Phúc lợi tại West Virginia: những gì bạn có thể đủ điều kiện nộp đơn

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🌟🌟 West Virginia made a choice here that many states did not, and its own policy manual sets it out in unusual detail. Read this through. First layer: ordinary Medicaid runs on the qualified alien test. The categories listed in the WV Income Maintenance Manual, Chapter 18, section 18.4 part C include: a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act before August 22, 1996; a person granted asylum under INA section 208, eligible for 7 years from entry; a refugee admitted under INA section 207, including immigrants certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as victims of a severe form of trafficking, eligible for 7 years from entry; a person whose deportation is withheld under INA section 243(h), eligible for 7 years from the date of that status; Amerasian immigrants and Cuban or Haitian entrants who entered within the last 5 years, with participation limited to 7 years from entry; honorably discharged veterans, people on active duty, and their spouses and unmarried dependent children; and a person lawfully admitted for permanent residence on or after August 22, 1996 who has been a qualified alien for more than 5 years. 🌟 The manual separately lists battered spouses and battered children, and notes that the non-abusive parent of a battered child, and the child of a battered parent, may also be eligible. 🌟🌟 Second layer, and the one most worth knowing in this state: pregnant women and children aged 18 and under are measured against the broader "lawfully present" test, not the qualified alien test. Section 18.4 C.2.B provides that lawfully present pregnant women and children aged 18 and under who meet the state residency requirements in Chapter 8 and are otherwise financially eligible may qualify for Medicaid. The manual then spells out what lawfully present means, and the list is long: a qualified non-citizen as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1641(b) and (c); a non-citizen in a valid nonimmigrant status under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15); someone paroled under 1182(d)(5) for less than one year, except parole for prosecution, deferred inspection or pending removal proceedings; someone granted temporary resident status under 1160 or 1255a; someone granted Temporary Protected Status, and someone with a pending TPS application who has been granted employment authorization; someone granted employment authorization under 8 CFR 274a.12(c); Family Unity beneficiaries; people under Deferred Enforced Departure; people granted deferred action; people granted an administrative stay of removal; the beneficiary of an approved visa petition with a pending application for adjustment of status; someone with a pending application for asylum, or for withholding of removal, or under the Convention Against Torture, who has been granted employment authorization or is under 14 with an application pending at least 180 days; someone granted withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture; a child with a pending application for Special Immigrant Juvenile status; someone lawfully present in American Samoa; and a victim of severe trafficking in persons. 🔴 The same provision states an exception that has to be reported plainly: a person with deferred action under the Department of Homeland Security's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals process shall not be considered lawfully present for any of those categories. 🌟🌟 The manual gives two worked examples of its own, clearer than any paraphrase, so here they are as written: · First: a 23-year-old student attending Marshall University on a valid student visa becomes pregnant and applies for pregnancy Medicaid, and is financially eligible. The manual's conclusion: she is lawfully present and intends to reside in West Virginia, and since she is also financially eligible she would be approved for pregnancy Medicaid. · Second: a 23-year-old student on a student visa has his three children listed on the visa, and household monthly income is under 138% of the federal poverty level. The manual's conclusion: he himself would only be eligible for emergency Medicaid, because he meets neither the pregnant-women nor the children-18-and-under category — but his children would be eligible for children's Medicaid, as they are lawfully present and intend to reside in West Virginia. 🌟 Taken together those two examples make one point: within a family, an adult not qualifying does not mean the children do not. The children's side has to be looked at on its own. 🌟 Third layer: emergency Medicaid. Section 18.9 provides that a person who is not a qualified alien is eligible for Medicaid only in emergency situations, and must still meet every other eligibility requirement of the Medicaid group applied for. Two sentences there matter especially: "Aliens must provide their SSN(s), if one is available, but must not be required to apply for an SSN" — give the number if you have one, and you must not be made to apply for one if you do not; and pregnant women facing imminent delivery or related problems are evaluated using Medicaid guidelines for all programs, with the unborn child considered as a child in the home. 🔴 The limits are stated just as plainly: emergency services do not cover organ transplant procedures and do not cover routine prenatal or post partum care; what is covered is a condition of sudden onset with acute symptoms of sufficient severity, including severe pain and including emergency labor and delivery, such that without immediate attention it could reasonably be expected to place health in serious jeopardy, seriously impair bodily functions, or seriously affect any bodily organ or part; and ongoing emergency medical care must be approved by DFA before benefits continue. 🌟 One uncommon but real route: section 18.2 provides that an American Indian born in Canada who is of at least one-half American Indian blood may freely enter and reside in the United States and is considered lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and so is a qualified alien. It does not extend to that person's spouse or child, nor to membership in a tribe or family created by adoption unless that person is also of fifty percent or more Indian blood. Accepted proof of bloodline: a birth or baptismal certificate issued on a reservation, tribal records, a letter from the Canadian Department of Indian Affairs, or school records. 🔴🔴 A timestamp and a limit that must be stated: the manual sections quoted above carry revision dates between 2006 and 2016 — 18.4 is October 2016, 18.9 is October 2013, 18.2 is July 2006. They were therefore written before the public charge rule that took effect on December 23, 2022. We quote them faithfully as West Virginia's own policy text, but that does not mean every sentence in them is still current today. For a decision about you, rely on DoHS's answer now, and get that answer in writing (1-877-716-1212).

