7722 Counting A Sponsor's Income and Resources as Available to the Sponsored Non-citizen - Food Assistance Program - In addition to the non-citizen's income and resources, a portion of the gross income and the resources of a sponsor and the sponsor's spouse (if living with the sponsor) shall be considered to be unearned income and resources of a sponsored non-citizen for 3 years from the date of the non-citizen's admission for permanent residence into the United States. The income and resources of the sponsor's spouse will be counted even if the sponsor and spouse were married after the signing of the agreement. The amount of income and resources to be counted available to the sponsored non-citizen under this provision shall be calculated as outlined in this section and shall be considered in determining the eligibility and allotment of the household containing the sponsored non-citizen.
If a sponsored non-citizen can demonstrate that his/her sponsor is sponsoring other non-citizens, then the income and resources as calculated in 7222 above shall be divided by the number of such non-citizens.
If the non-citizen switches sponsors during the certification period, the income and resources attributed to the non-citizen shall be recalculated based on the required information about the new sponsor as soon as possible after the information is supplied by the non-citizen and verified by the agency.
If the non-citizen loses his/her sponsor during the 3-year limit and does not obtain another, the deemed income and resources of the previous sponsor shall continue to be attributed to the non-citizen until such time as the non-citizen obtains another sponsor or until the 3-year period for applying the sponsored non-citizen provisions expires, whichever occurs first. However, should the non-citizen's sponsor become deceased, the deemed income and resources of the sponsor shall no longer be attributed to the non-citizen.
The sponsored non-citizen and his/her spouse is responsible for providing any information or documentation necessary to determine the income and resources of the non-citizen's sponsor and the sponsor's spouse for 3 years from the non-citizen's date of entry or date of admission as a lawful, permanent resident. The non-citizen and his/her spouse shall also be responsible for demonstrating that the sponsor also sponsors other non-citizens, and how many of such other non-citizens are program applicants or participants to initiate the proration provision described in this section. If such information about other non-citizens for whom the sponsor is responsible is not provided, the sponsor's income and resource amounts calculated shall be attributed to the non-citizen in their entirety until such time as the information is provided. The non-citizen is also responsible for reporting the required information about the sponsor and sponsor's spouse should the non-citizen obtain a different sponsor during the eligibility period and for reporting a change in income should the sponsor or the sponsor's spouse change or lose employment or become deceased during the eligibility period.
Resources - The value of the resources of the sponsor and the sponsor's spouse which shall be considered available to the non-citizen shall be the total amount of the sponsor's resources as determined according to 5000, reduced by $2,000. If the non-citizen has already reported his sponsor's resources for TANF purposes, this amount may be used to determine the value of countable resources on the sponsored non-citizen's food assistance case.
Income - The monthly income of the sponsor and the sponsor's spouse considered available to the sponsored non-citizen shall be the total monthly earned and unearned income of the sponsor and the sponsor's spouse (if living with the sponsor) at the time the household containing the sponsored non-citizen member applies or is recertified for Food Assistance Program participation. This income shall be reduced by a 20 percent earned income disregard for that portion of the income which was earned, and further reduced by the monthly gross income limit for a household equal in size to the sponsor, his spouse, and any person who is or could be claimed by the sponsor or his spouse for federal income tax purposes.
If the non-citizen has already reported his sponsor's gross income due to TANF's sponsored non-citizen rules, that income may be used in calculating the non-citizen's food assistance eligibility and allotment. However, the income deductions to be attributable to the sponsor's gross income for food assistance purposes will be limited to 20 percent earned income disregard and the Food Assistance Program gross monthly income limit, as stated above.
Actual money paid to the non-citizen by the sponsor or sponsor's spouse shall not be considered as income to the non-citizen unless the amount paid exceeds the amount attributed to the non-citizen as calculated above. If the actual payment exceeds the amount attributed, only the excess amount shall be added to the income already attributed.