Don't Lose Your SSI Benefits: Apply For U.S. Citizenship! We Have Expanded Our Services Beginning October 1, 2000. You may be eligible for FREE Legal Services if you:
Entered the U.S. as a refugee.
Have been granted political asylum.
Are a Cuban, Haitian, or Amerasian, with certain other immigration statuses.
Already have your "Green Card", but you were originally a refugee, asylee, etc.
Meet income eligibility requirements and live in Baker, Clay, Duval,
Nassau, or St. Johns counties.
We can help with:
Applications for the "Green Card."
Applications for Naturalization (citizenship), and problems with the citizenship process.
Certain other immigration problems, including applications or petitions for family members.
Call us at 356-8371, extension 334
Message Instructions:
Immediately after the recorded message starts, dial the extension number, or come in on Tuesdays (1:30 P.M. to 3:30 P.M.) or Fridays (9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M.).
Refugee Immigration Project
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid
126 West Adams Street, 2nd floor
(downtown) Jacksonville
Funds For This Program Are Provided Through:
The Florida Department of Children & Families, Office of Refugee Services
If you entered the United States as a refugee after August 22, 1996 or were granted asylum after August 22, 1996 and you are receiving SSI-Disability benefits, you could lose your monthly checks in the future unless you become a U.S. citizen! As a non-citizen, you are only eligible to receive SSI for 7 years from the date you entered the U.S. as a refugee or were granted asylum.
To prevent having your SSI benefits stopped in the future, you should:
Make sure you have received your Green Card or been approved for your card. (You must be a permanent resident before you can apply for citizenship!)
Talk to a lawyer to find out whether you are eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship and when you can apply. (Depending on your disability, you may not have to know how to speak English to be approved for citizenship.)
Check your Green Card to make sure your date of permanent residency is listed correctly. About 120,000 refugees and asylees received Green Cards in 1996, 1997, and 1998 that failed to "roll back" their date of permanent residency. (For refugees, the dates of first entry into the U.S. as a refugee. For asylees, the correct date should be one year prior to the date of approval for the Green Card.)
If your Green Card has an incorrect later date of permanent residency, but you really entered the U.S. before 8/22/96 or your aslyee date should be before 8/22/96, your SSI Benefits may be cut off by mistake! You may be eligible for free legal services! Contact the Refugee Immigration Project in Jacksonville at 356-8371 ext. 334 for further help.
