Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for Noncitizens
(over)
SSA.gov
Who can get Supplemental
Security Income?
To be eligible for SSI as a noncitizen, you must be in
one of certain classications granted by the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS). You may be eligible for
SSI if you are:
• Lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
• Granted conditional entry.
• Paroled into the United States.
• Admitted as a refugee.
• Granted asylum.
• An alien whose removal is being withheld.
• A Cuban or Haitian Entrant.
• Admitted as an Amerasian Immigrant.
• Admitted as an Afghan or Iraqi Special Immigrant.
• Admitted as an Afghan humanitarian parolee or
Afghan Non-Special Immigrant Parolee.
• Admitted as a Ukrainian humanitarian parolee.
In addition to being in one of the above classications,
you must also satisfy one of these requirements to be
eligible for SSI as a noncitizen:
• You were lawfully residing in the United States
on Aug. 22, 1996, and you’re blind or develop a
disability.
• You were receiving SSI on Aug. 22, 1996, and
you’re lawfully residing in the United States.
• You were lawfully admitted for permanent residence
and you have a total of 40 credits of work in the
United States. (Your spouse’s or parent’s work also
may count).
• You’re a veteran or active duty member of the
United States Armed Forces, or a spouse or
dependent of a veteran or active duty member of the
United States Armed Forces.
• You’re an American Indian born in Canada.
• You’re a noncitizen member of a federally
recognized Indian tribe.
• You’re a victim of severe forms of human trafcking.
There are others who may be eligible for payments. If
you’re a noncitizen and want to apply for SSI, contact us
to see if you’re eligible.
NOTE: If you entered the United States on or after
Aug. 22, 1996, then you may not be eligible for SSI
for the rst 5 years as a lawfully admitted permanent
resident, even if you have 40 credits of earnings.
Seven-year limit for some noncitizens
Some noncitizens can get SSI for up to 7 years. If your
SSI payments are limited to 7 years because of your
particular noncitizen status, we’ll send a letter to you
telling you when your 7-year period ends. We’ll send
another letter explaining your rights to appeal before we
stop your payments.
If you’re a current or former SSI recipient subject to SSI
eligibility under the 7-year time limit, and you’ve applied
for citizenship, we encourage you to contact the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to nd
out how to:
• Expedite processing of your pending naturalization
(N-400) or adjustment of status (I-485) application.
• Waive fees for the cost associated with ling
these applications.
You (or your representative) may call USCIS toll-free
at 1-800-375-5283 (wait for the SSI option on the main
menu) or 1-800-767-1833 (TTY) if you’re deaf or hard
of hearing and request expedited processing. You
also may request expedited processing in writing or by
going to the local USCIS ofce. Be sure to tell them that
you’re a current or former SSI recipient. To learn more,
contact your local USCIS ofce, or visit the USCIS
website at www.USCIS.gov/feewaiver.
Credits of work
A person’s work history determines their eligibility for
Social Security benets, as well as SSI eligibility for
some noncitizens. You earn work credits based on
the amount of money you have earned. The amount
needed to earn a work credit goes up slightly each year
as average earnings levels increase.
For Social Security benets, you can earn a maximum
of 4 credits per year. A noncitizen also can receive
additional credits per year based on the work of a
spouse or parent.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
for Noncitizens
Work credits remain on your work record indenitely.
The extra work credits from a spouse or parent help
toward eligibility but aren’t posted to a noncitizen’s work
record and aren’t counted to determine the amount of
benets. For more information, read our publication,
How You Earn Credits (Publication No. 05-10072).
We need proof of your status
When you apply for SSI, you must prove your noncitizen
status. Noncitizens who’ve served in the U.S. Armed
Forces may also need to give us proof of military service.
These are examples of things you may need to provide:
• As proof of your noncitizen status — a current
Form I-94 (arrival/departure record), or I-551 (lawful
permanent resident card) from DHS or an order from
an immigration judge withholding deportation or
granting asylum.
• As proof of military service — U.S. military discharge
papers (DD Form 214) showing honorable discharge
not based on your noncitizen status.
Your local Social Security ofce can tell you what other
types of evidence you can submit to prove your status.
Information about Medicaid
If you have Medicaid coverage based on your SSI, your
Medicaid should continue as long as you get SSI.
You can le a new claim
If your SSI payments stop because you’re not an
eligible noncitizen, you can apply again. Contact us
right away if your immigration status changes, or if you
become a U.S. citizen, and you think you qualify, or you
have 40 credits of work. You’ll need to bring us your
naturalization certicate or other documents that show
your current immigration status.
If you have a sponsor
When you entered the United States, you may have had
someone sign an agreement to provide support for you.
This agreement is called an afdavit of support, and the
person who signed it is called your sponsor.
Generally, we count a portion of your sponsor’s and
their spouse’s income and resources as yours from the
time you came to the United States. Your local Social
Security ofce can give you more information about
these rules, and about what they mean to you.
Social Security numbers
If you’re a lawfully admitted noncitizen with permission
to work in the United States, you may need a Social
Security number. For more information, read our
publication, Social Security Numbers for Noncitizens
(Publication No. 05-10096).
Becoming a citizen
To learn more about how to become a United States
citizen, call USCIS toll-free at 1-800-375-5283 (for
the deaf or hard of hearing, call the TTY number,
1-800-767-1833). You also can contact your local
USCIS ofce, or visit them online at www.uscis.gov.
Contacting Us
The most convenient way to do business with us is to
visit www.ssa.gov to get information and use our online
services. There are several things you can do online:
apply for benets; start or complete your request for
an original or replacement Social Security card; get
useful information; nd publications; and get answers to
frequently asked questions.
When you open a personal my Social Security account,
you have more capabilities. You can review your
Social Security Statement, verify your earnings, and
get estimates of future benets and save or print a
benet verication letter. Access to your personal my
Social Security account may be limited for users outside
the United States.
If you don’t have access to the internet, we offer many
automated services by telephone, 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, so you may not need to speak with a
representative.
If you need to speak with someone, call us toll-free at
1-800-772-1213 or at our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778,
if you’re deaf or hard of hearing. A member of our staff
can answer your call from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday
through Friday. We provide free interpreter services upon
request. For quicker access to a representative, try calling
early in the day (between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. local time)
or later in the day. We are less busy later in the week
(Wednesday to Friday) and later in the month.
Social Security Administration
Publication No. 05-11051
January 2023 (November 2022 edition may be used)
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for Noncitizens
Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense
