N.Y. SOS Law § 122 — New York Code / Act SOS / Article 4 / Section 122
Noncitizens
Status: in_force

§ 122. Noncitizens. 1. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no\nperson except a citizen or a noncitizen who has been duly naturalized as\na citizen shall be eligible for additional state payments for aged,\nblind and disabled persons, family assistance, safety net assistance,\nservices funded under title XX of the federal social security act, or\nmedical assistance, subject to the following exceptions:\n  (a) The following persons shall, if otherwise eligible, receive\nbenefits under such programs:\n  (i) a refugee who entered the United States within the previous five\nyears with respect to benefits under the temporary assistance to needy\nfamilies block grant program and the safety net assistance program and\nwithin the previous seven years with respect to medical assistance;\n  (ii) an asylee who was granted asylum within the previous five years\nwith respect to benefits under the temporary assistance to needy\nfamilies block grant program and the safety net assistance program and\nwithin the previous seven years with respect to medical assistance;\n  (iii) a person for whom deportation was withheld within the previous\nfive years with respect to benefits under the temporary assistance to\nneedy families block grant program and the safety net assistance program\nand within the previous seven years with respect to medical assistance;\n  (iv) except as otherwise required by federal law, a person lawfully\nadmitted for permanent residence who has worked for or can be credited\nwith forty qualifying quarters as defined under title II of the federal\nSocial Security Act, exclusive of any quarter after the thirty-first day\nof December, nineteen hundred ninety-six in which such person or such\nperson's parent or spouse received any federal means tested assistance;\n  (v) any noncitizen lawfully residing in the state who is on active\nduty in the armed forces (other than active duty for training) or who\n(1) has received an honorable discharge (and not on account of\nnoncitizen status) from the armed forces, or (2) has a qualifying\ncondition, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and\nhas received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable (and not\non account of noncitizen status) from the armed forces, or (3) is a\ndischarged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans'\nservices law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or\ndishonorable (and not on account of noncitizen status) from the armed\nforces, or the spouse, unremarried surviving spouse or unmarried\ndependent child of any such noncitizen, if such noncitizen, spouse or\ndependent child is a qualified alien as defined in section 431 of the\nfederal personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act\nof 1996 (8 U.S. Code 1641), as amended;\n  (vi) a noncitizen granted status as a Cuban and Haitian entrant as\ndefined in section 501(e) of the federal Refugee Education Act of 1980\nwithin the previous five years with respect to benefits under the\ntemporary assistance to needy families block grant program, and safety\nnet assistance and within the previous seven years with respect to\nmedical assistance; and\n  (vii) a noncitizen admitted to the United States as an Amerasian\nimmigrant as described in section 402(a)(2)(A) of the federal personal\nresponsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996 within\nthe previous five years with respect to benefits under the temporary\nassistance to needy families block grant program, and safety net\nassistance and within the previous seven years with respect to medical\nassistance.\n  (b) The following persons, not described in paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision, shall, if otherwise eligible, be eligible for family\nassistance, medical assistance, and safety net assistance:\n  (i) a noncitizen who is a qualified alien as defined in section 431 of\nthe federal personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation\nact of 1996 (8 U.S. Code 1641), as amended, who entered the United\nStates before the twenty-second day of August, nineteen hundred\nninety-six and continuously resided in the United States until attaining\nqualified status; and\n  (ii) a qualified alien who entered the United States five years or\nmore earlier with a status within the meaning of the term "qualified\nalien" as defined in section 431 of the federal personal responsibility\nand work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996 (8 U.S. Code 1641), as\namended, if such entry occurred on or after the twenty-second day of\nAugust, nineteen hundred ninety-six.\n  (c) The following persons, not described in paragraph (a) or (b) of\nthis subdivision, shall, if otherwise eligible, be eligible for safety\nnet assistance and medical assistance, except that medical assistance\nshall be limited to care and services (not including care and services\nrelated to an organ transplant procedure) necessary for the treatment of\nan emergency medical condition as that term is defined in section 1903\nof the federal social security act unless and until federal financial\nparticipation is available for the costs of providing medical assistance\nprovided, however, that any such person who, on the fourth day of\nAugust, nineteen hundred ninety-seven was residing in a residential\nhealth care facility licensed by the department of health or in a\nresidential facility licensed, operated or funded by the office of\nmental health or the office for people with developmental disabilities,\nand was in receipt of a medical assistance authorization based on a\nfinding that he