Menu

FEDERAL POLICY PAGE

• Mexican Consular Office ID Policy
  
  A Matricula Consular ID card (also known as Matricula Consular de Alta Seguridad (MCAS), or as a Certificate of Consular Registration) is a document that is issued in the Mexican Consulate to Mexican foreign nationals that reside in the U.S.
  
  The memo states that the MCAS is sufficient to identify the individual and as proof of nationality, but is not sufficient to verify an immigrant’s legal immigration status in the U.S. or eligibility for benefits under the Food Stamp Program.

• USDA-FNS regional letter 03-20 ("Withdrawal of Food Stamp Applications") May 2003
  To date, this hasn't been posted on USDA's webpage, and OTDA hasn't released a follow-up memo to districts.  This letter has very good language about the legal and practical problems caused when food stamp offices suggest or encourage households to withdraw their applications.

• USDA-FNS Memo: Separate Household Status for Disabled Persons
  USDA's Food & Nutrition Service has clarified that disabled individuals who live with others but cannot purchase and prepare separately due to their disability CAN establish separate household status for food stamp purposes without applying the 165% income rule (which can be used only for elderly AND disabled individuals whose meals are purchased and prepared together with those with whom they live).
  
  This means that as long as a disabled individual's food is purchased and prepared separately from the individuals they live with, the disabled person can claim separate household status.
   
• Article: Improving Fairness and Accuracy in Food Stamp Investigations: Advocating Reform Under Food Stamp Regulations