# ORR State Letter

**\# 08-06 Date: February 7, 2008**

TO: STATE REFUGEE COORDINATORS

REFUGEE HEALTH COORDINATORS

NATIONAL VOLUNTARY AGENCIES

OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES

FROM: Brent Orrell

Acting Director

Office of Refugee Resettlement

SUBJECT: Public Law 110-181: National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2008: Time Limited Eligibility for ORR Benefits and Services
of Iraqis Granted Special Immigrant Status under Section 101 (a)(27) of
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)

**Purpose of this ORR State Letter: ORR State Letter \# 08-04 Partially
Superseded**

The purpose of this ORR State Letter is to provide guidance to State
benefit-granting agencies, Wilson-Fish grantees, and Refugee Service
Providers on the eligibility under section 1244 of Public Law 110-181,
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, of Iraqi
Special Immigrants for ORR benefits and services, their date of
eligibility, and the duration of benefits and services.

Section 1244 of Public Law 110-181, National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2008, which became law on January 28, 2008, states in
part:

**(g) Resettlement Support- Iraqi aliens granted special immigrant
status described in section 101(a)(27) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)) shall be eligible for
resettlement assistance, entitlement programs, and other benefits
available to refugees admitted under section 207 of such Act (8 U.S.C.
1157) for a period not to exceed *eight months*. (Emphasis added.)**

**Duration of Eligibility of Iraqi Special Immigrants for ORR Benefits
and Services**

As noted above, effective January 28, 2008, Iraqi aliens granted special
immigrant status described in section 101(a)(27) of the INA ("Iraqi
Special Immigrants") are eligible for ORR benefits and services to the
same extent as are refugees for up to **[eight months]{.underline}**, at
which time their ORR eligibility ceases. Please note that this State
Letter supersedes State Letter \# 08-04 concerning Iraqi Special
Immigrants, which announced **[6 months]{.underline}** of ORR benefits
and services for **Iraqi** Special Immigrants. This State Letter
stipulates that all Iraqi Special Immigrants are eligible for 8 months
of ORR benefits and services from date of entry to the U.S. ORR State
Letter \# 08-04 remains in effect only as to Afghan Special Immigrants,
who remain eligible for 6 months of benefits.

**Spouses and Unmarried Children Under 21 of Iraqi Special Immigrant
Principal Applicant**

Spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 may accompany an
Iraqi Special Immigrant principal applicant to the U.S. or
follow-to-join the Iraqi Special Immigrant principal applicant. Family
members following to join the principal Iraqi Special Immigrant are not
eligible for U.S. Government travel loans or travel assistance. ORR will
not pay nor reimburse the travel costs of the Iraqi Special Immigrant,
spouse, or child.

**Iraqi Special Immigrant Date of Eligibility for ORR Benefits and
Services is Date of Entry to the U.S.**

The date of eligibility for ORR benefits and services for an Iraqi
Special Immigrant is his or her entry date, i.e., the date he or she was
admitted to the U.S. as an Iraqi Special Immigrant. **The date of
eligibility for ORR benefits and services is not the date of application
for ORR benefits and services.** For Iraqi Special Immigrants with an
entry date to the U.S. prior to January 28, 2008 when Public Law 110-181
became law, their date of eligibility for ORR benefits and services
remains their date of entry to the U.S. as an Iraqi Special Immigrant
and their eight month time eligibility is calculated from their date of
entry.

To determine the date of eligibility for ORR benefits and services of
Iraqi Special Immigrants, ORR reviewed the law and policy for other
populations eligible for ORR assistance. Section 412(e)(1) of the INA
outlines a refugee assistance program that provides benefits \"beginning
with the first month in which such refugee has entered the United States
\..." As with refugees, other populations that are eligible for ORR
benefits and services also receive assistance when they first enter the
country or when they first receive their status. *See* ORR State Letters
\# 00-12, \# 00-15, \# 00-17, \# 01-13, and \# 08-04. These policies
concerning entry date reinforce the statutory mandate to provide
assistance as soon as possible after date of entry so that refugees and
other eligible populations may achieve self-sufficiency as quickly as
possible. *See* INA § 412(a)(1)(A).

**Date of Eligibility and Eight Month Time Limit on Eligibility for ORR
Benefits and Services for Iraqi Special Immigrants**

No ORR-funded benefits or services may be provided to the Iraqi Special
Immigrant after eight months from their date of entry to the U.S. No
additional assistance or services will be provided for the months of
eligibility that occurred prior to the effective date of the law,
January 28, 2008 or prior to the date of application for ORR benefits
and services. Thus an Iraqi Special Immigrant whose date of entry to the
U.S. was November 1, 2007 will not be eligible for ORR benefits and
services after June 30, 2008, regardless of his date of application for
ORR benefits and services. Refer to 45 CFR 400.220, Counting time
eligibility for refugees. Most states have opted to count
time-eligibility on the basis of calendar months, as shown in this
example.

