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Refugees and PRUCOL
Refugees
Refugees who are applying for CalWORKs, CalFresh, or Medi-Cal will be allowed to delay processing “Institute Secondary SAVE” verification of immigration status for 12 months or until the RD/RC, whichever occurs first.
SAVE is not required for refugees applying for RCA/ECA unless they are also applying for CalFresh.
Procedures
Use the following chart to determine the required SAVE procedures for new refugees applying for CalWORKs, CalFresh or Medi-Cal:
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If primary verification... |
Then... |
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States satisfactory immigration status, |
SAVE verification is complete. |
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Does not state satisfactory immigration status, |
Additional SAVE verification procedures can be delayed for 12 months or until the RD/RC, whichever occurs first. |
Note: Immediate Secondary SAVE is required when evidence appears suspicious or fraudulent.
PRUCOL (Permanently Residing Under Color of Law)
“PRUCOL” is defined as persons who are Permanently Residing Under the Color of Law and refers to noncitizens residing in the U.S. with the knowledge and permission of USCIS, and the USCIS does not contemplate enforcing their departure.
SAVE Procedures
PRUCOL status is not recognized by the USCIS as a real or implied legal noncitizen status. USCIS no longer responds to requests to verify whether a noncitizen falls under a PRUCOL category. Therefore, submitting the Secondary SAVE will not verify a client’s PRUCOL status. However, USCIS has agreed to determine PRUCOL status for full-scope Medi-Cal eligibility purposes only.
Exception: When a Medi-Cal client claims PRUCOL status as, “An alien, not in one of the above categories, who can show that: (1) INS knows he/she is in the United States; and (2) INS does not intend to deport him/her, either because of the person’s status category or individual circumstances,” the EW is NOT required to perform SAVE verification.
USCIS will use SAVE secondary verification to process PRUCOL requests with three variations:
- Agents, rather than status verifiers, review and act on PRUCOL requests.
- USCIS does not discuss the reasons for particular PRUCOL determinations.
- Additional information is required with the secondary Request.
USCIS will not deport noncitizens who claim PRUCOL status. USCIS, however, reserves the right to seek deportation action on a case for reasons unrelated to Medi-Cal, such as:
- Noncitizens submits false information to USCIS, or
- When there is an open warrant for the noncitizen's arrest.
PRUCOL can be requested for a deceased person. A PRUCOL response from USCIS is for full-scope Medi-Cal entitlement purposes only. USCIS does not recognize PRUCOL as a real or implied legal noncitizen status, so no immigration benefits result from it. All PRUCOL granted determinations are provisional and must be redetermined by USCIS within one year from the day of the secondary SAVE response.
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