or she was a person permanently residing in the United\nStates under color of law shall, if otherwise eligible, be eligible for\nmedical assistance and provided, further, that any such person who, on\nthe fourth day of August, nineteen hundred ninety-seven, was diagnosed\nas having AIDS, as defined in subdivision one of section two thousand\nseven hundred eighty of the public health law, and was in receipt of\nmedical assistance authorization pursuant to title eleven of article\nfive of this chapter based on a finding that he or she was a person\npermanently residing in the United States under color of law shall, if\notherwise eligible, be eligible for medical assistance:\n  (i) a qualified alien who entered the United States less than five\nyears earlier or for less than five years has had a status within the\nmeaning of the term "qualified alien" as defined in section 431 of the\nfederal personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act\nof 1996 (8 U.S. Code 1641), as amended, if such entry occurred on or\nafter the twenty-second day of August, nineteen hundred ninety-six; and\n  (ii) a noncitizen whose status is not within the meaning of the term\n"qualified alien" as defined in section 431 of the federal personal\nresponsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996 (8 U.S.\nCode 1641), as amended, but who is otherwise permanently residing in the\nUnited States under color of law.\n  (d) A person paroled into the United States for a period of less than\none year shall, if otherwise eligible, be eligible to receive any state\nor local non-federal assistance provided under this chapter on the same\nterms as such programs are available to persons who are qualified aliens\nas defined in section 431 of the federal personal responsibility and\nwork opportunity reconciliation act of 1996 (8 U.S. Code 1641), as\namended.\n  (e) Nothing herein shall preclude the receipt by any noncitizen of\ncommunity based non-cash assistance in accordance with the directions of\nthe United States attorney general or the receipt of medical assistance\nfor care and services (not including care and services related to an\norgan transplant procedure) necessary to treat an emergency medical\ncondition as that term is defined in section 1903 of the federal social\nsecurity act.\n  (f) A noncitizen who is not ineligible for federal supplemental\nsecurity income benefits by reason of noncitizen status shall, if\notherwise eligible, be eligible to receive additional state payments for\naged, blind or disabled persons under section two hundred nine of this\nchapter.\n  (g) Noncitizens receiving supplemental security income benefits or\nadditional state payments for aged, blind and disabled persons under\nsection two hundred nine of this chapter shall be eligible for medical\nassistance if otherwise eligible.\n  (h) Qualified aliens as defined in section 431 of the federal personal\nresponsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996 (8 U.S.\nCode 1641), as amended, if otherwise eligible and except as otherwise\nprovided by federal law, shall be eligible for services pursuant to\ntitle XX of the federal social security act.\n  2. Any noncitizen, including a noncitizen who is not a qualified alien\nas defined in section 431 of the federal personal responsibility and\nwork opportunity reconciliation act of 1996 (8 U.S. Code 1641), as\namended, is eligible for adult protective services and services and\nassistance relating to child protection to the extent that such person\nis otherwise eligible pursuant to this chapter and the regulations of\nthe department.\n  3. Each social services district shall report to the department, in\naccordance with regulations of the department, the name and address and\nother identifying information known to it with respect to any noncitizen\nknown to be unlawfully in the United States.\n  4. To the extent permitted by federal law and regulation, the income\nand resources of a sponsor of a noncitizen, who has signed an affidavit\nof support pursuant to section 213A of the immigration and\nnaturalization act, and the income and resources of such sponsor's\nspouse, shall be deemed available to such noncitizen for purposes of\ndetermining the eligibility of such noncitizen for assistance funded\nunder the temporary for assistance funded under the temporary assistance\nto needy families block grant and medical assistance.\n  5. If and to the extent that the family assistance, safety net\nassistance, state additional payments in the supplemental security\nincome program, emergency assistance to aged, blind or disabled adults\nor medical assistance is paid to or on behalf of a noncitizen for whom\nan affidavit of support pursuant to section 213A of the immigration and\nnaturalization act has been signed, the social services district shall\nrequest reimbursement by the sponsor in the amount of such assistance,\nand, if the sponsor does not within forty-five days of such request\nindicate a willingness to commence payments, such social services\ndistrict may commence an action against the sponsor pursuant to the\naffidavit. Remedies available to enforce an affidavit of support include\nall of the remedies described in sections 3201, 3202, 3204 and 3205 of\ntitle 28 of the United States Code, as well as an order for specific\nperformance and payment of legal fees and other costs of collection, and\ninclude corresponding remedies available under state law; provided,\nhowever, that no action shall be brought more than ten years after\nassistance was last given.\n  6. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as affecting the\neligibility for pre-natal care benefits for persons otherwise eligible\nfor such benefits.\n