Medicaid
Public health insurance for low-income people, jointly funded by the federal and state governments. It covers doctor visits, hospital care, prescriptions, pregnancy, and children's care. States run it under federal rules, and each state has its own name and details (California calls it Medi-Cal).
이 주의 주요 차이점
Washington covers immigrants unevenly by group. (1) Children under 19 — eligible for Apple Health for Kids regardless of immigration status if income-eligible. (2) Pregnant people — eligible for Apple Health for pregnant individuals and After-Pregnancy Coverage (through 12 months postpartum) regardless of immigration status. (3) Adults 19-64 and 65+ — standard Apple Health requires a qualifying immigration status (e.g., a lawful permanent resident past the 5-year bar); undocumented and other non-qualifying adults do NOT get standard Apple Health. 🔴 For undocumented adults there is a separate state-funded program, Apple Health Expansion, covering Washington residents age 19+ with income up to 138% FPL regardless of status — BUT it is capped at 13,000 enrollees and enrollment is CURRENTLY CLOSED because the cap has been met; the state has said it will not reopen enrollment while the federal H.R.1 changes are implemented. If you apply and are denied because the cap was met, you need take no further steps but may still be randomly selected if space opens. Undocumented or non-qualifying immigrants who cannot enroll can instead buy Qualified Health/Dental Plans (QHP/QDP) through Washington Healthplanfinder (a federal 1332 waiver lets people without a federally recognized status shop there) and may use Emergency Medical (AEM). 🔴 Federal change: under H.R.1 (Section 71109), effective October 1, 2026, the "qualified noncitizen" definition narrows to lawful permanent residents, certain Cuban/Haitian entrants, and COFA (Micronesia/Marshall Islands/Palau) islanders; refugees, asylees, trafficking victims, conditional entrants, people whose removal has been withheld, VAWA self-petitioners, and various parolees (including Afghan and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees) lose federally funded Apple Health after September 30, 2026 unless they have adjusted to lawful permanent resident — but children, pregnant people, and those within 12 months postpartum keep Apple Health regardless of status. This is a fast-changing area — check the latest official HCA guidance.
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Public health coverage for children in families whose income is too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private coverage. It is jointly funded by the federal and state governments (Title XXI of the Social Security Act). Each state designs and runs its own program under federal rules — as a separate CHIP, as a Medicaid-expansion CHIP, or both — so the name, income limits, and details differ by state (state eligibility levels range from about 170% to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level). Besides children, some states' separate CHIP programs also cover pregnant women.
이 주의 주요 차이점
Washington puts children's Medicaid and CHIP under one brand, Apple Health for Kids — and the state's own income chart goes further, labeling the two premium tiers "CHIP T1" and "CHIP T2." So the immigration rules that govern Apple Health for Kids are the rules that govern its CHIP-funded coverage too. For children the headline is good news, and it is current: HCA's June 2026 "H.R.1 noncitizen fact sheet" states in a highlighted box that "Children, pregnant individuals, and individuals within 12 months postpartum continue to be eligible for Apple Health regardless of immigration status if they meet all other requirements" — and that sentence sits inside the very document explaining the October 1, 2026 federal narrowing, so children are named as preserved through that change. Unlike some states, Washington publishes the funding split instead of leaving you to guess: WAC 182-503-0535 says an undocumented person "may be eligible for: (i) Alien medical programs; (ii) State-only funded apple health for kids; or (iii) State-only funded apple health for pregnant women." So an undocumented child's coverage is paid with state dollars, not federal CHIP (Title XXI) money — federal law limits CHIP dollars to citizen and lawfully-residing children. This does not change what your family receives: your child applies on the same form and gets the same Apple Health for Kids benefit, and status is not a barrier. The premium tiers work the same way — a child who would qualify for Apple Health for Kids with premiums but for immigration status gets state-funded coverage in exchange for the same monthly premium. Adults are treated very differently: standard Apple Health requires a qualifying immigration status, and the state-funded Apple Health Expansion for undocumented adults 19+ has met its enrollment cap and is currently closed. This is a fast-changing area — check the latest official HCA guidance.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, "food stamps")
Monthly food benefits that help low-income households buy the food they need. Benefits come on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card — EBT has been the sole method of SNAP issuance in all states since June 2004 — 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 — 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.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🌟 Washington is genuinely different from California here: the state runs its own food program written to catch legal immigrants federal SNAP leaves out — 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) 🌟 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 — refugees, asylees, people granted withholding of removal, parolees, victims of trafficking, battered noncitizens, conditional entrants — 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) 🔴 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 — "The legislature sets the benefit level for FAP in the Biennial Operating Budget" — so it is only as durable as each two-year budget; treat continued funding as a plan, not a guarantee. (4) 🔴 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.