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🌟🌟 This is the most worthwhile thing on this row, because it corrects the sentence on WVCHIP's own website in the more generous direction. WVCHIP's published eligibility list says a child must be one of "United States citizens or qualified aliens", adding that "Children who are not U.S. citizens must provide verification of their alien status." 🔴 But "qualified alien" is not the whole test that actually applies to WVCHIP. West Virginia's own policy manual, Chapter 7, section 7.8 part B "CITIZENSHIP AND ALIEN STATUS", is a single sentence: > "The Medicaid policy/procedures in Chapter 18.4 apply to WV CHIP." 🌟🌟 That sentence matters, because section 18.4 is exactly where the broader test lives: its part C.2.B provides that lawfully present pregnant women and children aged 18 and under who meet the state residency requirement and are otherwise financially eligible may qualify — and the list of what counts as lawfully present is considerably wider than "qualified alien". It includes people in a valid nonimmigrant status (a student visa among them), people with Temporary Protected Status and pending TPS applicants granted employment authorization, people with employment authorization under 8 CFR 274a.12(c), Family Unity beneficiaries, people under Deferred Enforced Departure, people granted deferred action, people granted an administrative stay of removal, beneficiaries of an approved visa petition with a pending adjustment of status, people with a pending asylum application who have work authorization (or are under 14 with an application pending at least 180 days), people granted withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture, children with a pending Special Immigrant Juvenile application, and victims of severe trafficking. 🔴 The same section states an exception that has to be reported plainly: a person with deferred action under DACA is not considered lawfully present. 🌟 Section 7.14 of the manual likewise lists among the conditions that the child "meets the Medicaid citizenship and alienage requirements" — so both places point CHIP's status test back at Medicaid rather than setting up a narrower one of its own. 🔴 So use this page in the following way: if your child's status is not in the green-card category but is any of those on the lawfully present list above, do not give up on your child's behalf because of the website's phrase "qualified aliens". Tell the worker what the child's actual status is, ask them to check it against the section 18.4 test that section 7.8 points to, and get the answer in writing (WVCHIP helpline 1-877-982-2447, or DoHS 1-877-716-1212). 🔴 Two honest caveats. First, section 7.14 points the status requirement at "Chapter 4", which is the proof and verification requirement, while section 7.8 points at Chapter 18.4, which is the substantive test — the two point to different chapters, and we report each as written rather than reconciling them for the agency. Second, the manual sections quoted here carry revision dates of November 2015 (7.8 and 7.14) and October 2016 (18.4), so they were written before the public charge rule that took effect on December 23, 2022. We quote them faithfully as West Virginia's own policy text, which is not the same as saying every sentence is still current; for your own case, rely on an answer in writing now.

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🔴 One thing has to be said first on this row: West Virginia has not set up a status test of its own for SNAP; the federal rules are what apply. We did not find a section of West Virginia's online policy manual dealing specifically with immigration status for SNAP — Chapter 4, section 4.3 covers citizenship and identity requirements for Medicaid and WVCHIP, not SNAP. Not finding it does not mean there is none; it only means we will not invent a state-level test on West Virginia's behalf. The federal SNAP status rules are on our SNAP program page. 🌟🌟 There is, however, one thing that matters enormously to mixed-status households and is settled at the federal level, so it belongs here: one household member not meeting the status test does not mean the household gets nothing. The ineligible member is excluded from the count of people the benefit is calculated for, and the remaining eligible members — U.S.-citizen children above all — can still receive it. You can apply for the children only. 🔴 The application does ask about household members' status, and that is not the agency checking on you for immigration authorities. If you are worried, you can list only the people who are applying as applicants; the others still have to report their income, because the household's finances have to be worked out, but you do not have to provide immigration documents for them. If a worker insists on documents for a non-applicant, ask them to state the basis in writing. 🔴🔴 Public charge: SNAP is not counted in the current public charge test — the rule effective December 23, 2022 considers only public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense, and food assistance is neither. For your own case, consult a licensed immigration attorney.

