Understanding Supplemental Security Income
SSI Eligibility Requirements2012 Edition

  WHO  IS  ELIGIBLE  FOR  SSI ?  

Anyone who is:

	aged (age 65 or older);
	blind; or
	disabled.

And, who:

	has limited income; and
	has limited resources; and
	is a U.S. citizen or national, or in one of certain categories of aliens; and
		In general, an alien who is subject to an active warrant for deportation or removal does not meet the citizenship/alien requirement.

	is a resident of one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, or the Northern Mariana Islands; and
	is not absent from the country for a full calendar month or  for 30 consecutive days or more; and
	applies for any other cash benefits or payments for which he or she may be eligible, (for example, pensions, Social Security benefits); and
	gives SSA permission to contact any financial institution and request any financial records about you; and
	files an application; and
	meets certain other requirements.

WHAT DOES "AGED" MEAN?

"Aged" means age 65 or older.                                                                                                                          

WHAT IS "BLINDNESS" FOR AN ADULT OR CHILD?

Blindness in our disability programs is "statutory blindness," which means:

	you have a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in your better eye with use of a correcting lens; or
	you have a visual field limitation in your better eye, such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees.

If you have a visual impairment that is not “statutory blindness” as defined above, you may still be eligible for SSI benefits on the basis of disability.  See the definitions of disability for children and adults below. 

WHAT DOES “DISABLED” MEAN FOR AN ADULT?

If you are age 18 and older we may consider you “disabled” if you have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment which:

	results in the inability to do any substantial gainful activity; and
	can be expected to result in death; or
	has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.

If you are age 18 or older, the adult definition of disability explained below applies.

See SSI FOR CHILDREN and IF YOU ARE DISABLED OR BLIND for more information on the childhood disability evaluation.

WHAT DOES "LIMITED INCOME" INCLUDE?

Income includes

	money you earn from work;
	money you receive from other sources, such as Social Security benefits, workers compensation, unemployment benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs, friends or relatives; and
	free food or shelter.

We do not count the value of all of your resources for SSI.  For more information, see SSI INCOME.

WHAT ARE "LIMITED RESOURCES"?

Resources are things you own such as:

	cash;
	bank accounts, stocks, U.S. savings bonds;
	land;
	vehicles;
	personal property;
	life insurance; and
	anything else you own that could be converted to cash and used for food or shelter.

We do not count the value of all your resources for SSI. For more information, see SSI RESOURCES.

The SSI limits for resources that we do count are:

To get SSI, you must be:

	a citizen or national of the United States; or
	a non–citizen who meets the alien eligibility criteria under the 1996 legislation and its amendments.

WHEN IS A NON-CITIZEN ELIGIBLE FOR SSI?

Beginning August 22, 1996, most non–citizens must meet two requirements to be eligible for SSI:

	the non–citizen must be in a qualified alien category, and
	meet a condition that allows qualified aliens to get SSI benefits.

A non–citizen must also meet all of the other requirements for SSI eligibility, including the limits on income, resources, etc.

WHO IS A “QUALIFIED ALIEN”?

In addition, you can be a “deemed qualified alien” if, under certain circumstances, you, your child, or your parent has been subjected to battery or extreme cruelty by a family member while in the United States.

If you are in one of the seven "qualified alien" categories listed above, or have been determined to be a “deemed qualified alien” because you have been subjected to battery or extreme cruelty, you may be eligible for SSI benefits if you have limited income and resources and are aged, blind, or disabled and also meet one of the following conditions:

IMPORTANT:If you entered the U.S. for the first time on or after August 22, 1996, then you may not be eligible for SSI for the first five years as LAPR, even if you have 40 qualifying quarters of earnings.

	Refugee admitted to the United States (U.S.) under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA);
	Asylee admitted to the U.S. under section 208 of the INA;
	Alien whose deportation was withheld under section  243(h)   of the INA or whose removal is withheld under section  241(b)(3) of the INA;
	Admitted as a "Cuban or Haitian entrant" as defined under section  501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 or in a status that is to be treated as a “Cuban/Haitian entrant” for SSI purposes; or
	"Amerasian immigrant" admitted under section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 1988, as amended.

IMPORTANT:You may be eligible for SSI beyond the seven year period if you are in one of these categories, and you also meet one of the other conditions (1–4) above or if you qualify for a two year extension under P.L. 110-328 enacted October 1, 2008, or up to three years under the same law if you qualify for and have shown good faith in pursuing U.S. citizenship, as determined by the Department of Homeland Security

EXEMPTION FROM THE AUGUST 22, 1996 LAW FOR CERTAIN NON-CITIZEN INDIANS

Certain categories of non–citizens may be eligible for SSI and are not subject to the August 22, 1996, law. These categories include:

	American Indians born in Canada who were admitted to the United States under Section 289 of the INA; or
	Non–citizen members of a Federally recognized Indian tribe who fall under Section  4(e)  of the Indian Self–Determination and Education Assistance Act.