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Nutrition support for pregnancy and early childhood. In USDA's own words, WIC "serves to safeguard the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating including breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health care." Coverage runs from pregnancy until a child turns 5: pregnant women; postpartum women (up to 6 months after the end of a pregnancy); breastfeeding women (up to the infant's first birthday); infants; and children up to their fifth birthday. Every applicant first gets a free, simple health check by WIC staff, and must be individually determined to be at nutrition risk by a health professional — two major types are recognized: medically-based risks such as anemia, underweight, a history of pregnancy complications, or poor pregnancy outcomes; and dietary risks such as inappropriate feeding practices or failure to meet the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Food benefits come on an eWIC card, which works just like a debit card and can be used at WIC-approved grocery stores and farmers' markets. Benefits are not limited to food: they also include health screening, nutrition and breastfeeding counseling, immunization screening and referral, and substance abuse referral. It is a federal program (USDA), but in USDA's words, "while funded through grants from the Federal Government, WIC is administered by 89 State agencies," with services at county health departments, hospitals, schools, Indian Health Service facilities, and other clinic locations — you apply through a WIC agency in your area, so the local name and process vary. Moms, dads, foster parents, and anyone else raising kids under 5 can apply for the kids in their care.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🌟 This is the answer to the question the federal layer leaves open. Federal rules let a state choose to limit WIC to U.S. citizens, nationals, and qualified aliens (7 CFR 246.7(c)(3)) — Washington has not taken that option, and the Washington State Department of Health says so plainly on its eligibility page: "Being on WIC does not make you a public charge and does not affect your immigration status. U.S. citizenship is not required to qualify for WIC." The same page lists what actually matters: being pregnant, recently delivered, breast/chest feeding, or an infant or child under 5; and meeting the income limits by household size — "Many working families and military families are eligible for WIC." Immigration status is not among the criteria. 🔑 Read that as an affirmative statement of state policy, not merely an absence of a contrary rule. 🌟 DOH adds: "If you or your household members are on Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Basic Food, you may be eligible for WIC, too," and a pregnant applicant should "include each unborn child in household size," which raises the income limit. 🔴 One short reassurance, with the detail on the WIC program page: WIC is not counted in the public charge test — DOH says so in the sentence quoted above. Policy can change — confirm with the WIC Cascades Support Line (1-800-841-1410) or your local WIC clinic.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
A refundable federal tax credit for low- to moderate-income working people and families. In the IRS's words, the EITC "helps low- to moderate-income workers and families get a tax break. If you qualify, you can use the credit to reduce the taxes you owe – and maybe increase your refund." The key word is refundable — as the IRS puts it, "This is a refundable credit, so you can get back more than you pay in taxes." In plain terms: you can get money back even if you owe no tax at all. You must have earned income (wages, salary, tips, or self-employment income), and you claim it on your federal tax return — there is no separate application form, no office to visit, and no waiting list. The credit is larger if you have qualifying children, but workers without any children can also get a smaller version. For tax year 2025 (the return you file in 2026), the maximum credit is $649 with no qualifying children, $4,328 with one, $7,152 with two, and $8,046 with three or more. The tax year 2025 income cutoffs (adjusted gross income) are $19,104 (single, head of household, married filing separately, or qualifying surviving spouse) or $26,214 (married filing jointly) with no children; $50,434 / $57,554 with one child; $57,310 / $64,430 with two; and $61,555 / $68,675 with three or more. Investment income must be $11,950 or less for tax year 2025. These amounts are adjusted every year — rely on the IRS tables for the year you are actually filing. This is a purely federal program, administered directly by the IRS under one nationwide set of rules; states have no role in the federal EITC. But note: separately from this federal credit, many states and some local governments run their own state EITC, usually set as a percentage of the federal credit, varying in whether it is refundable, and sometimes with different rules — see your state's details.