The 2025 budget law (Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025) cut the list of noncitizens who can get SNAP to three groups: lawful permanent residents (green card holders), Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of the Freely Associated States (COFA: Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau). Refugees, asylees and parolees who are not green card holders lost eligibility. U.S. citizen children in immigrant families can still get SNAP. For immigrants, SNAP now depends on your exact status, so the table below is the place to start.
A second change took effect on September 18, 2026: a new Department of Homeland Security rule lets immigration officers consider SNAP and other means-tested benefits in “public charge” decisions. That section is below. This page explains the rules; it is not legal advice.
SNAP for immigrants: who can get it now
| Group | Eligible? | Waiting period |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. citizens and U.S. nationals | Yes | None |
| Lawful permanent residents (green card) | Yes | Adults usually wait 5 years; see exceptions below |
| Cuban and Haitian entrants | Yes | None |
| COFA citizens (Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau) | Yes | None |
| Refugees and asylees without a green card | No (since July 4, 2025) | Not applicable |
| Parolees, including Afghan and Ukrainian parolees | No | Not applicable |
| People granted withholding of deportation | No | Not applicable |
| Survivors of domestic violence or trafficking without a green card | No | Not applicable |
| Students, tourists, temporary workers, undocumented immigrants | No (never eligible) | Not applicable |
If you came as a refugee or asylee and later got a green card, you don’t start a new 5-year wait. USDA says your earlier status counts, so you can qualify as a green card holder right away.
Green card holders who entered as refugees: what happened
This point caused real confusion, so here’s the timeline:
- October 31, 2025: USDA issued its first guidance on the new law. A group of 22 states and D.C., led by New York, read it as making people who entered as refugees, asylees or humanitarian parolees ineligible even after they got green cards. New York estimated up to 35,000 of its residents could lose SNAP.
- Late November 2025: the states sued in federal court in Oregon.
- December 10, 2025: USDA issued new guidance confirming that green card holders, including former refugees and asylees, remain eligible for SNAP.
- September 2026: the Oregon judge ruled for the states, finding USDA’s rollout of the 2025 changes unlawful.
USDA’s question-and-answer guidance adds one detail. People who were paroled into the U.S. for a year or more and later got a green card do face the usual 5-year wait, unless an exception below applies. Refugees, asylees and trafficking survivors who adjust to a green card don’t.
If your state cut you off during this period and you have a green card, ask your SNAP office to look at your case again. You can also request a fair hearing (see the section on how states applied the changes, below).
The 5-year wait and its exceptions
Most adult green card holders must have their status for 5 years before getting SNAP. The wait does not apply to:
- Children under 18
- People who are blind or disabled and receiving disability benefits
- Active-duty military members and honorably discharged veterans, and their spouses and children
- Green card holders with 40 qualifying quarters of work (about 10 years). Work by a spouse or parent can count toward the 40.
Sponsor income may count
If someone signed an affidavit of support to sponsor your green card, the state usually adds part of your sponsor’s (and their spouse’s) income and resources to yours. This is called deeming. It lasts until you become a citizen, earn 40 work quarters, or the sponsor dies. It doesn’t apply to sponsored children under 18, to people whose own income is at or below 130% of the poverty line (indigent), or to survivors of domestic violence.
What to bring when you apply
States must check the immigration status of every noncitizen who asks for SNAP through a federal system called SAVE, run by USCIS. That’s routine and happens for every application. It helps to bring:
- your green card or other immigration document (front and back),
- Social Security numbers for the people applying,
- proof of income for everyone who buys and cooks food with you, including members who aren’t applying,
- rent and utility bills,
- for the 40-quarter rule, your work history or your spouse’s or parent’s.
Members who aren’t applying don’t have to give their immigration status. Federal “Tri-Agency” guidance says a state may ask them for a Social Security number only if it makes clear that giving one is voluntary. They do have to share income information, because it’s used to figure the benefit. For the rest of the list, see how to apply for SNAP.
