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Department
of Human Services Families
First Online Policy Manual Citizenship and Alien Status |
Revised: |
11.5 |
METHOD OF VERIFICATION OF ALIEN STATUS |
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Documentary evidence and the Systematic
Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) must be used to verify an alien’s
status. Documentary
Evidence: ·
Immigration
and Naturalization (INS) Form I-151 or I-551 (Alien Registration Receipt
Card) or the Re-entry permit (a passport booklet for lawful permanent
resident aliens). ·
INS Form
I-94, “Arrival Departure Record”, which will be acceptable only if annotated
with: -
Section 207,
208, 212 (d)(5), or Section 243 (h) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act. -
An (S)
indicating Haitian Nationals. -
One or a
combination of the following terms: o Refugee; Note:
Soviet Jewish refugees will possess Arrival-Departure Records (I-94)
which contain the following statement:
“This refugee is sponsored by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and
(name of local Jewish organization.
Private resources are available. If public assistance is sought,
please call (name of local agency) at (phone number).” o Parolee or paroled; o Conditional Entry or Entrant, or o Asylum Note: If
an INS Form I-94 is annotated with the letters (A) through (L), this
verification that the alien does not meet citizenship requirements for FS/FF
purposes and is ineligible for benefits.
If, however, the alien can present other documentation from INS that
he does meet requirements, this will be acceptable. ·
Passports
stamped with the annotation “Processed for I-551” will be acceptable
verification of eligible alien status. ·
A U.S.
Passport Card issued by the Department of Homeland Security, which is an
alternative to a traditional passport book.
The passport card is acceptable documentation for verifying the U.S.
citizenship and identity of the bearer, but it may not be used for
international air travel. Bulletin
38, FA-08-30 ·
Iranian
Nationals were granted “Voluntary Departure” status until September 1,
1979. After that date, INS will decide
on individual claims of persecution based on race, religion, or political
opinion. Unless an Iranian has
documentation supporting the eligible alien status, he/she is not eligible
for Families First. ·
Temporary
Resident Card, Form I-668, means that an amnesty alien has been approved for
temporary residence. If the form is
coded to show that the alien was admitted under Section 245A, the alien is not
eligible. If the form is coded to show
the alien was admitted under Section 210, the alien is eligible until the
expiration date stated on the face of the document. ·
Forms such
as I-688A, Employment Authorization Card, or Employment Authorization
Document (EAD) and I-689 shows that an alien has applied for
admission. They are not acceptable
documents to show that a person has been admitted under an eligible
section. In addition, Form I-181-B
cannot be used as acceptable verification. ·
If the INS
Form I-94 does not bear any of the above annotations, the alien may state the
reason and submit other conclusive verification, such as a notice, letter, or
identification card that establishes that the alien has been admitted for
permanent residence as a legal alien. ·
Other
evidence of eligible status includes: -
Verification
of the alien’s classification under Section 101 (a)(15),
101 (a)(20), 207, 208, 212 (d)(5), 243, 249, of the Immigration and
Nationality Act. -
Form G-641
(Application for Verification of Information from Immigration and
Naturalization Service Records) when it is properly annotated at the bottom
by INS representative that the alien was admitted lawfully for permanent
resident status or paroled for humanitarian reasons. ·
A court
order stating that deportation has been withheld pursuant to Section 243 (h)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act. ·
The alien
may contact INS or otherwise obtain the necessary verification. If the household does not wish to contact
INS, give the household the option of withdrawing the application or
participating without the ineligible alien. ·
If an alien
is unable to provide an INS document that will verify alien status (not even
an INS Form 1-94), the worker has no responsibility to contact INS on the
alien’s behalf. When a person
indicates inability or unwillingness to provide documentation of alien
status, that person should be classified as an ineligible alien status. Systematic
Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) System: ·
The SAVE
system is the process of verifying an alien’s immigration status by
validating the alien’s INS documents through the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS). ·
Do not deny
or reduce benefits pending verification of an alien’s documentary evidence
through SAVE. ·
Use one of
the following SAVE verification procedures to establish an alien’s status: -
Use
telephone interaction between DHS and INS using the INS’ Alien Systematic
Verification Index (ASVI) data base as the primary verification method. -
Counties
with touch-tone telephones have direct access to the ASVI data base. These counties will have a unique
four-digit identification number. ·
Only those
persons designated by District Family Assistance Directors are permitted to
access the ASVI data base. ·
Use the
following steps to access the ASVI data base: -
Dial the
toll free system access number: 1-800-365-7620 -
Listen for
the following message: -
“Welcome to
the INS ASVI System....(various messages). Please enter your authorization code
followed by the pound sign” -
Enter the
Authorization Code: *42*91*81*62----# -
Listen for
the following message: Enter the A-Number. Substitute a leading zero (0) or zero, if
appropriate, for the leading “A”. A
total of nine (9) digits must be entered to satisfy the Alien Registration
Number response. Example: An A-Number having 9 numeric digits will be
entered as follows: A123 456 789 = 123 456 789 An A-Number having 8 numeric digits will be
entered as follows: A12345 678 = 012
345 678 An A-Number having 7 numeric digits will be
entered as follows: A1 234 567 = 001 234 567 -
Listen for
further prompting from the “voice” to complete the verification process. ·
Secondary
Verification -
INS Form
G-845 is secondary method for verifying an alien’s immigration status. -
Use INS Form
G-845 in the following situations: § The State Agency is unable to access the
ASVI data base. § The alien is in a category which is not
recorded in the INS computerized file. § A determination is made that the
documentation presented by the alien is questionable. § A material discrepancy in the records
requires resolution, when no record on the ASVI data base is found for the
alien applicant. § Non-INS documents are accepted as
reasonable evidence of the alien’s immigration status. § The alien’s
documented status cannot be validated after accessing the ASVI. ·
Secondary
Verification Procedures -
Complete INS Form G-845 for each applicant
who is not a U.S. citizen. -
Copy the verification used to establish
satisfactory immigration status. -
Attach a copy of the verifications to the
Form G-845. (USCIS requests that we
staple the verifications to Form G-845 in the upper left-hand corner using
only one staple). -
Submit the verification and Form G-845 to USCIS
at the address below: U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) 10 Fountain Plaza, 3rd
Floor Buffalo, NY
14202-2200 Attn: Immigration Status Verification Unit Bulletin
41, FA-09-20 -
Review returned Form G-845 to ensure that
legal alien status is validated and document CLRC. |
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