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🌟 This is the most valuable fact on this page. The federal EITC requires a Social Security number valid for employment, so a family that files with ITINs cannot claim it — see the federal rule for this program. Washington is different, and in a way that matters especially because Washington has no state income tax and therefore no ordinary state EITC. Instead the Washington State Department of Revenue runs the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC), an EITC-style refundable credit — in the state's words, "a refund of retail sales or use tax for low-to-moderate income Washington residents who meet certain eligibility requirements" — and it is open to ITIN filers. The eligibility page lists as a requirement that you "Have a valid Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)," and the ITIN page confirms "You can use your valid ITIN to apply for the WFTC program." The state resolves the apparent catch — another requirement is that you be "Eligible to claim the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)" — directly: "If you have met all the requirements for the EITC, but are filing with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), you can still qualify for the Working Families Tax Credit." 🔑 In plain terms: a working family in Washington whose members file with ITINs, and who therefore cannot claim the federal EITC, may still be able to claim the WFTC — a cash refund of up to $1,330. We say may, not will — you must still meet every other requirement, including having lived in Washington more than half the year and being eligible for the federal EITC in all respects but the SSN. 🔴 Note the boundary: this is Washington's own credit. Claiming the WFTC with an ITIN does not make you eligible for the federal EITC and does not change your immigration status.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a monthly federal cash payment from the Social Security Administration (SSA) for people who have very little income and few resources AND who are age 65 or older, blind, or have a qualifying disability (children can qualify too). To get SSI, your countable resources must stay under $2,000 for an individual or $3,000 for a couple. It is run directly by the federal government under one nationwide standard — the 2026 maximum federal payment is $994/month for an individual and $1,491/month for a couple — and some states add a small state supplement on top.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🔴 The federal layer is not repeated here: federal SSI's strict non-citizen rules (the qualified-alien categories, the further conditions, the five-year bar, and that OBBBA did not change SSI's non-citizen rules) live on the shared ssi program page. This row answers one key question honestly: if immigration status shuts you out of federal SSI, does Washington still have a state-funded cash route for aged, blind, or disabled people? 🌟 Yes — and it is grounded verbatim. Washington's Aged, Blind, or Disabled (ABD) cash program is state funded, and DSHS states: "ABD and PWA are broadly accessible to immigrants as long as they meet all other program requirements." DSHS also states plainly that ABD catches people who lose SSI because of status: "Immigrants who don't become citizens and lose SSI due to expiration of seven years of refugee status (which also affects asylees, victims of trafficking, Cuban Haitian entrants, Amerasians, and those granted withholding of removal) will be provided ABD or TANF, Basic Food, and medical assistance, assuming they are otherwise eligible." 🔴 State the boundary at both ends so no one is misled: this is not "everyone regardless of status." DSHS states: "Non-immigrants and undocumented aliens, as defined in WAC 388-424-0001, are not eligible for ABD or PWA." So ABD reaches lawfully-present immigrants — including qualified aliens still inside the federal five-year bar and many lawfully-present non-qualified aliens — but not people on a temporary (nonimmigrant) visa and not undocumented immigrants. Eligibility rules are in WAC 388-424-0015. Do not rule yourself out — check with DSHS (877-501-2233) and ask about SSI Facilitation, which helps ABD recipients apply for federal SSI.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) gives time-limited monthly cash assistance and work supports to low-income families with children, to help them achieve economic security and stability. The federal government sends each state a block grant, and each state designs and runs its own TANF program under its own name (California calls it CalWORKs) with its own benefit amounts and rules. States set the monthly cash amount, add work-participation requirements, and set time limits within the federal 60-month (5-year) lifetime cap on federally funded assistance. Besides the monthly cash grant, TANF also funds services such as childcare, job training, and transportation.