Health & Benefits

Only certain non-citizens are eligible for SNAP benefits:

• Lawful permanent residents (LPRs or green card holders) who have had LPR status for at least five years,
• Certain Cuban or Haitian entrants,
• People living in Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, or Palau,
• Non-citizen U.S. Nationals, and
• People with LPR status for less than five years if they:
  • Are under 18 years old,
  • Are blind or disabled, or
  • Or their dependent A person who relies on another for support, such as a child or person with a disability are a US veteran or active-duty member,
  • Have had 40 qualifying quarters of work history, or
  • Qualify for an exception under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA).

They must still meet the rest of the requirements for SNAP eligibility, including household income and work requirements. A qualifying person can apply for SNAP, even if people in their household are not eligible because of their immigration status.

Undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for SNAP benefits. As of July 4, 2025, the following non-citizens are no longer eligible for SNAP benefits:

• Refugees,
• Asylees,
• Human trafficking Involves the use of force or coercion to make someone participate in forced labor or a commercial sex act, or luring them into participating if they are under 18. victims (unless they have a T visa),
• Domestic Violence Harm by one household or family member against another household or family member. Harm may be an emotional, mental, or physical injury survivors,
• Immigrants who have had their deportations withheld,
• Conditional entrants,
• Parolees,
• Amerasians,
• Iraqi and Afghan immigrants,
• Native Americans born in a different country, and
• Hmong and Highland Laotian tribal members.

A person that does not qualify for SNAP because of their immigration status can apply on behalf of other members of the household who do qualify. For example, if a non-citizen parent does not qualify for SNAP, but has two US citizen children, the parent can apply for SNAP. While the parent’s income will be counted, the SNAP benefit will only be permitted for the children.

Receiving SNAP benefits could impact someone's immigration status if they are subject to the public charge test. This test is only applied when someone is seeking to receive a green card, and in some circumstances to LPRs. If a person is lawfully receiving SNAP. It's important to understand whether the public charge rule applies to determine if receiving food stamps might impact a person's immigration status. Learn more about the public charge test.

A non-citizen receiving public benefits should consider consulting with an immigration attorney about whether their public benefits might impact their immigration status.