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🌟 West Virginia publishes exactly three classes of WIC eligibility requirement, and here they are in full: (1) Category — pregnant women, postpartum women up to six months, women breastfeeding an infant up to the infant's first birthday, infants up to their first birthday, and children from age one until their fifth birthday; (2) Income — household income no more than 185% of the federal poverty income guidelines, met automatically by anyone receiving Medicaid, TANF or SNAP; (3) Nutrition risk — a medical-based or dietary-based risk or condition, assessed at the WIC clinic. 🔴 In West Virginia's published WIC eligibility criteria and its income eligibility policy, we did not find immigration status listed as a requirement. On that basis we are not writing a status test on the state's behalf, and we are not asserting for the state that it does or does not have one. What we can tell you plainly is this: those three above are the whole of what the state itself lists. 🌟🌟 There is something else here that matters a great deal to families paid in cash, and it is written into West Virginia's own WIC policy manual: income can be self-declared. Policy 2.06, effective April 8, 2025, part H lists three situations in which self-declaration may be used — "The necessary documentation is not available. (i.e. work for cash)", "The applicant has no income", and "The income documentation requirement would present an unreasonable barrier to participation". The same section states that where self-declaration is used and the applicant meets all other criteria, the applicant will receive WIC benefits for the full certification period. You sign a self-declaration form (Policy 2.17, Attachment #1). 🌟 So if you are paid in cash and have no pay stubs, that is not a reason you cannot apply for WIC. 🔴🔴 Public charge: WIC is not counted in the current public charge test — the rule effective December 23, 2022 considers only public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense, and nutrition assistance is neither. For your own case, consult a licensed immigration attorney.

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🔴🔴 The most important sentence on this row: the thing that can actually put money back in your pocket is the federal EITC, not anything the state offers. The two West Virginia provisions below only reduce the tax you owe this state, and they stop at zero — if you do not owe West Virginia income tax in the first place, they give you nothing. Do not treat them as a state version of the EITC. (1) The Family Tax Credit, W. Va. Code §11-21-22. You look up a percentage from a table using your modified federal adjusted gross income and your family size, and that percentage is applied against your West Virginia personal income tax. The lower the income, the higher the percentage, and the lowest income band is 100%, meaning the state income tax can be wiped out entirely. 🔴 Two exclusions you have to know: someone who files with zero exemptions cannot claim the credit, and someone who pays the federal Alternative Minimum Tax is not eligible for it. It is claimed on Schedule FTC-1. (2) The Low-Income Earned Income Exclusion. This is not a credit but a subtraction from income. It applies if you had earned income during the year and your federal adjusted gross income is $10,000 or less filing single, married filing jointly, head of household, or widow(er) with a dependent child, or $5,000 or less filing married separately. 🌟 This one can be taken even if someone else claims you as a dependent. 🌟🌟 So the right order is: get the federal EITC claimed properly first, then see whether these two state provisions can cancel the state tax you owe. The federal EITC's eligibility and status requirements are on our EITC program page — 🔴 the key one being that the federal EITC requires the filer, the spouse, and any child used in the calculation to have a Social Security number valid for employment, so someone filing with an ITIN does not qualify for the federal EITC. That is a federal rule and does not vary by state. 🔴 If you see it stated elsewhere that West Virginia has a state EITC, note this: we did not find one in the state's current catalogue of credits (TSD 110, revised October 2025) or in the current filing instructions (IT-140 for 2025). Before you file, go by the state tax division's official forms and instructions for the year in question, or consult a tax professional. 🔴🔴 Public charge: tax credits are not counted in the current public charge test — the rule effective December 23, 2022 considers only public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense. For your own case, consult a licensed immigration attorney.

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🔴 The status requirements are set by federal rules; West Virginia has no separate test and could not have one. SSI's status requirements are fairly narrow and they are not the same as those for SNAP or Medicaid — our SSI program page sets out which categories can apply and the time-limited restrictions. Do not carry across the status rules you read on the Medicaid or SNAP pages and assume they apply to SSI. 🔴🔴 There is one fundamental difference between this program and most others on this site, and you need to know it before you apply: SSI is one of the few benefits that IS counted in the public charge test. USCIS lists it as public cash assistance for income maintenance. 🌟 But read the other half of this before you act on it, or you will make a wrong decision: receipt of benefits is only one factor in a totality-of-the-circumstances review and is never enough on its own to decide the outcome, and it only matters if you are actually subject to public charge — many people are exempt. USCIS itself notes that relatively few people are both subject to public charge and eligible for SSI, because those who can get SSI are often already green-card holders or in an exempt category. The full explanation is on our SSI program page. 🌟 One more thing that is often misunderstood and worth saying on its own: someone else in your household receiving SSI is not attributed to you. The public charge test looks at what the applicant personally receives. 🔴 Be clear about what the above is: general information, not a judgement about your case. For any decision that touches your immigration status, consult a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative; many such organisations offer free or low-cost help.