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🔴 The federal layer is not repeated here: TANF's federal immigrant rules (undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federally funded TANF; the five-year bar for most qualified aliens; which categories are exempt; and that OBBBA did not change TANF's immigrant rules) live on the shared tanf program page. This row carries only the one Washington point that matters most for immigrants. 🌟🌟 This is the moat of this page: Washington runs State Family Assistance (SFA), state funded, specifically to catch people who are ineligible for TANF because of federal welfare-reform restrictions. DSHS states: "State Family Assistance (SFA) is a cash assistance program for participants who are ineligible for TANF." Washington's Citizenship and Alien Status guidance further states: "Consider immigrants, who are not eligible for federal TANF because of the five-year bar on federal benefits, for the state funded benefits programs." 🔴 State the boundary precisely, to avoid misleading in either direction: SFA reaches people who are lawfully present but federally excluded — under WAC 388-400-0010, you may be eligible for SFA if you are ineligible for TANF because (among other reasons) you are a qualified alien with less than five years in the U.S., or a non-qualified alien who meets Washington's residency requirement. Washington's TANF guidance lists the lawfully-present non-qualified aliens who could get state-funded benefits: pending asylum/withholding applicants with work authorization, those granted withholding of removal under CAT, parolees in the U.S. for less than one year, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, deferred action holders (except DACA), Family Unity beneficiaries, U visa and V visa holders, K-visa fiancé(e)s of citizens, and other lawfully-present nonimmigrants. 🔴 Say it honestly: these state-funded categories are for people who are lawfully present but federally excluded — the official page does not list fully undocumented people as eligible for SFA. Do not rule yourself out, and do not treat this as a guarantee for undocumented people: check on SFA, CEAP, and your specific status with DSHS (877-501-2233) under the current rules.
Unemployment Insurance (UI)
Unemployment Insurance is temporary weekly cash paid to workers who lost their job through no fault of their own, to help you get by while you look for the next one. It is funded by taxes paid by employers (federal FUTA and state SUTA) — workers generally do not pay into it. It is a joint federal-state program: each state runs its own unemployment insurance program under shared federal rules, so eligibility, the weekly amount, and how many weeks you can receive vary by state. You apply in the state where you worked. To qualify you generally must be unemployed through no fault of your own, meet a work-and-wages threshold in a "base period," and be currently able to work, available to work right away, and actively looking for work. The first payment usually arrives two to three weeks after you file.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🔴 Unemployment Insurance is an earned, insurance-type benefit, not a means-tested public benefit — see this program's federal rule (why it is generally not subject to PRWORA's "qualified alien" / five-year-bar rules, and the OBBBA federal-funding limit on high earners with $1,000,000+ base-period wages, both live there and are not repeated here). This row carries only the immigration points as Washington applies them. Washington's Employment Security Department (ESD), on its "Information you need when you apply" page, requires applicants to provide: "Citizenship status. If you're not an U.S. citizen, we will need your work authorization information." 🔑 The key is here: Washington UI requires that you are now legally authorized to work in the U.S.; and, under the general rule that UI is an earned benefit, you must also have been authorized to work when you earned the wages (or those wages generally do not count — that general rule lives on this program's federal page). So this is an earned route: it does not look at how low your household income is, but it does require work authorization both then and now. ⚠️ Note: in some years Washington has run separate immigrant-relief funds; those are not unemployment insurance — do not conflate them. UI is always a benefit you earned through your own covered wages. State rules differ — rely on the state where you worked (here, Washington's ESD).
