Section 113.10  Citizenship

To be eligible for assistance, an individual shall be either a U.S. citizen or a non-citizen within specific categories and subject to specific restrictions as set forth in this Section.

a)         Citizenship status – Persons born in the U.S., or in its possessions, are U.S. citizens.  Citizenship can also be acquired by naturalization through court proceedings, or by certain persons born in a foreign country of U.S. citizen parents.

b)         Non-citizens

1)         The following categories of non-citizens may receive assistance, if otherwise eligible:

A)        A United States veteran honorably discharged and a person on active military duty, and the spouse and unmarried dependent children of such a person;

B)        Refugees under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 USC 1157);

C)        Asylees under section 208 (8 USC 1158) of INA;

D)        Persons for whom deportation has been withheld under section 243(h) of INA (8 USC 1253(h)) prior to September 30, 1996, or section 241(b)(3) of INA (8 USC 1231(b)(3)) on or after September 30, 1996;

E)        Persons granted conditional entry under section 203(a)(7) of INA (8 USC 1153), as in effect prior to April 1, 1980;

F)         Persons lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the INA including:

i)         Afghani immigrants with special immigrant status under section 101(a)(27) of INA (8 USC 1101).  The five-year residency requirement set forth in subsection (b)(2) of this Section does not apply to this sub-group.

ii)         Iraqi immigrants with special immigrant status under section 101(a)(27) of INA.  The five-year residency requirement set forth in subsection (b)(2) of this Section does not apply to this sub-group;

G)        Parolees, for at least one year, under section 212(d)(5) of INA (8 USC 1182);

H)        Persons who are a spouse, widow or child of a U.S. citizen or a spouse or child of a legal permanent resident (LPR) who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by the U.S. citizen or LPR or a member of that relative's family who lived with them, who no longer live with the abuser or plans to live separately within one month after receipt of assistance and whose need for assistance is due, at least in part, to the abuse; and

I)         Victims of trafficking, or the minor child, spouse, parent or sibling of the trafficking victim, who have been certified by, or whose status has been verified by, the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).

2)         Those persons who are in the categories set forth in subsections (b)(1)(F) and (b)(1)(G) and who enter the United States on or after August 22, 1996 shall not be eligible for five years beginning on the date the person entered the United States.

(Source:  Amended at 43 Ill. Reg. 9122, effective August 9, 2019)