WAC 388-424-0001   Citizenship and alien status -- Definitions.  "American Indians" born outside the United States. American Indians born outside the U.S. are eligible for benefits without regard to immigration status or date of entry if:

     (1) They were born in Canada and are of fifty percent American Indian blood (but need not belong to a federally recognized tribe); or

     (2) They are members of a federally recognized Indian tribe or Alaskan Native village or corporation.

     "Hmong or Highland Lao." These are members of the Hmong or Highland Laotian tribe, which rendered military assistance to the U.S. during the Vietnam era (August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975), and are "lawfully present" in the United States. This category also includes the spouse (including unremarried widow or widower) or unmarried dependent child of such tribe members.

     "Nonimmigrants." These individuals are allowed to enter the U.S. for a specific purpose, usually for a limited time. Examples include:

     (1) Tourists,

     (2) Students,

     (3) Business visitors.

     "PRUCOL" (Permanently residing under color of law) aliens. These are individuals who:

     (1) Are not "qualified aliens" as described below; and

     (2) Intend to reside indefinitely in the U.S.; and

     (3) United States Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service or INS) knows are residing in the U.S. and is not taking steps to enforce their departure.

     "Special immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan." According to federal law, special immigrants are Iraqi and Afghan aliens granted special immigrant status under section 101 (a)(27) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

     "Qualified aliens." Federal law defines the following groups as "qualified aliens." All those not listed below are considered "nonqualified":

     (1) Abused spouses or children, parents of abused children, or children of abused spouses, who have either:

     (a) A pending or approved I-130 petition or application to immigrate as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen or as the spouse or unmarried son or daughter of a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) - see definition of LPR below; or

     (b) A notice of "prima facie" approval of a pending self-petition under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); or

     (c) Proof of a pending application for suspension of deportation or cancellation of removal under VAWA; and

     (d) The alien no longer resides with the person who committed the abuse.

     (e) Children of an abused spouse do not need their own separate pending or approved petition but are included in their parent's petition if it was filed before they turned age twenty-one. Children of abused persons who meet the conditions above retain their "qualified alien" status even after they turn age twenty-one.

     (f) An abused person who has initiated a self-petition under VAWA but has not received notice of prima facie approval is not a "qualified alien" but is considered PRUCOL. An abused person who continues to reside with the person who committed the domestic violence is also PRUCOL. For a definition of PRUCOL, see above.

     (2) Amerasians who were born to U.S. citizen armed services members in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam war.

     (3) Individuals who have been granted asylum under Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

     (4) Individuals who were admitted to the U.S. as conditional entrants under Section 203 (a)(7) of the INA prior to April 1, 1980.

     (5) Cuban/Haitian entrants. These are nationals of Cuba or Haiti who were paroled into the U.S. or given other special status.

     (6) Individuals who are lawful permanent residents (LPRs) under the INA.

     (7) Persons who have been granted parole into the U.S. for at least a period of one year (or indefinitely) under Section 212 (d)(5) of the INA, including "public interest" parolees.

     (8) Individuals who are admitted to the U.S. as refugees under Section 207 of the INA.

     (9) Persons granted withholding of deportation or removal under Sections 243(h) (dated 1995) or 241 (b)(3) (dated 2003) of the INA.

     "Undocumented aliens." These are persons who either:

     (1) Entered the U.S. without inspection at the border, or

     (2) Were lawfully admitted but have lost their status.

     "U.S. citizens."

     (1) The following individuals are considered to be citizens of the U.S.:

     (a) Persons born in the U.S. or its territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; also residents of the Northern Mariana Islands who elected to become U.S. citizens); or

     (b) Legal immigrants who have naturalized after immigrating to the U.S.

     (2) Persons born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent may be U.S. citizens under certain conditions.

     (3) Individuals under the age of eighteen automatically become citizens when they meet the following three conditions on or after February 27, 2001:

     (a) The child is a lawful permanent resident (LPR);

     (b) At least one of the parents is a U.S. citizen by birth or naturalization; and

     (c) The child resides in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent.

     (4) For those individuals who turned eighteen before February 27, 2001, the child would automatically be a citizen if still under eighteen when he or she began lawful permanent residence in the U.S. and both parents had naturalized. Such a child could have derived citizenship when only one parent had naturalized if the other parent were dead, a U.S. citizen by birth, or the parents were legally separated and the naturalizing parent had custody.

     "U.S. nationals." A U.S. national is a person who owes permanent allegiance to the U.S. and may enter and work in the U.S. without restriction. The following are the only persons classified as U.S. nationals:

     (1) Persons born in American Samoa or Swain's Island after December 24, 1952; and

     (2) Residents of the Northern Mariana Islands who did not elect to become U.S. citizens.

     "Victims of trafficking." According to federal law, victims of trafficking have been subject to one of the following:

     (1) Sex trafficking, in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained eighteen years of age; or

     (2) The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

     (3) Under federal law, persons who have been certified or approved as victims of trafficking by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) are to be treated the same as refugees in their eligibility for public assistance.

     (4) Immediate family members of victims are also eligible for public assistance benefits as refugees. Immediate family members are the spouse or child of a victim of any age and the parent or minor sibling if the victim is under twenty-one years old.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.08A.320, 74.08.090, and Public Law 110-161 Section 525; Public Law 110-181 Section 1244; FNS Admin Notice 08-17; State Letter 04-12 from the Office of Refugee Resettlement. 08-14-116, § 388-424-0001, filed 6/30/08, effective 8/1/08. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.08.090. 04-15-004, § 388-424-0001, filed 7/7/04, effective 8/7/04.]