Haitian entrant, per (a)(2)(G) of this Section;

(5) admitted to the U.S. as an Amerasian immigrant;

(6) lawfully residing in the state and is a veteran of the U.S. armed forces, on active duty, or is that person's spouse or unmarried dependent child;

(7) is a victim of a severe form of trafficking, per (a)(2)(I) of this Section; or

(8) an Afghan citizen or national paroled into the U.S. as a humanitarian parolee between July 31, 2021 and September 30, 2022.

(c) The applicant or recipient is required to declare the citizenship or alien status for all adults and children included in the TANF assistance unit when he or she completes and signs the application or renewal. Refer to Oklahoma Administrative Code 340:65-3-1(g) for additional citizenship requirements for persons 14 years of age and older, per Section 71 of Title 56 and Section 20j of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

(d) Declaration on behalf of a newborn child may be delayed provided the delay does not exceed the date of the assistance unit's next eligibility renewal.

(e) Persons declaring qualified alien status must provide documentation of their alien status and have their status verified through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program's Alien Status Verification Index. When secondary verification must be pursued through USCIS, the worker must not delay, deny, close, or reduce benefits to an alien pending a response from USCIS.

(f) All persons born in the U.S. are, with rare exceptions, U.S. citizens. Documents of citizenship or national status of persons from certain U.S. territories or possessions listed in (a)(1) of this Section may not be in their possession nor available. Their status can usually be determined by a birth certificate, passport, or other official document.

Amended at 10 Ok Reg 527, eff 12-8-92 (emergency); Amended at 10 Ok Reg 2813, eff 6-25-93; Amended at 13 Ok Reg 941, eff 10-5-95 (emergency); Amended at 13 Ok Reg 439, eff 11-14-95 (emergency); Amended at 13 Ok Reg 2167, eff 6-14-96; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 150, eff 11-1-97 (emergency); Amended at 15 Ok Reg 1602, eff 5-11-98; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 2271, eff 5-1-00 (preemptive); Amended at 19 Ok Reg 1737, eff 6-14-02; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2640, eff 7-1-03 (emergency); Amended at 21 Ok Reg 814, eff 5-1-04; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 764, eff 5-12-05; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 14, eff 8-3-07 (emergency); Amended at 25 Ok Reg 903, eff 6-1-08; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 168, eff 11-1-08 (emergency); Amended at 26 Ok Reg 1223, eff 6-1-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1860, eff 7-1-10

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Oklahoma may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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