373-1.2 Eligibility requirements for RCA.
(a) Eligibility for RCA is limited to those applicants who:
(1) are new arrivals who have resided in the
United States less than the RCA eligibility period;
(2) meet immigration status and identification
requirements set forth in section 373-1.3 of this sub-part, or are the dependent children
of, and part of a family unit which includes a person who meets these requirements, unless
the child is a non-refugee and one parent in the family unit is also a non- refugee;
(3) are ineligible for Family Assistance (FA)
and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs;
(4) meet the requirements contained in section
373-1.8 of this subpart;
(5) provide the name of the resettlement agency
which resettled them; and
(6) are not full-time students in institutions
of higher education, except where such enrollment is approved by the office as part of an
individual employability plan.
(b) RCA eligibility period.
(1) A refugee, Cuban and Haitian entrant or
asylee may be eligible for RCA under this subpart for a period to be determined by the
Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) in the Federal Department of Health
and Human Services each year based on appropriated funds available for RCA.
(2) The RCA eligibility period starts from the
date of entry into the United States for refugees and Cuban/Haitian entrants and from the
date asylum was granted by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for asylees.
(c) Recipients of matching grants from a resettlement agency.
An applicant may be eligible for RCA under this section only during the
time-eligibility period for RCA set forth in subdivision (b) of this section. However, an
applicant is not eligible for RCA for any period in which the applicant is receiving a
matching grant from a refugee resettlement agency. The matching grant period is 120 days
from the date of entry into the United States. The social services district must determine
the amount of financial assistance which a sponsor or resettlement agency has provided to
the applicant, and any such assistance, provided in cash or in-kind, will be considered in
determining eligibility for and the amount of RCA.