WIC Green Card Holder Eligible?

[Artegal 1]

Yeah so my wife is expecting our first baby next month, but that is not the issue--see baby corner thread in off-topic for baby stuff. Anyway we are excited and we went to a Baby Fest and Breast Feeding seminar at the near-by Babies R Us. And they had several exhibitors from organizations and hospitals, vendors, etc. Anyway this one table was the WIC people and they gave my wife a WIC brochure all in Spanish--which she was very excited as she does not speak fluently English yet--and we have been having money problems so we need help with making ends meat, etc. So then my wife said I want to apply for this!! And I said sorry honey but I signed an Affidavit of Support that states that you as a legally sponsored immigrant are not eligible for government assistance--and WIC is government assistance.

Anyway is that true, are we not eligible for WIC because of the Affidavit of support?

[Canuck Carrie 1]

Here's an old thread. I came across it yesterday when I was searching for means tested benefits.

[Donna A 4]

WIC is for the benifit of the child not the immigrant. i dont see why u should not go for it. it was a great help to me when my daughter was born.

[JRluvsLhyn 0]

Yes! Go for it that would be a great benefit for the baby besides your baby is not immigrant but a U.S. Citizen.

[Addie_Goodvibes 0]

WIC does not check your immigration status, they will offer support to legal as well as illegal immigrants for the safety of the unborn child

[Anastassia 0]

I would say WIC is a kind of welfare benefit just like Food Stamps. After a child is born I would say - yes, but you also get WIC for pregnant women and I would not risk if I were you.

I work in a court system and come across welfare fraud every day. I would never imagine how easy it is to get in trouble for something like this and consequences are really not worth it.

Good luck.

Ana

[idocare 3]

It wouldn't hurt to ask the WIC representive that question.

[Baileyj96 0]

Try this link,

http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/rules/Memo/PRW...NBPCEIS_WIC.htm

Nutrition Benefits and Public Charge: Effect on Immigration Status

Getting nutrition assistance through the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) does not make an immigrant a "public charge". That is, an immigrant to the United States will not be deported, denied entry to the country, or denied permanent status because he or she receives food stamps, WIC benefits, free and reduced price school lunches or other nutrition assistance from FNS.

This clarification was part of an announcement by Vice President Al Gore on May 25, 1999, about new INS policy, which is effective immediately.

INS' public charge policy is consistent with policy issued by the FNS for the WIC Program in WIC Policy Memorandum #98-7, dated March 19, 1998, "Impact of Participation in the WIC Program on Alien Status". The WIC policy issued in 1998 was developed based on agreements reached with the INS and the State Department. Therefore, the INS policy on public charge, and that issued by the State Department to its consulates overseas, merely restates and reinforces the agreement previously reached on the impact of participation in the WIC Program on immigration status.

Baileyj

[Anastassia 0]

Well, so what do the K-1 holders need the affidavit of support for ?

I find it quite interesting and not quite clear.

Ana

[Artegal 1]

I fall in the in-between. In-between poor and middle-class--or the working poor as it were. I make too much money to be eligible for any benefit--yet not enough to make ends meat. Like many americans that are being squished by the rise of energy cost, inflation, interest rates, and HMO insurance--that insures you pay every dime of the medical cost one way or another.

[MrsAmera 41]

WIC is not a needs-tested benefit. As was stated earlier it is there to help any type of person in need of assistance with a child on the way. The justification that the child will be a US citizen and not an immigrant helps to support this claim. Here is a snipet I found:

"Most immigrants who are sponsored under the new Affidavit of Support will be barred from federal means-tested public benefit programs for 5 years. To date, federal agencies have announced the following four programs as means-tested public benefits: Food Stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF.) After the 5 years, immigrants will be able to apply for benefits. However, federal and state public benefit granting agencies will be able to count sponsor income as part of the immigrant's income in determining whether the immigrant is eligible to receive public benefits. This action is called "deeming." "Deeming" will make most immigrants sponsored under the new affidavit of support ineligible for means-tested public benefits. " This was from US Dept. of Justice

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I would ask the WIC office just to double check but I'm 99.9% positive you're ok.