It is useful here to reference the following:

45 CFR Sec. 400.220 "Counting Time-Eligibility of Refugees"

"A state may calculate the time-eligibility of a refugee under this part
in either of the following ways (a) On the basis of calendar months, in
which case the month of arrival in the United States must count as the
first month; or (b) On the basis of the actual date of arrival, in which
case each month will be counted from that specific date." {54 FR 5483,
Feb. 3, 1989}

An Iraqi Special Immigrant who arrives in the U.S. on March 1, 2008, and
first applies for ORR benefits and services on May 1, 2008, is eligible
to receive benefits and services only up to October 31, 2008, eight
months after date of entry to the U.S. as a Special Immigrant on March
1, 2008. There is no provision to provide benefits and services to make
up for the delay between date of entry to the U.S. and date of
application for ORR benefits and services. **[The date of eligibility
for ORR benefits and services is not the date of application for ORR
benefits and services.]{.underline}**

For Iraqi Special Immigrants who acquire Special Immigrant Status while
in the U.S., the date of eligibility for ORR benefits and services
(their "entry" date) is their date of grant of Iraqi Special Immigrant
status. Those will be cases of Iraqis who were paroled into the U.S. or
entered the U.S. in some other status, and then while in the U.S. made
application for and were granted Iraqi Special Immigrant status.
**[Until an Iraqi in parole or some other non-immigrant status becomes
an Iraqi Special Immigrant with documentation of this status, he/she is
not eligible for ORR benefits and services.]{.underline}**

Because no ORR-funded benefits or services may be provided to the Iraqi
Special Immigrants beyond eight months from their date of entry to the
U.S., State benefit-granting agencies, Wilson-Fish grantees, and Refugee
Service providers should take this eight month limitation into account
in provision of benefits and services to Iraqi Special Immigrants. For
example, ORR-funded social services beyond eight months, including
employability services are not available to Iraqi Special immigrants,
thus making early, focused job search assistance particularly critical.

The eight-month time eligibility period may require manual tracking
independent of existing automated eligibility systems programmed for
eight months of RCA and RMA. Other standard ORR benefit time frames,
such as social services, may require special tracking for Iraqi Special
Immigrants, given their eight month eligibility.

**Eligibility for ORR Benefits and Services of Family Members of Iraqi
Special Immigrants**

Spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 may accompany to the
U.S. or follow-to-join the Iraqi Special Immigrant under this section,
as noted above. Any family member of an Iraqi Special Immigrant who
applies for ORR-funded benefits and services should produce
documentation to demonstrate identity and immigration status as an Iraqi
Special Immigrant.

**Documentation of Eligibility for ORR Benefits and Services of Iraqi
Special Immigrants**

Providers will be required to determine eligibility in accordance with
ORR regulations. This eligibility determination includes confirmation of
the individual's status and date of entry through appropriate
documentation.

**[The following documents will confirm both status and date of entry
for Iraqi Special Immigrants:]{.underline}**

+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| **Applicant**                   | **Documentation**                  |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Principal Applicant Iraqi       | Iraqi passport with an immigrant   |
| Special Immigrant               | visa stamp noting that the         |
|                                 | individual has been admitted under |
|                                 | IV (Immigrant Visa) Category SI1   |
|                                 | or SQ1                             |
|                                 |                                    |
|                                 | and DHS stamp or notation on       |
|                                 | passport or I-94 showing date of   |
|                                 | entry                              |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Spouse of Principal Applicant   | Iraqi passport with an immigrant   |
| Iraqi Special Immigrant         | visa stamp noting that the         |
|                                 | individual has been admitted under |
|                                 | IV (Immigrant Visa) Category SI2   |
|                                 | or SQ2                             |
|                                 |                                    |
|                                 | and DHS stamp or notation on       |
|                                 | passport or I-94 showing date of   |
|                                 | entry                              |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Unmarried Child Under 21 Years  | Iraqi passport with an immigrant   |
| of Age of Iraqi Special         | visa stamp noting that the         |
| Immigrant                       | individual has been admitted under |
|                                 | IV (Immigrant Visa) Category SI3   |
|                                 | or SQ3                             |
|                                 |                                    |
|                                 | and DHS stamp or notation on       |
|                                 | passport or I-94 showing date of   |
|                                 | entry                              |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Principal Applicant Iraqi       | DHS Form I-551 ("green card")      |
| Special Immigrant               | showing Iraqi nationality (or      |
|                                 | Iraqi passport), with an IV        |
| Principal Adjusting Status in   | (immigrant visa) code for this     |
| the U.S.                        | category SI6 or SQ6                |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Spouse of Principal Applicant   | DHS Form I-551 ("green card")      |
| Iraqi Special Immigrant         | showing Iraqi nationality (or      |
|                                 | Iraqi passport), with an IV        |
| Principal Applicant Adjusting   | (immigrant visa) code for this     |
| Status in the U.S.              | categorySI7 or SQ7                 |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Unmarried Child Under 21 Years  | DHS Form I-551 ("green card")      |
| of Age of Iraqi Special         | showing Iraqi (or Iraqi passport), |
| Immigrant                       | with an IV ("immigrant visa") code |
|                                 | for this category SI9 or SQ9       |
| Principal Applicant Adjusting   |                                    |
| Status in the U.S.              |                                    |
+---------------------------------+------------------------------------+

**Iraqi Special Immigrants Eligibility for Federal Public Benefits Other
Than ORR Benefits and Services**

Under the language in section 1244 of Public Law 110-181, in addition to
resettlement assistance, Iraqi Special Immigrants are eligible for
"entitlement programs, and other benefits available to refugees admitted
under section 207 of such Act for a period not to exceed 8 months."
These programs and benefits would appear to include federal public
benefits, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Food
Stamps, Medicaid, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In order to
receive the benefits, they would also need to meet the income, resource,
and other eligibility requirements. These benefit programs are not
administered by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and questions about
them should be directed to the appropriate office or agency.

**Comparison of Provisions for Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrants
Eligible for ORR Benefits and Services**

Please note that section 1244 of Public Law 110-181 only increased
benefits eligibility from 6 months to 8 months for Iraqis. **[Public Law
110-181 did not increase benefits eligibility for
Afghans]{.underline}**. All Afghan Special Immigrants remain eligible
for 6 months of benefits, per ORR State Letter \# 08-04.

**This policy change is effective immediately.**

If you have questions regarding any of the information contained in this
State Letter, please contact Thomas Pabst at (202) 401-5398 or by email
at <thomas.pabst@acf.hhs.gov>.