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🔴 The status requirements come from federal TANF rules; West Virginia has not set up a state test of its own, and we are not going to write one on its behalf — see our TANF program page. 🔴🔴 But there is something about this program, unlike most on this site, that you need to know before you apply: TANF cash assistance is one of the few benefits that IS counted in the public charge test. USCIS treats public cash assistance for income maintenance as a consideration, and TANF cash assistance falls into that category. 🌟 Read the other half of this, or you may make a decision that harms you: receipt of benefits is only one factor in a totality-of-the-circumstances review and is never enough on its own to decide the outcome, and it only matters if you are actually subject to public charge — many people are exempt, among them those applying for citizenship after already holding a green card, refugees and people granted asylum, and various other categories. The full explanation and the list of exemptions are on our TANF program page. 🌟🌟 Two more things that are routinely misunderstood, each of which can cause someone to give up for no reason: (1) Someone else in the household receiving it is not attributed to you. The public charge test looks at what the applicant personally receives. Applying for WV WORKS for your U.S.-citizen children does not put it on your record. (2) Cash assistance and SNAP, Medicaid and WVCHIP are treated completely differently for public charge — those others are not counted. Do not let a worry about public charge make you give up your children's health coverage and the family's food assistance as well. 🔴 The above is general information, not a judgement about your case. For any decision that touches your immigration status, consult a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative; many such organisations offer free or low-cost help.

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🔴 The status axis for unemployment compensation is different from the other programs on this site, and it is worth keeping them apart. SNAP and Medicaid turn on benefit-eligibility categories such as "qualified alien"; unemployment compensation turns on work authorization — and at two moments: whether you were authorised to work when you earned those wages, and whether you are authorised now, as well as able to work and available for work. The rules and the documents involved are on our unemployment program page; we are not writing a separate West Virginia status test. 🌟🌟 Something that matters a great deal to immigrant families and runs against the intuition: unemployment compensation is not counted in the public charge test. It is not relief; it is insurance funded by employer taxes, and you built up the entitlement through the system while you were working. The public charge rule in effect since December 23, 2022 considers only public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense — unemployment compensation is neither. 🌟 Which means fear for your status should not be the reason you do not claim it. 🔴 We were not able to verify the state's own wording. West Virginia's official claimant handbook is a scanned, image-only PDF from which we cannot extract text, so we cannot quote the state's own statement on non-citizen eligibility. The figures and program parameters on this page therefore come from the federal Labor Department's state-by-state compilation (below), which can be checked and quoted; for a determination about your own status, ask WorkForce West Virginia for it in writing and keep that answer. 🔴 The above is general information, not a judgement about your case. For any decision touching your immigration status, consult a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative; many offer free or low-cost help.

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🌟 West Virginia's official statement of LIEAP eligibility is this one sentence, word for word: "Eligibility for both program components is based on a combination of factors, including income, type of heating payment, and total heating costs." 🔴 On the state's published LIEAP page we did not find immigration status listed among the eligibility factors. On that basis we are not writing a status test on the state's behalf, and we are not asserting for the state that it does or does not have one — we simply tell you that the sentence above is what the state itself sets out. The status rules for energy assistance generally are on our program page for it; do not carry across the status rules from the SNAP or Medicaid pages and assume they apply here. 🌟 One thing that is often overlooked and directly decides whether you can apply: eligibility turns on whether you are responsible for the heating cost, not on whether you own the home. The state names the type of heating payment as one of the eligibility factors — so renters, and people whose heating is included in the rent, should not give up on the assumption that this is only for homeowners. State plainly how you actually pay for heat and let the agency decide. 🔴🔴 Public charge: energy assistance is not counted in the current public charge test — the rule effective December 23, 2022 considers only public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense. For your own case, consult a licensed immigration attorney.

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🔴 The status rules for this program sit in federal housing law and are set by HUD; West Virginia has no separate test and could not have one. Our housing assistance program page sets out the provisions that apply and the documents involved. We are not writing a West Virginia version of them, and we are not restating the federal rules here — a restatement is a second version, and a second version drifts from the source sooner or later. 🔴 On the West Virginia Housing Development Fund's published page for renters we did not find anything about immigration status. That is neither evidence that the state adds a requirement nor that it does not — it means nothing has been separately published at this level. For your own household, ask the public housing authority or the property you are applying to for their answer in writing. 🌟 One practical warning that matters a great deal here: housing applications generally require you to list everyone in the household and provide documents for each person. Before you submit, if the people in your household are in different situations, it is worth consulting a licensed immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative first and then deciding how to complete the form — many such organisations offer free or low-cost help. This is worth the time, because once a housing application is on a waiting list, correcting the information is usually far more trouble than getting it right at the start. 🔴🔴 Public charge: housing assistance is not counted in the current public charge test — the rule effective December 23, 2022 considers only public cash assistance for income maintenance and long-term institutionalization at government expense. For your own case, consult a licensed immigration attorney.