Date of Entry

Revised April 20, 2026

Purpose: 

This section explains how to determine an immigrant’s “date of entry” into the United States. It describes which groups of immigrants are subject to the five-year bar on receipt of federal means-tested benefits. Finally, it describes how to determine the date on which the five-year bar begins.

WAC 388-424-0006 Citizenship and immigration status - Date of Entry

Clarifying Information - WAC 388-424-0006 

  1. Determining whether a person has entered the U.S. before August 22, 1996.
    For many immigrants the date they entered the U.S. and became a “qualified alien” is on their I-94 card or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) stamp in their passport, on a Refugee Transportation Letter or on their Permanent Resident card as a “Resident Since” date.

A person is not subject to the five-year bar for TANF if they entered the U.S. before August 22, 1996, even if they did not obtain a “qualified” immigration status until sometime after they entered. As long as the immigrant “continuously resided” in the U.S. from the earlier date, that date is considered the “date of entry”. “Continuously resided” means the immigrant maintained residence in the U.S. and only left the U.S. for short periods of time.

An applicant for federal Basic Food (SNAP) benefits, who became “qualified” on or after August 22, 1996, and who requires five years of residency for eligibility, can’t count time spent in the U.S. before they became a “qualified alien” toward the five-year bar requirement.

EXAMPLE: Alex came to the U.S. in 1992 as a visitor for six months. He came again in 1994 for one year as a student and then returned to his country of origin in 1995. Alex came to the U.S. again after he obtained lawful permanent resident status on October 10, 2021. Alex didn’t continuously reside in the U.S. prior to August 22, 1996. His date of entry is October 10, 2021. He isn’t a veteran or on active duty in the U.S. military (or the spouse or dependent child of such a person). Alex is barred from TANF and Basic Food for five years until September 30, 2026.

  1. Immigrants who have the five-year bar.

    All immigrants, who are lawfully present in the U.S. and aren’t included in the statuses named in WAC 388-424-0006, Citizenship and immigration status—Date of entry have a five-year bar on receipt of Basic Food and TANF.

  2. How to determine the date a Victim of Trafficking becomes a qualified alien.

    A victim of human trafficking becomes a “qualified alien” on the certification date stated on a Certification Letter for adults, or a Letter of Eligibility for minors from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) or the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP). The  letter will state when the client can start receiving benefits, which is the eligibility date.

EXAMPLE: Elena came to the U.S. in January 2007 on H1B visa as a temporary employee of an IT firm in NY. Instead, she was forced to work in a sweatshop. After two years, Elena received assistance from local legal and volunteer agencies. In 2010 Elena was granted a Victim of Trafficking status and received a Certification Letter from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The letter stated she can start receiving benefits on June 15, 2010. This is the date Elena became a qualified alien and met immigration status requirements for federally funded assistance, except SNAP.

  1. How to determine the date an asylee becomes a qualified alien.

    The date an asylee becomes a “qualified alien” is the date:

    • Stated on an Asylum Approval Letter, from a USCIS Asylum Office, as the date asylum was granted under §208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

    • Immigration Judge decided to grant asylum under §208 of the INA, if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has NOT reserved its right to appeal the decision. If DHS has reserved its right to appeal the decision, the eligibility date is the 31st day from the date on the Immigration Judge Order if DHS did not ultimately appeal the case.
EXAMPLE: Maggie came to the U.S. in 2006 as a student. She applied for asylum with USCIS on September 1, 2008, and 11 months later received a USCIS decision granting her asylum. A USCIS letter stated her asylum approval date was August 26, 2009. On this date Maggie became a qualified alien and met immigration status eligibility requirement for federally funded assistance, except SNAP.

 

  1. How to determine the date a battered immigrant becomes a “qualified alien."
    The date a battered alien becomes “qualified” is the date of the approval (or notice of prima facie case) of a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petition or the date that the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse petitioned for the family visa application. These dates aren’t the same as the date the immigrant was granted lawful permanent residence and the date doesn't appear on the Permanent Resident card ("green card").

EXAMPLE: Rosa Maria came to the U.S. in 2017 as a student. She married a lawful permanent resident, who received notice of his family visa petition on March 1, 2018. She became a victim of domestic violence and is no longer living with her abuser husband. She hasn’t yet adjusted to lawful permanent residence and doesn’t have her green card. The date she became "qualified" is March 1, 2018 because that’s the date of the family visa petition. Her five-year bar will be over on February 28, 2023. (When she has her adjustment interview on June 1, 2022, her green card will have that date as a Resident Since date.)

 

  1. Immigrants who are exempt from the five-year bar.

    Immigrants exempt from the five-year bar due to immigration status are listed in WAC 388-424-0006, Citizenship and Immigration status—Date of entry. Immigrants with a status of refugee, asylee, withholding of deportation/removal, Cuban/Haitian entrant, Special Immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan, and Amerasian remain exempt after they’ve adjusted to lawful permanent resident status. The “category” or “class” code on their Permanent Resident (“green”) Card identifies under which provision of law they came into the U.S.  For more information on immigration documentation, status codes, benefit eligibility and step-by-step process, please see immigration desk aids located on the CSD website.

EXAMPLE: Lai came to the U.S. as a refugee on September 1, 1999. About one year later she adjusted to lawful permanent residence status on December 16, 2000. Her Permanent Resident card shows her "Resident Since" date of entry as December 16, 2000 and has the category code “RE-6”, for “refugee” (see page 70 in the NILC Guide in Appendix II). Lai is not subject to the five-year bar, so her eligibility date would be September 1, 1999, even though she is currently a lawful permanent resident.

Worker Responsibilities - WAC 388-424-0006 

  1. Always ask the client for their Alien Number or Alien Registration number. It’s a unique number assigned by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to each immigrant admitted to the United States, or who came into contact with the agency (Example: application for asylum). It usually begins with an “A” followed by seven, eight or nine digit numbers and is listed on all documents and/or DHS correspondence. Enter the Alien Number and Date of Entry in corresponding ACES 3G fields.

See the VERIFICATION chapter for further guidance.

For more information about verifying an asylee’s entry date, see “Asylum Documentation” under WAC 388-466-0005, Clarifying Information.

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