Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Sponsored
alien definition. A sponsored alien is an eligible and qualified alien,
per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC)
340:50-5-67,
whose sponsor executed an affidavit of support, United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section
213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), or Form I-864A, Contract
Between Sponsor and Household Member, on behalf of the alien, per Section 213A
of the INA and Section 273.4(c) of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(7 C.F.R. §
273.4(c). A sponsored alien
is subject to deeming requirements, per (d) of this Section, unless he or she
meets an exemption criteria, per (b) of this Section.
(b)
Sponsored aliens exempt from
deeming. Sponsored aliens exempt from income and resource deeming
requirements include:
(1) aliens who are a
battered spouse, parent of a battered child, or child of a battered person when
they live in a separate residence from the person responsible for the battery
and, the battering is substantially connected to the need for benefits. The
worker grants the exemption for a 12-month period. After the 12-month exemption
period expires, Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) continues to not deem the
batterer's income or resources to the sponsored alien, when:
(A) the battery is recognized by a court or
the USCIS;
(B) OKDHS determines
that the battery has a substantial connection to the need for benefits; and
(C) the sponsored alien does not
live with the batterer;
(2) aliens who are members of their sponsor's
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefit household as the
sponsor's income already counts. When the sponsor receives food benefits in
another household, the sponsor's income and resources must be deemed;
(3) aliens who are not required to
have a sponsor under the INA, such as refugees, parolees, asylees, and Cuban or
Haitian entrants;
(4) sponsored
alien children or a sponsored alien's citizen children, who are younger than 18
years of age;
(5) aliens sponsored
by an organization or group instead of a person; or
(6) indigent aliens. An indigent alien is an
alien that OKDHS determines is unable to obtain food and shelter after taking
into account his or her own income plus any cash, food, housing, or other
assistance provided by the sponsor or other persons.
(A) The "unable to obtain food and shelter"
phrase means that the sum of the sponsored alien's household's own income and
the cash and in-kind assistance provided by the sponsor or others does not
exceed 130 percent of the poverty level income guidelines by household size,
per OKDHS Appendix C-3, Maximum Food Benefit Allotments and Standards for
Income and Deductions. When determining indigence, the worker considers the
sponsored alien's income and other assistance provided in the month of
application.
(B) Before making an
indigent determination, the worker must:
(i)
explain the purpose of the determination to the sponsored alien or his or her
authorized representative, including the requirement to send a written notice
of the determination to the United States (U.S.) Attorney General; and
(ii) give the person the
opportunity to refuse the determination.
(C) When the sponsored alien refuses to have
an indigence determination made because of the U.S. Attorney General reporting
requirement, the worker informs the alien that he or she may:
(i) refuse food benefits for himself or
herself without withdrawing the entire household's application. When the alien
chooses this option, he or she is considered an ineligible alien and his or her
income is prorated among all household members, per OAC
340:50-7-29(d)(2),
without consideration of the sponsor's or sponsor's spouse's income; or
(ii) have his or her eligibility
and benefits determined based on the deeming formula, per (d) of this Section.
(D) When the alien
consents to the indigent determination and reporting requirement and is
considered indigent, per (A) of this paragraph, the worker only deems the
amount of assistance actually provided, beginning with the determination date
and ending 12 months after this date. Each indigence determination may be
renewed for additional 12-month periods. OKDHS notifies the U.S. Attorney
General of each indigence determination and the sponsor's and sponsored alien's
names.
(c)
Eligible sponsored alien responsibilities. When the sponsored
alien is subject to deeming, he or she is responsible for:
(1) providing OKDHS with information and
documentation necessary to determine eligibility, per OAC
340:50-3-3, and
calculate income and resources, per (d) of this Section at application and
certification renewal;
(2)
providing documents showing the INA under which the alien was admitted, his or
her entry date into the U.S., birthdate, birthplace, and alien registration
number;
(3) providing the sponsor's
and sponsor's spouse's names, address, phone numbers, and the number of
dependents claimed on the sponsored alien's tax return;
(4) providing the names and other identifying
factors regarding any other aliens for whom the sponsor signed an affidavit of
support, per (a) of this Section; and
(5) reporting required changes that occur
during the certification period, per OAC
340:50-9-5,
which may include:
(A) information about a
new sponsor and the sponsor's spouse when the sponsored alien obtains a new
sponsor during the certification period;
(B) a change in income if the sponsor or
sponsor's spouse changes or loses employment; or
(C) the death of the sponsor or sponsor's
spouse.
(d)
Deeming requirements. When the sponsored alien is not exempt from
deeming requirements, in addition to his or her own income and resources, the
worker counts the income and resources of the sponsor and his or her spouse as
the unearned income and resources of the sponsored alien. The worker counts the
income of the sponsor's spouse even when the marriage occurred after the
sponsor signed an agreement to support the sponsored alien.
(1) The total monthly earned and unearned
income of the sponsor and the sponsor's spouse must be deemed to the sponsored
alien minus:
(A) income exclusions, per OAC
340:50-7-22;
(B) the earned income deduction for the
earned income portion of the sponsor's and sponsor's spouse's income, per OAC
340:50-7-31(a)(2);
and
(C) an amount equal to the
monthly gross income eligibility limit, per OKDHS Appendix C-3, for a household
size equal to the sponsor, the sponsor's spouse, and any other person claimed,
or who could be claimed as a dependent for federal income tax
purposes.
(2) Any money
the sponsor pays the sponsored alien is also countable when it exceeds the
amount deemed per (1) of this subsection.
(3) When the sponsored alien already reported
the gross income and resources of the sponsor and the sponsor's spouse for
another Adult and Family Services administered assistance program, that income
amount may be used for SNAP food benefit purposes. The only allowable income
reductions are those allowed, per (c)(1) of this Section.
(4) The total countable resources of the
sponsor and sponsor's spouse less $1,500 are deemed to the sponsored alien.
Refer to OAC 340:50-7-6 to determine the countable and excluded resources for
the sponsored alien and his or her sponsor and sponsor's spouse and OKDHS
Appendix C-3 for the maximum resource standard.
(5) When the sponsored alien verifies that
his or her sponsor is the sponsor of other aliens, the worker divides the
income and resources deemed, per (1) and (4) of this subsection by the number
of such sponsored aliens. The worker uses this same procedure to determine the
amount of deemed income and resources to exclude when a sponsored alien or a
sponsored alien's citizen child is exempt from deeming per (b) of this
Section.
(e)
Pending verification. Until the sponsored alien provides necessary
information or verification regarding his or her sponsor's income and resources
and the number of aliens he or she sponsors, the sponsored alien is not
eligible to be included in the SNAP food benefits. The worker must determine
the eligibility of any remaining unsponsored household members while the
sponsor's information is pending. The sponsored alien's income, minus any
consideration of the sponsor's income, is considered available to the rest of
the household, per OAC
340:50-7-29(d)(2).
(f)
When deeming stops.
Sponsor-to-alien deeming stops when the sponsored:
(1) alien becomes a naturalized citizen;
(2) alien can be credited with 40
quarters of work, per OAC
340:50-5-67;
or
(3) alien's sponsor
dies.
Amended at 9 Ok Reg
3843, eff 8-24-92 (emergency); Amended at 10 Ok Reg 1821, eff 5-13-93; Amended
at 14 Ok Reg 220, eff 10-1-96 (preemptive); Amended at 17 Ok Reg 473, eff
10-12-99 (preemptive); Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2924, eff 10-1-03 (emergency);
Amended at 21 Ok Reg 841, eff 4-26-04; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 840, eff 6-1-09;
Amended at 28 Ok Reg 850, eff 6-1-11