How to Get Government Help for an Immigrant
- 1). Gather necessary information about the immigrants. You need to know when the immigrants arrived in the United States and the laws of the state in which the immigrants live. You also need immigration status information, such as those for lawful permanent residency, refugees, people granted asylum or those who have not been deported (Reference 2).
- 2). Consider the immigrant's needs. There are state and federal programs for health care, child care, housing, food support and other types of help. Eligibility for some programs vary by state, so by knowing exactly what immigrants need will enable you to find the most available resources to meet those needs (Reference 2).
- 3). Determine what the immigrant may be eligible for. Legal immigrants can't get most types of welfare for five years after entering the country and can't get Social Security or food stamps until they are citizens.
Immigrants are eligible for other benefits, however, such as school lunches for students, public education, certain avenues of health care, including emergency response and a few others. These apply to both legal immigrants who have been in the country a short amount of time or illegal immigrants (Reference 1). These are determined to be public benefits to which access helps the entire community as well as the individual (Reference 2).
Immigrants who are serving in the armed forces, who have some sort of political asylum or have a disability also have access to certain benefits, as may spouses and children who have been abused (Reference 2). - 4). Consult an immigration attorney or other expert to find out available benefits but also to make sure any benefit applications will not affect immigration applications.
- 5). Obtain applications for those benefits for which immigrants are eligible. Contact the state or federal offices who deal with these benefits with any questions.
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