SECTION 340:10-15-1. Citizenship and alien status

(a)   A person eligible to be included in a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefit, must be either:

(1)   a citizen or a national of the United States (U.S.), including the 50 states, District of Columbia, commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands. A person may be a citizen of the U.S. by being born in the U.S. or by being born in some other country but moving to the U.S. and being granted U.S. citizenship through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) a bureau of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; or

(2)   a qualified alien described as:

(A)   an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA);

(B)   an alien who is paroled into the U.S. under Section 212(d)(5) of INA for a period of at least one year;

(C)   an alien who is granted conditional entry pursuant to Section 203(a)(7) of INA as in effect prior to April 1, 1980;

(D)   an alien who is granted asylum under Section 208 of INA;

(E)   a refugee who is admitted to the U.S. under Section 207 of INA;

(F)   an alien whose deportation is withheld under Section 241(b)(3) of INA;

(G)   an alien who is a Cuban or Haitian entrant as defined in Section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980;

(H)   battered aliens and their children or parents as defined in Section 431(c) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act as amended; [8 U.S.C. 1641(c)]

(I)   an alien and his or her eligible relatives who are victims of a severe form of trafficking pursuant to Section 107(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 which was reauthorized and amended by the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003;

(J)   an Iraqi admitted in special immigrant status as defined in Section 101(a)(27) of the INA [8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)], and per Section 1059, P.L. 109-163, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, and Section 1244 of P.L. 110-181, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 pursuant to Section 525 of Division G of P.L. 110-161, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, Section 1244 of P.L. 110-181, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, and Section 8120 of P.L. 111-118. The person must be treated as a refugee.; or

(K)   an Afghan admitted in special immigrant status as defined in Section 101(a)(27) of the INA [8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)] and per Section 1059, P.L. 109-163, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, Section 602, Division F, P.L. 111-08, the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009, pursuant to Section 525 of Division G of P.L. 110-161 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2009, and Section 8120 of P.L. 111-118. The person must be treated as a refugee.

(b)   A qualified alien who enters the U.S. on or after August 22, 1996, is not eligible for TANF benefits for a five year period beginning on the date of the alien's entry into the U.S. with a qualified alien status unless the alien is:

(1)   admitted to the U.S. as a refugee;

(2)   granted asylum;

(3)   one whose deportation is being withheld;

(4)   a Cuban or Haitian entrant;

(5)   admitted to the U.S. as an Amerasian immigrant;

(6)   lawfully residing in the state and is a veteran of the U.S. armed forces, on active duty, or is that person's spouse or unmarried dependent child; or

(7)   is a victim of a severe form of trafficking.

(c)   A declaration of citizenship and alien status is required for all adults and children in the TANF benefit. This requirement is met when an adult member in the assistance unit completes and signs the application or review form attesting to the citizenship and alien status for all members of the assistance unit. Refer to OAC 340:65-3-1(g) for additional citizenship requirements for persons 14 years of age and older pursuant to Section 71 of Title 56 and Section 20j of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes.

(d)   Declaration on behalf of a newborn child may be delayed provided the delay does not exceed the date of the assistance unit's next eligibility redetermination.

(e)   Persons determined as having satisfactory alien status must have the status verified through Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE). In situations which require a written inquiry to the USCIS, the worker must not delay, deny, terminate, or reduce benefits to an alien pending USCIS verification of submitted documentation.

(f)   All persons born in the U.S. are, with rare exceptions, U.S. citizens. Documents of citizenship or national status of persons from certain U.S. territories or possessions listed in (a)(1) of this Section may not be in their possession nor available. Their status can usually be determined by birth certificate, passport, or other official document.

[Source: Amended at 10 Ok Reg 527, eff 12-8-92 (emergency); Amended at 10 Ok Reg 2813, eff 6-25-93; Amended at 13 Ok Reg 941, eff 10-5-95 (emergency); Amended at 13 Ok Reg 439, eff 11-14-95 (emergency); Amended at 13 Ok Reg 2167, eff 6-14-96; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 150, eff 11-1-97 (emergency); Amended at 15 Ok Reg 1602, eff 5-11-98; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 2271, eff 5-1-00 (preemptive); Amended at 19 Ok Reg 1737, eff 6-14-02; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2640, eff 7-1-03 (emergency); Amended at 21 Ok Reg 814, eff 5-1-04; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 764, eff 5-12-05; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 14, eff 8-3-07 (emergency); Amended at 25 Ok Reg 903, eff 6-1-08; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 168, eff 11-1-08 (emergency); Amended at 26 Ok Reg 1223, eff 6-1-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1860, eff 7-1-10]