Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, "food stamps") in Washington: what you may be able to apply for
๐ Will this affect your green card?
SNAP does NOT count in the public charge test โ the current rule lists "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or other nutrition programs" as the very first item on the "Public Benefits Not Considered" list, so receiving it does not affect your green card or immigration application. The current rule considers only two things: (a) public cash assistance for income maintenance (SSI, TANF cash, and state, tribal, territorial, or local cash benefit programs for income maintenance), and (b) long-term institutionalization at government expense (such as a long-term stay in a nursing facility or mental health institution). SNAP is neither โ it is not cash assistance and it is not institutional care. USCIS states expressly that it will not consider receipt of, or certification or approval for future receipt of, the benefits on that list. See details โ
What it is
Monthly food benefits that help low-income households buy the food they need. Benefits come on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card โ EBT has been the sole method of SNAP issuance in all states since June 2004 โ which you swipe like a bank card at authorized grocery stores. The benefit amount is based on the USDA's Thrifty Food Plan, updated each year to keep pace with food prices, and depends on your household size and how much monthly income is left after certain expenses are deducted. It is a federal program (USDA Food and Nutrition Service), but state public assistance agencies run it through their local offices โ you must apply in the state where you currently live, so the application and the local name vary by state (California calls it CalFresh). Benefits generally arrive no later than 30 days after the office receives your application; households with little or no money that need help right away may get benefits within 7 days.
Basic Food (Washington's name for SNAP; alongside it runs the state-funded Food Assistance Program, FAP, for legal immigrants who don't qualify for federal SNAP)
Who may qualify
Income limit
- The whole household (Basic Food is tested on the household, not on one person)โค 200% FPL๐ The SNAP/Basic Food income line is set by household size, not by person-type: everyone who lives together and buys and prepares food together is one household, and the limit rises with each additional member. ๐ Washington's gross limit is 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL), above the federal 130% baseline, because Washington uses Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE). Per the DSHS EA-Z Manual: "Categorical Eligibility (CE) eliminates resource requirements, the gross income test, and net income test for AUs with countable income up to 200% of the federal poverty guidelines." In plain terms, for a categorically eligible household there is no asset/resource test and no separate net-income cutoff โ the one line that matters is gross income at or below 200% FPL. โ ๏ธ A separate 130% FPL figure exists but is not the eligibility limit: categorically eligible households only have to report when gross monthly income rises above 130% FPL. The same Basic Food financial rules apply to the state-funded FAP. Finally, meeting the income line does not by itself mean you qualify โ the office still calculates your actual monthly benefit from your net income after deductions.
Immigration-status rules in this state
๐ Washington is genuinely different from California here: the state runs its own food program written to catch legal immigrants federal SNAP leaves out โ but read the limits before you rely on it. (1) "Basic Food" is Washington's umbrella name. DSHS states: "Basic Food is Washington's name for our food assistance program, which includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Food Assistance Program." The first piece (SNAP) is federal money; the second (FAP) is Washington's own money. (2) ๐ The state-funded Food Assistance Program (FAP). DSHS describes it as "a state-funded program that provides food assistance to legal immigrants who aren't eligible for federal Basic Food benefits solely because of their immigration status." That definition is the whole point after the 2025 federal law: the people OBBBA cut from federal SNAP โ refugees, asylees, people granted withholding of removal, parolees, victims of trafficking, battered noncitizens, conditional entrants โ are lawfully present immigrants who are now ineligible for federal SNAP solely because of their immigration status, which is exactly the population FAP is built to serve, and DSHS's FAP program summary lists these humanitarian categories among those it covers. So where California's officials say their CFAP does not catch most people who lose SNAP under H.R.1, Washington's FAP is structured to catch them, paying the same benefit: "The current budget sets FAP at 100% of the federal SNAP benefit level." (3) ๐ด Two honest limits. First, FAP does not reach undocumented immigrants: "Undocumented immigrants aren't eligible for either federally funded Basic Food or state funded SNAP." Second, FAP lives on a state appropriation โ "The legislature sets the benefit level for FAP in the Biennial Operating Budget" โ so it is only as durable as each two-year budget; treat continued funding as a plan, not a guarantee. (4) ๐ด One thing we could not confirm officially: we did not find a DSHS page that names H.R.1 / the One Big Beautiful Bill and spells out, group by group, how FAP treats each category the federal law newly excluded. The FAP definition plainly covers legal immigrants ineligible solely due to status, but before you rely on it, confirm your own category with your local DSHS Community Services Office (877-501-2233). This is a changing area.
Recent major change to SNAP rules (some immigration statuses)
What changed: A federal law effective 2025-07-04 (OBBBA ยง10108, rewriting 7 U.S.C. 2015(f)) limits SNAP to: U.S. citizens ยท lawful permanent residents (green-card holders) ยท Cuban/Haitian entrants ยท COFA (Compact of Free Association) citizens. Who is affected: Refugees, people granted asylum, people granted withholding of removal, humanitarian parolees, battered spouses and children, conditional entrants, and similar categories are now excluded by the statute. โ ๏ธ But: The federal regulation 7 CFR 273.4 has not been updated (current on eCFR as of 2026-07-15) and still lists these categories as eligible; the FNS non-citizen eligibility page was taken down and marked "being updated" (2025-08-29). States may apply this differently. ๐ด What to do: Do NOT decide on your own โ whether old information says you qualify or this notice says you're excluded, check your specific situation with your state SNAP office (they are the ones with authority to decide). ๐ This affects SNAP only: Medicaid, CHIP, and WIC have DIFFERENT eligibility rules, are not affected by this law, and you may still qualify. Also: SNAP does NOT count toward public charge; searching or applying by itself does not affect your immigration status. Informational only, not legal advice; for your personal situation consult a licensed immigration attorney.
