Afghan Immigrants

There are multiple categories of Afghan nationals arriving in the United States.

The nationals may be refugees, special immigrant visa holders (SIVs), SIV parolees (also known as special immigrant parolees), asylees, or humanitarian parolees.

Refugees, special immigrant visa holders (SIVs), SIV parolees (also known as special immigrant parolees), and asylees are immediately eligible for SNAP as long as other eligibility requirements are met.

Afghan Humanitarian Parolees

President Biden recently signed the Consolidated Continuing Appropriations Act, 2023 into law. This law extends the period under which certain individuals from Afghanistan may become eligible for SNAP benefits to September 30, 2023.  

Section 2502 of the Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2022 (PL 117-43) now provides that Afghan nationals, citizens, or those who last habitually lived in Afghanistan who are granted parole between July 31, 2021, and September 30, 2023 are eligible to receive resettlement assistance, entitlement programs (including SNAP), and other benefits available to refugees admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. These individuals are not subject to a waiting period and are immediately eligible for benefits as long as they meet all other SNAP financial and non-financial eligibility requirements.

Humanitarian parolees, like all other refugees, are both qualified and eligible aliens. Refer to ITS 3(a)(4) and ITS 3(b)(8)(A) on 340:50-5-67. These individuals must meet all other SNAP eligibility requirements.

SAVE and Verification Procedures

All persons claiming alien status must submit verification, and the worker must use SAVE to verify the person’s status. We do not deny a SNAP applicant without first running SAVE to determine that person’s status.

The verification may include but it is not limited to:

• An Afghan passport with a Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection “PAROLED” stamp in their passport or an “OAR” notation in the parole stamp,
• an I-94 showing date of admission and the “OAR” notation, or
• a Form I-766, Employment Authorization Document with a C11 category.

Lost Benefits

Workers must restore lost SNAP benefits to a household per 340:50-11-46. After September 30, 2021, if we did not include a person in the household who was eligible, workers must correct the case.

Refer to the following Quest articles for assistance with this issue.

• SNAP: How to Issue a Supplement using FSSR
• SNAP: How to Retro-Certify a Case using FSSR
• SNAP: How to Supplement or Retro-Certify a Case using the FSLB Transaction

Status Changes

If a parolee applies for asylum, that individual would remain eligible for SNAP while they remain in application status for asylum.