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBLE ALIEN CATEGORIES

Victims of Severe Forms of Human Trafficking:  You may be eligible for SSI under certain circumstances if the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement and the Department of Homeland Security determine that you meet the requirements of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

Iraqi/Afghani Special Immigrants:  You may also qualify for SSI for a period of seven years if you are an Iraqi or Afghani special immigrant admitted to the United States.

See the SSI Spotlight on SSI Benefits for Aliens.

WHAT IS RESIDENCY?

You must:

	Live in the U.S., or the Northern Mariana Islands with the intent to continue living within the geographic limits; or
	Be a child living with a parent in the military service assigned to permanent duty ashore anywhere outside of the U.S.; or See the SSI Spotlight on Special SSI Rules for Children of Military Personnel Living Overseas.
	Be a student temporarily abroad for the purpose of conducting studies as part of an educational program.

  WHO  IS  NOT  ELIGIBLE  FOR  SSI?  

Some examples of who is not eligible for SSI include, but are not limited to:

SOMEONE WHO IS A FUGITIVE

An individual is ineligible to receive SSI benefits for any month during which he or she has an unsatisfied arrest warrant for:

	escape from custody; or
	flight to avoid prosecution or confinement; or
	flight-escape; or
	violating a condition of parole or probation imposed under Federal or State law. However, effective March 18, 2011, we no longer suspend or deny payments based solely on an outstanding warrant for a violation of probation or parole.

In addition, we cannot pay any retroactive payments to you if you have one of these unsatisfied arrest warrants. We will hold the retroactive payments until you contact SSA and provide proof that you satisfied the arrest warrant.

SSA will continue to pay an individual's benefit if a court of competent jurisdiction has found the individual not guilty, dismissed the charges, vacated the warrant for arrest, or issued any similar exonerating order or taken similar exonerating action. SSA also will continue to pay an individual's benefit if the individual was erroneously implicated in connection with the criminal offense by reason of identity fraud.

Also, SSA may continue to pay an individual's benefit if the individual establishes that the offense underlying the warrant or imposition of the probation or parole (as well as the violation of probation or parole) was both nonviolent and not drug–related and there were mitigating circumstances for not satisfying the warrant.

SOMEONE WHO IS IN PRISON OR JAIL

If you are receiving SSI and you go to prison or jail, (this also includes correctional institutions, such as detention centers, halfway houses, boot camps, etc. but does not necessarily include home confinement) you are not eligible to receive SSI for any full calendar month you are incarcerated.  In addition, we cannot pay any retroactive payments for benefits due before you were incarcerated.  We will hold the retroactive payments until you contact SSA and provide proof that you are no longer a prisoner.

Please see our pamphlet, ‘What Prisoners Need to Know’, or view it online at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10133.html if you want more information about how being in jail or prison affects your SSI benefits. 

In most instances, you can apply for SSI benefits and food stamps several months before you expect to be released from prison or jail. See the SSI spotlight on the Prerelease Procedure.

SOMEONE WHO IS IN A PUBLIC INSTITUTION

If you are in any institution for a whole month that is run by a Federal, State or local government, you are not eligible for SSI for that month unless an exception applies such as residence in a public emergency shelter for the homeless or publicly operated community residence.  If you expect to leave the institution, you may use the prerelease procedure described in the SSI spotlight on the Prerelease Procedure.

SOMEONE WHO GIVES AWAY RESOURCES

If you give away a resource or sell it for less than it is worth in order to reduce your resources below the SSI resource limit, you may be ineligible for SSI for up to 36 months.

See SSI RESOURCES and the SSI Spotlight on Transfers of Resources.

SOMEONE WHO IS A NON–CITIZEN SSI BENEFICIARY WHO FAILS TO MEET THE ALIEN STATUS REQUIREMENTS

	If you are receiving SSI as a non–citizen and you lose your status as an eligible alien, you are not eligible to receive SSI. For example, your SSI will stop if you lose your status as a qualified alien because there is an active warrant for your deportation or removal from the U.S.
	If you are a qualified alien but you no longer meet one of the conditions that allow SSI eligibility for qualified aliens, then your SSI benefits will stop.

SOMEONE WHO IS AN SSI BENEFICIARY WHO IS ABSENT FROM THE U.S. FOR A FULL CALENDAR MONTH OR FOR 30 CONSECUTIVE DAYS OR MORE

Except for certain students temporarily abroad for study purposes or a child of military parents stationed overseas, an individual is not eligible for SSI benefits for any month during all of which he or she has been outside the U.S. Once an individual has been outside the U.S. for 30 consecutive days or longer, he or she must be back in the U.S. for 30 consecutive days to be eligible for SSI benefits.