• Alien paroled into the U.S. for at least one year:
  
  • INS Form I-94 with stamp showing admission for at least one year under Section 212(d)(5) of the INA.  An applicant cannot aggregate periods of admission for less than one year to meet the one-year requirement.
    
    
• Alien granted Withholding of Removal (formerly called Granted Withholding of Deportation):
  
  • INS Form 1-688B (Employment Authorization Card) annotated '274a.12(a)(10)' ; or
  • Order from an immigration judge showing deportation withheld under Section 243(h) of the INA as in effect prior to April 1, 1997 or removal withheld under Section 241(b)(30) of the INA.
   The court order will include the date deportation was withheld or removal was canceled.  If the applicant does not present a court order, file INS Form G-845 and the G-845 Supplement along with a copy of the pertinent documents with the local INS office to verify the date of deportation was canceled or withheld (see Exhibit IV-6:  G-845 and Exhibit IV-7:  G-845 Supplement).
  

• Aliens granted conditional entry:
  
  • INS Form I-94 with stamp showing admission under Section 203(a)(7) of the INA,
  • INS Form 1-688B (Employment Authorization Card) annotated '274a.12(a)(3)', or 
  • INS Form 1-766 (Employment Authorization Document) annotated 'A3.'
    
    
• Cuban/Haitian entrant:
  
  • INS Form I-551 (Alien Registration Receipt Card, commonly known as a 'green card' with the code CU6, CU7, or CH6);
  • Unexpired temporary I-551 stamp showing parole as 'Cuban/Haitian Entrant' under Section 212(d)(5) of the INA; or
  • INS Form I-94 with stamp showing parole as 'Cuban/Haitian Entrant' under Section 212(d)(5) of the INA
    The date on the INS Form I-551 or the date of inspection stamp on the INS Form I-94 will indicate the date the status was granted.  If the applicant does not present a court order, file INS Form G-845 and the G-845 Supplement along with a copy of the pertinent documents with the local INS office to verify the status was granted (see Exhibit IV-6:  G-845 and Exhibit IV-7:  G-845 Supplement).
    
    
• Domestic violence victims and their parents or children (see Section 7.11.6:  Domestic Violence Criteria in this Chapter)
  
  
• Native American exception:
  
  • INS Form I-551 with code S-13;
  • Unexpired temporary I-551 stamp in a Canadian passport or on INS Form I-94 with the code S-13;
  • A letter or other tribal document certifying at least 50 percent American Indian blood, as required by INA Section 289, combined with a birth certificate or other satisfactory evidence of birth in Canada; or 
  • Membership card or other tribal document demonstrating membership in a federally-recognized Indian tribe under section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

If the individual has no document evidencing tribal membership, the appropriate tribal government must be contacted to confirm the individuals membership.  In such a case, staff in the Administrator's office should be contacted.

• Alien qualifying for Veteran exemption;

To qualify for the veteran exemption, an individual must be one of the following:

• a veteran with an Honorable Discharge who fulfills a minimum active-duty service requirement;
  
  The following can be used to verify that an individual has a honorable discharge.
  
  • A discharge certificate, DD Form 214 or equivalent, that shows active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard and character of discharge 'Honorable' indicates the individual has an Honorable Discharge.
    
  • If veteran status is claimed, but the individual cannot provide papers showing service and discharge, the local VA office should be contacted.
    
• an active duty United States Armed Forces service member (other than active duty for training);
  
  The following can be used to determine if an individual satisfied the 'Minimum Active-Duty Service Requirement.'
  
  • If the discharge certificate, DD Form 214 or equivalent, shows an original enlistment before September 7, 1980 and the documents demonstrate an Honorable Discharge, the individual meets the minimum active-duty service requirement.
  • If the discharge certificate, DD Form 214 or equivalent, shows an original enlistment after September 7, 1980 and the forms show at least two years of continuous active-duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard, the individual meets the minimum active-duty requirement.
  • If the discharge certificate, DD Form 214 or equivalent, shows an original enlistment after September 7, 1980 and the forms show less than two years active duty, contact the local VA  office to determine whether the individual satisfies the minimum active-duty requirement.

The following can be used to verify that an individual is on active-duty.

• A current Military Identification Card (DD Form 2 (Active)) that lists an expiration date of more than one year from the date of application.
• If the Military Identification Card is due to expire within one year, the service member shall verify active duty status by showing a copy of his or her current military orders.
• If the individual cannot produce either of the documents discussed above, active-duty may be verified by a letter from his/her commanding officer or by contacting DEERS Support Office, ATTN: Research and Analysis, 400 Gigling Road, Seaside, CA 93955-6771, fax: 408-655-8317 and requesting verification that the individual is on active-duty.

Active-duty for training is temporary full-time duty in the Armed Forces performed by members of the Reserve, Army National Guard, or Air National Guard for training purposes.  Active-duty for training does not establish eligible status, but a discharge from active-duty for training may establish veteran status and should be referred to the local VA office for a determination.

• A spouse, unmarried dependent, or unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran with an Honorable Discharge who fulfills a minimum active-duty service requirement or an active duty United States Armed Forces service member (other than active duty for training).
  
  An individual claiming to be the unremarried spouse of a veteran or active duty personnel must demonstrate that s/he has not remarried, that his/her former spouse meets the veteran or active-duty criteria, and:
  
  • The surviving spouse was married to the veteran or active duty personnel for at least one year,
  • A child was born of the relationship between the surviving spouse and the veteran/active duty personnel either during or before the marriage, or 
  • The surviving spouse was married to the veteran or active-duty individual within 15 years of  the veteran/active duty personnel leaving the service and the veteran/active duty personnel must have died of a condition incurred or aggravated while s/he was in the service.

If an individual demonstrates that s/he was married to a veteran or active duty personnel who meets the criteria for the Veteran Exemption, IMA will accept a self-declaration that the surviving spouse has not remarried and that s/he meets one of the three conditions listed above.

 

The following demonstrate that an individual is a surviving spouse of a veteran or active duty personnel:

• the Military Identification Card of the deceased spouse or the surviving spouse or child with an expiration date of more than one year from the date of application;
• the military orders of the deceased spouse; or 
• a discharge certificate, DD Form 214 or equivalent, that shows active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard and character of discharge 'Honorable.'

If the individual cannot produce these documents, the SSR should contact the local VA office in cases in which the individual claims to be the surviving spouse of a veteran and the DEERS office in cases in which the individual claims to be the surviving spouse of an active-duty personnel.