Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal program that provides supplemental income to those in need. Non-US citizens can qualify for SSI, but they must meet certain criteria.
Non-citizens can be eligible for SSI if:
- You were lawfully living in the United States on August 22, 1996, and you are blind or disabled;
- You were receiving SSI on August 22, 1996, and you are lawfully living in the United States; or
- You were lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and have a total of 40 credits of work in the United States. (Your spouse’s or parent’s work may also count.)
Other noncitizens, like Amerasian immigrants and Cuban/Haitian entrants may also be eligible for SSI payments. Some refugees and other noncitizens can temporarily get SSI for up to seven (7) years. The expectation is for them to become naturalized US citizens by that time.
However, the reality of the situation makes this very difficult and in some cases impossible. Refugees who qualify for SSI are senior citizens or disabled individuals. Without a waiver (which those with some disabilities may qualify for), to become a citizen one must pass a test which includes English language and American history. With low literacy and limited language abilities the test is a big hurdle to acquiring citizenship. This means that these individuals might lose their SSI assistance -often their sole income- when they are 7 years older and much more vulnerable than they were the day they arrived in the US.
H.R.2763, is a bill that would protect thousands of elderly and disabled refugees who face termination of vital disability benefits this year. This bill continues current law, which passed unanimously in both houses of Congress in 2008 and signed into law by President Bush (P.L. 110-328). Under this law, elderly and disabled refugees and certain humanitarian immigrants who are very low income may receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for up to nine years before becoming citizens, to allow time for naturalization.
This law was set to expire on September 30, 2011, at which point eligibility for SSI reverts to a maximum of seven years. Without passage of H.R. 2763 extending these benefits until 2013, thousands of refugees are supposed to lose their SSI benefits on October 1st and face serious hardship. These are people who have fled persecution and trauma, and who do not yet speak English well enough to pass the citizenship test.