(a) Sponsored aliens whose sponsor signed an enforceable affidavit of support may be subject to sponsor deeming, unless exempt from deeming requirements.  • 1  Sponsored aliens exempt from deeming requirements include:

• (1) aliens who are a battered spouse, battered child or parent, or child of a battered person when they live in a separate residence from the person responsible for the battery.  The worker grants the exemption for a 12-month period.  The exemption can be extended beyond the 12-month period if the alien demonstrates that the battery is recognized in a court or administrative order and if it is determined by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) that the battery has a substantial connection to the need for benefits;
• (2) when the food benefit household includes the alien and the sponsor, the sponsor's income already counts.  When the sponsor receives food benefits in another household, the sponsor's income must be deemed;
• (3) when the sponsored alien is ineligible for food benefits because of immigration status, such as he or she is not a qualified alien;
• (4) children under the age of 18;
• (5) when the alien's own income and any assistance provided by the sponsor or any other person is not enough for the alien to obtain food and shelter without help from other assistance programs.  The worker cannot attribute more income and resources to the alien than actually received for a 12-month period.  An alien is considered indigent if the sum of alien's household's own income and any cash or in-kind assistance provided by the sponsor or others is less than 130% of the poverty limit as shown on OKDHS Appendix C-3, Maximum Food Benefit Allotments and Standards for Income and Deductions.  Each indigence determination is effective for 12 calendar months and may be renewed for additional 12-month periods.
  • (A) When exempted under this subsection, OKDHS must send a written notice of the determination to the statistics branch of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  • 2
  • (B) After learning of the reporting requirement, the alien may be given the opportunity to refuse food benefits for himself or herself without withdrawing the entire household's application.
  • (C) An alien who does not wish to be exempt as indigent can be permitted to have his or her eligibility and benefits determined based on the deeming formula.

(b) When the household is not exempt from deeming requirements, the worker counts the income and resources of a sponsor and his or her spouse as the unearned income and resources of the sponsored alien.  The worker counts the income of the sponsor's spouse even when the marriage occurred after the sponsor signed an agreement to support the sponsored alien.

• (1) A sponsor is defined as a person, not an organization, who executed an affidavit of support or similar agreement on behalf of the alien as a condition of the alien's entry or admission into the United States as a permanent resident.
• (2) In addition to providing information required for any other applicant, if deeming is required, the sponsored alien must provide the:  • 3
  • (A) income and resource information of the alien's sponsor and the sponsor's spouse;
  • (B) number of other aliens sponsored by the sponsor;
  • (C) Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) Act under which the alien was admitted and the date of entrance;
  • (D) alien's birthdate, birthplace, and registration number;
  • (E) number of dependents claimed on the sponsor's and his or her spouse's income tax statement; and
  • (F) name, address, and phone number of the sponsor.
• (3) In addition to verification requirements described in OAC 340:50-3-3, the sponsored alien is also required to provide proof of non-liquid resources of the sponsor and the number of aliens he or she sponsors if a household member has been determined to have committed an intentional program violation per OAC 340:50-15-25.
• (4) If an alien has already reported the gross income and resources of the sponsor and the sponsor's spouse in a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) case, that income amount may be used for food benefit purposes.  The amount of the sponsor's income and resources deemed to the sponsored alien is determined by:
  • (A) using the total monthly gross earned income, including income from self-employment but excluding in-kind or vendor payments to the sponsor and sponsor's spouse, minus 20% of the gross earned income, plus total monthly unearned income.
    • (i) In-kind assistance such as food and shelter provided to the alien must be included as income in determining indigent exemption only.  It is not considered when determining eligibility or benefit levels for the sponsored alien household.
    • (ii) In the absence of actual declared in-kind assistance cost provided by the sponsor, the worker uses an assigned value of $143; and
  • (B) subtracting the food benefit gross income eligibility standard for the sponsor and the dependents as claimed by the sponsor to determine his or her federal personal income tax liability; and
  • (C) considering the total amount of the resources of the sponsor and sponsor's spouse less $1,500.
• (5) Income and resources of the sponsor and sponsor's spouse considered available to the sponsored alien are:
  • (A) not considered in determining need of unsponsored members of the alien's household unless actually available;
  • (B) divided equally when the sponsor also sponsors other aliens; and
  • (C) redetermined on a new sponsor if the alien switches sponsors during the certification period.
• (6) Countable resources of sponsors include:
  • (A) liquid resources such as:
    • (i) cash on hand;
    • (ii) checking or savings accounts;
    • (iii) savings certificates; and
    • (iv) stocks or bonds; and
  • (B) non-liquid resources such as:
    • (i) licensed and unlicensed vehicles;
    • (ii) boats;
    • (iii) land;
    • (iv) recreational property;
    • (v) mobile homes other than home property; and
    • (vi) vacation home property.
• (7) Changes during the certification period must be reported for both the alien's and the sponsor's household.
• (8)  Sponsor-to-alien deeming stops when the sponsored:
  • (A) alien becomes a naturalized citizen;
  • (B) alien can be credited with 40 quarters of work per OAC 340:50-5-67; or
  • (C) alien's sponsor is deceased.