Know Your Rights

Eligibility for Housing Assistance

If I am not a U.S. Citizen, can I get public housing or housing assistance?

Yes. You are eligible for public housing and housing assistance if:

  • You are a citizen or national of the u.s.; or
  • You are a permanent resident; or
  • You have been granted asylum; or
  • You are a refugee; or
  • You have been paroled into the country; or
  • You have been granted withholding of deportation; or
  • You are a temporary or permanent resident under the amnesty or SAW program.

What are these Housing Programs?

  • Public Housing is a project owned by a local government housing authority
  • Some privately owned housing that is supported by government money such as Section 8, Section 236, FmHS or RHS. You can get more information about these programs from the Louisville Tenants Association at 502-587-0287.

You are eligible for the housing programs of the Rural Housing Services if the head of your household is a citizen or permanent resident.

You are eligible for emergency disaster relief and for aid to homeless people, which can include short-term housing, no matter what your immigration status is.

Also there are some other federal housing assistance programs which do not require tenants to be citizens or eligible immigrants.

If I am a citizen or an eligible immigrant, but some of my family members are not eligible, can we get housing assistance?

If the head of your household is a citizen or a permanent resident, you can get FmHA or RHS housing even if some of the rest of the family member are ineligible immigrants.

If at least one person in your family is a citizen or an eligible immigrant, you can get a public housing or Section 8 or Section 236 housing, but your rent will go up because of the ineligible household members.

If we have just immigrated to the United States, can we get housing assistance?

Probably yes.

If we apply for housing, what documents will we have to show?

Any citizens in your family will only have to swear that they are citizens, unless the housing authority or landlord asks for birth certificates or other citizen ship documents.

Any eligible immigrant under 62 years old will have to provide INS documents showing his or her immigration status, like "green cards", Forms 1-551, Forms 1-94 and court or INS decisions. Elderly immigrants 62 or older who are eligible can just swear that they have the eligible immigration status and provide a document proving their age.

Will the housing authority or the landlord check my immigration status with the INS?

Yes, housing authorities and Section 8 and Section 236 landlords are required to check your documents with the INS.

What if some member of my family is not an eligible immigrant?

People in your family who are not eligible can choose not to say what their status is and they can still move in with you, but the rent will be higher because they are considered ineligible.

Will the housing authority or the landlord report ineligible immigrants to the INS?

The housing authority is required to report people, but only if it knows they are in the country illegally. No other landlords are required to report anyone to the INS. Still the housing authority or the landlord might report people. So remember that no one has to tell the housing authority or any other landlord whether they are here legally or not. If they do not have documents, they can just choose not to say what their immigration status is.

Will we have to wait until the INS verifies our status before we can move in?

No. When at least one family member proves he or she is a citizen or provides a document showing eligible immigration status, the whole family can move in if a place is available. However, until all family members show that they are eligible, the rent may be higher.

If we already live in public or assisted housing, can we stay even if some of us do not have eligible immigration status?

It depends on when you moved in and who in you family in ineligible. So:

  • If you moved in before June 19, 1995 and the head of your household or his or her spouse is eligible, you can stay and your rent will not go up. That is true no matter how many ineligible people are in the family, as long as the ineligible people are either the parents, children or the spouse of the eligible person, not, for example, aunts or uncles.
  • If you moved in before June 19, 1995, but neither the head of your household nor his or her spouse is eligible, you should be able to stay until sometime after June 1998, but after that you probably will have to pay higher rent.
  • If you moved in after August 22,1996, your rent will be higher if some of your family members are ineligible.
  • If you moved between June 19, 1995 and August 22, 1996. it is possible that you will be able to stay without paying higher rent.

If we already live in public or assisted housing, do we have to tell the housing authority or landlord what our immigration status is?

When you are next recertified you have to declare your citizenship or prove your immigration status just like new applicants, but you only have to do it once. Any family members who do not have eligible immigration status can choose not to say what their status is. If they do that, they will be considered ineligible for assistance and your rent might go up.

If I have an ineligible person living with me, what can happen to me?

If you allow a person you know is ineligible to live with you on a permanent basis and you do not tell the housing authority or landlord that the person is living with you, you can be evicted.

If the INS says I do not have the status that I believe I have, what can I do?

You can take an appeal at the INS to correct the mistake. If that still does not work, you can ask for a hearing at the housing authority or from the landlord to prove what your status is. The landlord cannot evict you until all the appeals and hearings are over.

Copyright 1998 American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, National Council of La Raza, National Immigration Forum, National Immigration Law Center, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and the United States Catholic Conference

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