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Civil
Rights
Non Citizens
Update: Provisions of Balanced Budget Act of 1997 restoring
eligibility of qualified aliens in receipt of SSI on August 22,
1996
Under the terms of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, eligibility
for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) was restored for qualified
aliens in receipt of SSI on August 22, 1996. Benefits for
non-qualified aliens on the rolls on that date will be terminated
on September 30, 1998; to continue to receive these benefits,
these individuals must change their status to qualified alien
with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and notify the
Social Security Administration (SSA). A joint outreach
effort between the SSA and state and local agencies is described
in an Action Alert from the National Association of Area Agencies
on Aging (NAAAA), dated March 10.
SSA has also sent "come-in" letters to all individals
who filed for SSI prior to or after August 22, 1996 and were
denied based on alien status, and to persons who received informal
denials based on alien status after that date. This is
also covered in the NAAAA Action Alert, and in greater detail
in SSA to Readjudicate Noncitizen SSI
Denials, National Senior
Citizens Law Center.
Qualified aliens residing in the U.S on August 22, 1996 but
not in receipt of SSI on that date may be eligible for SSI if
they meet the SSA criteria for disability and other conditions. The
determination of disability is described in Issues
in SSI Disability Determinations for Older Noncitizens, or
the National
Senior Citizens Law Center.
(Note: These sites do not necessarily reflect the official policies
of the Department of Health and Human Services.)
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