CITIZENSHIP AND FEMA ELIGIBILITY
[https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/citizenship-and-fema-eligibility-0] 

Release Date: 
Oct 4, 2022 

FEMA is committed to helping all eligible disaster survivors recover
from Hurricane Ian, including U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals and
qualified aliens.

Disaster survivors in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee,
Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola,
Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, St. Johns, Sarasota, Seminole and Volusia
counties may apply for assistance from FEMA’s Individuals and
Households Program (IHP). You or a member of your household must be a
U.S. citizen, non-citizen national or qualified alien.

If you do not meet the status of either U.S. citizen, non-citizen
national or qualified alien, your household may still apply for and be
considered for IHP assistance if:

 	* Another adult member of your household meets the eligibility
criteria and certifies their citizenship status during the
registration process or signs the Declaration and Release form, or
 	* The parent or guardian of a minor child who is a U.S. citizen,
non-citizen national or a qualified alien applies for assistance on
behalf of the child, if they live in the same household. The parent or
legal guardian must register as the co-applicant, and the minor child
must be under age 18 at the time the disaster occurred.

QUALIFIED ALIENS

“Qualified alien” includes:

 	* A legal permanent resident (“green card” holder).
 	* An asylee, refugee or an alien whose deportation is being
withheld.
 	* An alien paroled into the U.S. for at least one year.
 	* An alien granted conditional entry (per law in effect prior to
April 1, 1980).
 	* A Cuban or Haitian entrant.
 	* Certain aliens subjected to extreme cruelty or who have been a
victim of a severe form of human trafficking, including persons with a
“T” or “U” visa.
 	* Aliens whose children have been abused and alien children whose
parent has been abused who fit certain criteria.

NON-CITIZEN NATIONALS

A non-citizen national is a person born in an outlying possession of
the U.S. (e.g., American Samoa) on or after the date the U.S. acquired
the possession, or a person whose parents are U.S. non-citizen
nationals. All U.S. citizens are U.S. nationals; however, not every
U.S. national is a U.S. citizen.

QUALIFIED MINOR CHILDREN

The parent or guardian of a minor child living in the same household
may apply for assistance on behalf of the minor child who is a U.S.
citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien. The minor child
must be under age 18 as of the first day of the incident period, Sept.
23, 2022.

See Citizenship and Immigration Status Requirements for Federal Public
Benefits for more information in multiple languages at
fema.gov/assistance/individual/program/citizenship-immigration-status
[https://www.fema.gov/assistance/individual/program/citizenship-immigration-status].

If you’re unsure of your immigration status, talk to an immigration
expert to learn if your status falls within the immigration status
requirements for FEMA disaster assistance. Visit nvoad.org/
[http://www.nvoad.org/] to learn about other voluntary organizations.

APPLY FOR FEMA DISASTER ASSISTANCE

To be eligible for any FEMA Individual Assistance program, you must
apply to FEMA. There are three ways to apply: 1)
DisasterAssistance.gov [https://www.disasterassistance.gov/], 2)
download the FEMA App for mobile devices, 3) call toll-free
800-621-3362 (FEMA).

For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance go to,
youtube.com/watch?v= WZGpWI2RCNw
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZGpWI2RCNw].

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_FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after
disasters._