Library: Policy
340:10-15-1. Citizenship and alien status
Revised 10-22-24
(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; • 1
(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;
(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, as modified by the Section 106(3) and 149(a) of the Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023, P. L. 117-180, paroled into the U.S. between July 31, 2021 and December 16, 2022, who meets all other factors of eligibility from October 1, 2021 until March 31, 2023, or the term of parole, whichever is longer; • 2
(M) a Ukrainian citizen or national or person who last habitually resided in Ukraine and received parole per Section 401 of the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022, P.L. 117-128. The parole must occur between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2024; if after September 30, 2024, the parolee must be the child, spouse, parent, legal guardian, or primary caretaker of a Ukrainian parolee who was paroled between February 24, 2022 and September 30, 2024; or • 3
(N) a lawful resident in the U.S. per a Compact of Free Association, including citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, per 8 U.S.C. §§ 1612(b)(2)(G) and 1641(b)(8).
(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) a victim of a severe form of trafficking, per (a)(2)(I) of this Section;
(8) an Afghan citizen or national paroled into the U.S. as a humanitarian parolee between July 31, 2021 and September 30, 2022; • 2
(9) a Ukrainian citizen, national, or person who last habitually resided in Ukraine paroled, per (a)(2)(M) of this Section; or • 3
(10) a lawful resident in the U.S. per a Compact of Free Association, including citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, per 8 U.S.C. §§ 1612(b)(2)(G) and 1641(b)(8).
(c) The applicant or recipient must declare the citizenship or alien status for all adults and children included in the TANF assistance unit when completing and signing 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. • 4
(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 may usually be determined by a birth certificate, passport, or other official document. • 5
Revised 10-22-24
1. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) provides a certification letter to a person 18 years of age and older and an eligibility letter to a person who has not attained 18 years of age. These persons are also provided T Visas that indicate eligibility for federally funded or administered benefits to the same extent as a refugee. The T Visas are T-2, T-3, T-4, and T-5 referred to collectively as Derivative T Visas. To determine the validity of the letters issued by ORR and to inform ORR which benefits the person has applied for, the worker must call the toll-free trafficking verification number 1‑866‑401‑5510.
2. Documents verifying the Afghan humanitarian parolee's eligibility for TANF include but is not limited to:
(1) I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, noting humanitarian parolee, per Section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration Nationality Act (INA); or
(2) foreign passport with Department of Homeland Security/ Customs and Border Protection admission stamp noting:
(A) Operation Allies Refugee or "OAR";
(B) Operations Allies Welcome or "OAW"; or
(C) "DT".
3. Acceptable verification includes but is not limited to:
(1) I-94, noting humanitarian parole per Section 212(d)(5) of INA or Section 8(d)(5) of Title 8 of the United States Code;
(2) a foreign passport noting "Uniting for Ukraine" or "U4U," "Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee" or "UHP," or "DT" ;
(3) I-766, Employment Authorization Document, with code "C11;
(4) I-765, Employment Authorization Document, with code "C11"; or
(5) any other notation of parole under INA § 212(d)(5).
4. Refer to Oklahoma Administrative Code 340:65-3-4(5) and 340:65-3-4, Instructions to Staff #19, for information regarding the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements , Alien Status Verification Index, and secondary verification protocol.
5. The worker refers any questions regarding whether any other official document provides reliable evidence of citizenship or national status to Adult and Family Services Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Unit.
