Person with Green Cards
1. I have my green card. What can happen to me if I get cash welfare?
In general, using cash welfare will not be a problem for you once you already have your green card. It will not affect your ability to become a citizen. However, it could be a problem if you travel outside of the U.S. for more than 6 months—see the question on travel below. Using non-cash benefits will not cause a problem for you.
2. I have my green card and I get cash welfare. Can I travel outside of the United States?
If you are a legal resident who gets SSI, TANF, or other cash welfare right now, you should not travel outside of the U.S. for more than 180 days (about 6 months). Any time you are gone for more than 180 days, the INS can ask you questions about whether you are likely to become a public charge, and may not let you re-enter the country. If you are outside of the U.S. for 180 days or less, in most cases the INS will not ask you questions about public charge when you re-enter the U.S. The INS will only ask you these questions if you intended to live permanently in another country, committed certain crimes, or had a pending deportation or removal case when you left the country.
3. I have my green card and get public benefits. Can I still receive my benefits while I am out of the country?
If you plan to be outside of the country for more than 30 days, you should check with the agency providing the benefit. It may be against the rules to continue receiving public benefits while you are outside of the U.S. It could hurt your chances of re-entering the U.S. or becoming a U.S. citizen if you received benefits that you were not supposed to receive.
4. When I return from a trip, can the government make me pay back Medicaid or food stamps that I used before I left?
No. The government is not supposed to ask you to pay back these benefits unless you received them improperly (for example, if you were not really living in this state but claimed to be a resident, or if you did not tell your welfare worker about all of your income). If you are at the airport or the border and the INS or other agency asks you to pay back benefits, you should get legal help immediately. This is true no matter what your immigration status is.
5. I have my green card. Can the INS deport me because I use benefits?
No. The INS cannot deport you just for using public benefits that you qualify to receive. The INS can only deport you in rare cases. You cannot be deported unless all of the following are true:
* you received cash welfare or long-term institutional care for reasons that existed before you entered the U.S., and
* you got the cash welfare or long-term care less than 5 years after you entered the U.S., and
* you or your sponsor have a legal debt to the government agency that gave you the cash or long-term care, and you or your sponsor got a notice from the government that you owed the debt within 5 years of entering the U.S., and
* you or your sponsor have refused to repay the benefits after the government filed a lawsuit and won in court.
Most programs, like SSI, and TANF, do not create a debt for you. In some states, General Assistance may create a debt for you. Some programs may create a debt for your sponsor. But no sponsor who signed an affidavit of support before December 19, 1997 has a legal debt to the government for a benefit that you received.
Remember, if you need benefits because you became sick, had an accident or other crisis after coming to the U.S., then you cannot be deported for using those benefits. If you begin using benefits more than 5 years after entering the U.S., then you cannot be deported even if you or your sponsor owes the government money for these benefits. For most permanent residents, this 5-year period starts again every time you enter the U.S. after being gone for more than 180 days.