You may still qualify for these
What to do
Check with your state SNAP office before assuming you're excluded โ they are the ones who decide your case.
OBBBA ยง10108, amending Section 6(f) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(f)) ยท 2025-07-04
How to apply
What you'll need
Washington asks for the kinds of proof common to SNAP: who you are (a driver's license, state ID, or other identity document); where you live; the Social Security numbers of the people applying (or that you are applying for one โ a noncitizen family member who is not applying does not have to provide one); your household's income for the past month (recent pay stubs, or a statement from your employer; self-employment records if that applies); and, because Washington uses categorical eligibility, you generally will not be asked to document assets. Bringing your housing and utility costs and any medical costs for elderly or disabled members can increase your benefit. If you need help in a language other than English, DSHS must provide it at no cost. See Washington Connection for the exact document list; the same application covers both federal Basic Food and the state-funded FAP.
Timeline
The federal baseline applies: benefits generally arrive no later than 30 days after the office receives your application, and households with little or no money may qualify for expedited service and get benefits within 7 days. ๐ In practice Washington issues quickly once you are approved: DSHS says benefits are typically available the following morning after you are determined eligible, and if you qualify for expedited service you may receive same-day benefits. The 30-day figure is the federal/state standard for a decision; the faster issuance is Washington's own practice.
Go to the official application โWashington Connection (washingtonconnection.org) โ the DSHS online entry point for Basic Food ยท you can also apply by phone at 877-501-2233 or in person at your local DSHS Community Services Office
Will it affect your green card? (Public charge)
โ SNAP does NOT count in the public charge test โ the current rule lists "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or other nutrition programs" as the very first item on the "Public Benefits Not Considered" list, so receiving it does not affect your green card or immigration application. The current rule considers only two things: (a) public cash assistance for income maintenance (SSI, TANF cash, and state, tribal, territorial, or local cash benefit programs for income maintenance), and (b) long-term institutionalization at government expense (such as a long-term stay in a nursing facility or mental health institution). SNAP is neither โ it is not cash assistance and it is not institutional care. USCIS states expressly that it will not consider receipt of, or certification or approval for future receipt of, the benefits on that list.
โ The exclusion is categorical: SNAP has no "long-term institutional care" exception the way Medicaid does โ whatever you buy with SNAP, however long you receive it, and however much you receive, it does not count. Other nutrition programs are likewise not considered, including WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), school lunch programs, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), the Emergency Food Assistance Act program (TEFAP), and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). In addition, USCIS does not consider public benefits received by an applicant's family members (including U.S. citizen children or other relatives), or benefits received by the applicant solely on behalf of third parties โ ๐ด a U.S. citizen child receiving SNAP in a mixed-status family does not count in a parent's public charge determination. It is not considered "receipt" to apply for a benefit on your own behalf or on behalf of another, nor is approval for future receipt. USCIS also does not consider benefits received while the applicant was in an immigration category exempt from public charge, or benefits received by people who are eligible for the resettlement assistance, entitlement programs, and other benefits available to refugees. ๐ One persistent rumor, put to rest: under the current rule effective December 23, 2022, SNAP does not count toward public charge. A 2019 rule did count it, but that rule was vacated nationwide on March 9, 2022 (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 8, Part G, Chapter 1: "a partial final judgment vacating the 2019 Final Rule went into effect nationwide on March 9, 2022"). Rules have changed before and could change again โ rely on the latest official guidance.
Public charge is assessed only for people applying for a visa or admission from abroad, or applying for adjustment of status (a green card) inside the United States.
Many categories are exempt by law: refugees, asylees, VAWA self-petitioners, T and U visa applicants, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJ), Cuban/Haitian entrants, Cuban Adjustment Act applicants, Afghan/Iraqi interpreters, certain battered aliens who are "qualified aliens" under PRWORA, applicants for registry, Lautenberg parolees, Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF) applicants, and other categories exempted by law.
Public charge is generally not assessed when a green-card holder renews their card or naturalizes; a green-card holder returning from a trip abroad is generally not treated as an applicant for admission and is assessed only in limited cases (for example, an absence of more than 180 days).
This is information only, not immigration, legal, or tax advice. Public charge and your personal status are complex โ consult a licensed immigration attorney. We never tell you whether you "will" or "won't" be affected.
USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 8, Part G, Chapter 7, Section E "Public Benefits Not Considered" (which lists SNAP as its first item), together with Sections B and C (the only two categories considered), and Chapter 3 (who it applies to) โ 8 USCIS-PM G.7 / G.3; regulation 8 CFR 212.22(a)(3), 212.21โ212.23; 2022 final rule 87 FR 55472. ยท 2022-12-23
Last checked: 2026-07-16
Policies can change โ always check the latest official information.
This site is informational only and is not immigration, legal, or tax advice. For public charge and your personal status questions, consult a licensed immigration attorney.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, "food stamps") in other states
Other benefits in Washington
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