Section 8 / Housing Choice Voucher
The Housing Choice Voucher — commonly called "Section 8" — is federal rental assistance that helps very-low-income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities rent decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. The funds come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the program is run locally by public housing agencies (PHAs), usually state or local government entities. You find your own rental unit that meets program housing-quality standards; after the PHA approves the unit and tenancy, it pays the rent subsidy directly to the landlord. If the rent is at or below the local "payment standard," you generally pay about 30 percent of your adjusted monthly income toward rent, and the subsidy covers the rest. It is the nation's largest rental-assistance program, helping about 2.3 million families. Because funding is limited, many areas keep a waiting list.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🔴 There is no separate Washington state immigrant rule for Section 8 that expands beyond the federal HUD rule. Section 8 is HUD-funded and administered by local public housing authorities, all of which apply HUD's federal noncitizen rules. The Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) states them plainly: "If at least one or more of your household members are U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or have eligible immigration status, you may be eligible for or may continue residing in the federally subsidized housing program." And "Mixed families may be eligible for 'proration' assistance" — SHA "will prorate assistance based on the number of eligible family members, rather than on the total number of household members." So a mixed household with at least one eligible member is not turned away entirely; assistance is prorated. Those federal status categories live on this program's shared federal page and are not repeated here; status is verified by your local housing authority under HUD rules. On a state-funded rental route: Washington does run a state-funded Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) program (administered by the Department of Commerce through local providers) for low-income adults who cannot work for at least 90 days due to a physical or mental incapacity and are ineligible for ABD cash assistance — but it is an incapacity-based program, and we did not find official language making its immigrant eligibility broader than the federal HCV rule, so we do not claim a broader state immigrant rule here. Check HEN with DSHS (877-501-2233). This row does not claim any state expansion beyond the federal rule.
LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program)
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps low-income households pay their home energy costs — mainly heating (winter) and cooling (summer) bills, plus energy-crisis aid (for example, when you face a shutoff or need reconnection), light home weatherization, and minor heating-equipment repair or replacement. It is a federally funded block grant managed by the Office of Community Services within HHS (HHS/ACF/OCS), and then run by each state, territory, and tribe, which set their own eligibility rules and application process. 🔴 LIHEAP does not send cash directly to individuals and never charges a fee; you apply through your state's or tribe's energy-assistance agency. The federal income ceiling is 150% of the poverty level, or 60% of state median income if that is higher; many states also grant "categorical eligibility" to households that receive TANF, SSI, SNAP, or needs-tested veterans' benefits.
이 주의 주요 차이점
🔴 This is the key safety question, answered from Washington's own materials: Washington LIHEAP does not impose an immigration-status or citizenship test the way some states' energy programs do. The Department of Commerce, which runs the statewide program, lists the eligibility factors as heating costs, household income, and household size, and states plainly, "Commerce does not determine eligibility or award grants to households." You apply through a local Community Action Agency, and Washington's delivering agencies say you can apply without a Social Security number and that they will not report you: the Opportunity Council (the Community Action Agency for Whatcom, Island, and San Juan counties) tells applicants "(You may still be eligible without a social security number)" and states, "Depending on the program, someone in your household may need to meet these requirements but we do not investigate or report immigration status. Your conversation with us about your status or the people living in your home is completely private." 🔴 Be honest about the edges: this is grounded from Commerce and one Community Action Agency, and the exact documents each local agency asks for can differ — so this is not a promise that status is never relevant anywhere; but Washington's statewide LIHEAP is not conditioned on immigration status, and you should not rule yourself out. This differs from some states — do not copy another state's rule onto Washington. Apply through your local agency (find it on Commerce's LIHEAP page) and ask them directly; they do not investigate or report your status.
이 페이지에는 현재까지 수록된 복지 항목만 나열되어 있으며, 이 주에 이 항목들만 있다는 의미는 아닙니다.