Mixed-status families
Many households have members with different statuses. SNAP handles them this way:
- Eligible members apply. A parent who isn’t eligible can apply for their citizen children. The parent doesn’t have to give immigration information about themselves, only for the people asking for benefits.
- The ineligible member is left out of the household count. The benefit is figured for the eligible members only.
- Their income still partly counts. Depending on the state, all of the ineligible member’s income counts, or all but their share. All of their resources count.
- Deductions are split. Rent, child care and child support are prorated in the same way.
Example: a mother (a refugee without a green card) and two U.S.-citizen children. The children can get SNAP as a household of two. Her earnings are counted toward the children’s household under the state’s method, and her share of rent is prorated. Maximum benefit for two is $562 from October 1, 2026; see SNAP benefit amounts.
Public charge: what changed in September 2026
“Public charge” is a test immigration officers use when someone applies for a green card or certain visas. It asks whether the person is likely to depend on the government.
| Before Sept 18, 2026 (2022 rule) | From Sept 18, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| What benefits officers could weigh | Mainly cash assistance and long-term institutional care | “Any means-tested public benefit,” which appears to include SNAP |
| Benefits used by family members | Protected; not counted against the applicant | Protections removed |
| How decisions are made | Set definitions and factors | Officer discretion, “totality of the circumstances” |
Important points:
- Public charge generally applies when applying for a green card or visa. It usually does not apply when a green card holder applies for citizenship, or to refugees and asylees applying for green cards.
- The new rule doesn’t change who is eligible for SNAP. It changes how immigration officers may view benefit use.
- Timing matters. The new rule applies to green card applications postmarked or filed online on or after September 18, 2026. Earlier filings fall under the 2022 rule.
- The rule removed the list of exemptions that used to be in the regulation. Some groups, like refugees and asylees, are still exempt because federal law itself says so.
- The rule is new, and guidance may follow. Before you apply for or drop benefits, talk to an immigration attorney or a DOJ-accredited representative. Many nonprofits give free advice. Don’t cancel benefits for citizen children out of fear without getting advice first.
How states applied the 2025 changes
New applicants faced the new rules right away. For people already on SNAP, states reviewed immigration status at the next recertification and removed members who were no longer eligible. If you think you were removed by mistake (for example, you have a green card and more than 5 years), ask for a fair hearing.
Quick answers
Will applying for my citizen child’s SNAP get me reported? SNAP offices use immigration information to check eligibility. Ask your local legal aid office about your specific situation. Some background helps. Federal rule 7 CFR 273.4 requires a state to tell USCIS only when it finds a household member is in the U.S. unlawfully. Federal guidance from 2000 says an agency “knows” that only after a formal finding backed by immigration authorities, such as a final order of deportation. A parent who doesn’t apply isn’t asked for a status, and someone who declines to show papers is simply treated as an ineligible member. Separately, USDA’s 2025 push to collect SNAP data from states has been fought in court: in September 2025, a federal judge in California blocked it for 21 states and D.C.
Do immigrants get free phones or free iPhones? There’s no government program that hands out iPhones. Lifeline, the phone discount program, doesn’t currently require U.S. citizenship; it’s based on income or on getting SNAP, Medicaid or similar help. The FCC proposed citizenship and immigration limits for Lifeline in February 2026, but they had not been adopted as of September 2026. See Lifeline without a Social Security number and our free government iPhone guide.
Can I get SNAP if my green card is less than 5 years old? Not as an adult, unless an exception applies: disability benefits, military service, 40 work quarters, or entering as a refugee, asylee or trafficking survivor before getting the card. Children under 18 with green cards don’t wait.
Do immigrants have to meet the work rules? Yes, the same rules apply; see SNAP work requirements.
Can my children get Summer EBT? Eligible children can; see Summer EBT. The same public charge caution applies.
Other SNAP rules are in SNAP eligibility and income limits. To apply, see how to apply for SNAP.
More SNAP help by topic: SNAP and EBT guides.