Can I apply for food stamps if I'm still a resident (green card holder, legal)?
Hi everyone,
I’m actually asking for a friend who’s been in the U.S. for 3 years. I (22) recently got a cashier job and met him in the meat department and got to know his situation. He’s a 58-year-old Vietnamese man. He was separated from his parents when he was little. His parents came to the U.S. as refugees and then passed away. His siblings in the States wanted to fulfill their parents’ wish and sponsored him. But that’s literally all they did for him.
He’s extremely thin. He doesn’t own anything except for a kid’s bike that he uses to commute to work. He sleeps on his nephew’s sofa and does house chores to pay rent. He does not have Medicare, medicaid, etc, anything like that. That’s about it.
I really want to help him get food stamps, but he’s afraid that getting them would get his siblings (his sponsors) in trouble and affect his naturalization eligibility. Because we heard somewhere that when you sponsor someone to come to America, you need to be able to support them without welfare.
Honestly, we’ve heard so many speculations about welfare, naturalization eligibility, and deportation; it’s overwhelming. He doesn’t know English. He gets paid by check, $12 an hour, and pays taxes.
I have no idea about food stamps. I know the language and could help him fill out the application, but I’m afraid I’d get the legalities, the nuances wrong. Do you have to be starving to qualify for food stamps? He survives, but he looks so malnourished to me.
Any recommendations would be appreciated!