Citizenship and Alien Status Requirements for the Medicaid Program

Date:  October 26, 2004 

 

25 

Trans. No.  04 OMM/ADM-7 

 

Page No. 

 

of countries designated for TPS is located at the United States 

Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) (formerly the 

Immigration and Naturalization Service-INS) website, at 

http://uscis.gov]. 

 

Persons granted TPS are authorized to remain in the United States 

for a specific limited period; the U.S. Attorney General can 

extend it for a further specified period.  Prior to 1990, a 

similar status called “Extended Voluntary Departure” was used in 

the same way to provide relief to particular nationalities.   

 

Persons granted temporary protected status will have one of the 

following types of documentation:  

•

 

Form I-688B; or 

•

 

Form I-766 EAD coded 274a.12(a)(12) or A12; or 

•

 

A letter, verification or correspondence from USCIS, such 

as a Notice of Action (I-797) indicating temporary 

protected status has been granted. 

 

•

 

Applicants who have applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS): 

These immigrants are treated as PRUCOL for purposes of their 

eligibility for Medicaid, Family Health Plus or Child Health Plus 

A if it reasonably appears, based on all the facts and 

circumstances of the case, that they are present in the United 

States with the knowledge and permission or the acquiescence of 

the federal immigration agency and that such agency is not 

presently contemplating deporting them.  Social Services 

districts should request proof from the immigrant that he or she 

filed the Application for Temporary Protected Status (Form I-821) 

and the Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) to 

the USCIS or its predecessor, the INS.  For example, the 

immigrant may have a receipt or letter from the federal 

immigration agency that shows that such agency received these 

documents.  However, the immigrant does not need to have written 

confirmation from the federal immigration agency acknowledging 

its receipt of these documents.  An immigrant can be considered 

PRUCOL if the immigrant can prove that he or she mailed these 

documents to the federal immigration agency on a certain date.  

When the federal immigration agency has not acted on the 

application after a reasonable period of time after mailing, the 

district may reasonably presume that the applicant is PRUCOL. 

Applicants for temporary protected status will have one of the 

following types of documentation: 

•

 

Receipt or notice showing filing of Form I-821 (Application 

for Temporary Protected Status) and Form I-765 (Application 

for Employment Authorization); or 

•

 

Form I-688B; or 

•

 

Form I-766 EAD coded 274a.12(c)(19) or C19; or 

•

 

Any letter, verification or correspondence from USCIS or a 

U.S. Postal Return Receipt. 

 

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Date:  October 26, 2004 

 

26 

Trans. No.  04 OMM/ADM-7 

 

Page No. 

 

 

2. VERIFICATION OF PRUCOL STATUS FOR OTHER IMMIGRANTS, INCLUDING 

APPLICANTS FOR A PARTICULAR IMMIGRATION STATUS: 

 

An immigrant can be PRUCOL even if the USCIS has not granted him 

or her a particular immigration status.  Typically, these 

immigrants have applied to the USCIS for a particular immigration 

status or for work authorization.  These immigrants will not 

necessarily have a document or form issued by the USCIS that 

officially grants them a particular immigration status.  

Nonetheless, they can be PRUCOL when they establish that they are 

permanently residing in the U.S. with the knowledge and 

permission or acquiescence of the USCIS.  These PRUCOL immigrants 

are included among the immigrants in PRUCOL category “l”: that 

is, “other persons living in the United States with the knowledge 

and permission or acquiescence of the USCIS and whose departure 

the USCIS does not contemplate enforcing.” 

 

Determining whether an immigrant is present in the U.S. with the 

knowledge and acquiescence of the USCIS. 

 

The particular facts and circumstances of each immigrant’s case 

establishes whether the USCIS has “knowledge” of the immigrant’s 

presence in the U.S. and whether the USCIS can be seen as 

acquiescing in, or accepting, the immigrant’s presence, at least 

for the time-being.  Both of these elements must be established 

for the immigrant to be PRUCOL under this category. 

 

To determine whether an immigrant is within this PRUCOL category, 

the eligibility worker must look for the following: 

 

a. Establishing that the USCIS has “knowledge” of the 

immigrant’s presence: 

 

Any correspondence that the immigrant has received from the USCIS 

will establish that the USCIS has knowledge of the immigrant’s 

presence in the United States.  Such correspondence may include, 

but is not limited to, any of the following: 

 

•

 

USCIS receipt notice;  

•

 

“Notice of Action” issued by USCIS; 

•

 

USCIS fee receipt; or 

•

 

Cancelled check for payment of a USCIS fee. 

 

Each of these documents proves that the USCIS has received a form 

or other request for change in status or issuance of a work 

authorization.  As proof of correspondence with the USCIS, the 

eligibility worker may also accept a copy of a letter that the 

immigrant has sent to the USCIS together with documentation, such 

as a U.S. Postal Service Return Receipt form, showing that the 

USCIS actually received such letter.  A letter to the USCIS, 

without verification that USCIS actually received the letter, is 

not sufficient documentation to support PRUCOL status.   

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