8 U.S.C. § 1641 — Definitions

(a) General rule. Unless this chapter provides otherwise, terms used in this chapter have the meanings given to them in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This section does not define the other terms it uses.

(b) “Qualified alien.” For this chapter, an alien is a “qualified alien” when, at the time the alien applies for, receives, or tries to receive a Federal public benefit^*, the alien is: (1) lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act; (2) granted asylum under section 208 of that Act; (3) a refugee admitted to the United States under section 207 of that Act; (4) paroled into the United States under section 212(d)(5) of that Act for at least one year; (5) an alien whose deportation is withheld under section 243(h) of that Act, as that provision existed immediately before the effective date of section 307 of division C of Public Law 104–208, or under section 241(b)(3) of that Act, as amended by section 305(a) of division C of Public Law 104–208; (6) granted conditional entry under section 203(a)(7) of that Act, as that provision existed before April 1, 1980; (7) a Cuban and Haitian entrant, as defined in section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980; or (8) an individual who lawfully resides in the United States under a Compact of Free Association referred to in section 1612(b)(2)(G).

(c) Treatment of certain battered aliens as qualified aliens. For this chapter, “qualified alien” also includes:

(1) An alien who: (A) was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by a spouse or parent, or by a member of the spouse’s or parent’s family who lived in the same household as the alien, and the spouse or parent consented to or acquiesced in the battery or cruelty. This applies only if, in the opinion of the agency providing the benefits, there is a substantial connection between the battery or cruelty and the need for the benefits; and (B) has an approved petition, or a pending petition that presents a prima facie case, for: (i) status as the spouse or child of a United States citizen under clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 204(a)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act; (ii) classification under clause (ii) or (iii) of section 204(a)(1)(B) of that Act; (iii) suspension of deportation under section 244(a)(3) of that Act, as that provision existed before the title III–A effective date in section 309 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996; (iv) status as the spouse or child of a United States citizen under clause (i) of section 204(a)(1)(A) of that Act, or classification under clause (i) of section 204(a)(1)(B) of that Act; or (v) cancellation of removal under section 240A(b)(2) of that Act.

(2) An alien who: (A) has a child who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by the alien’s spouse or parent, without the alien actively participating in the battery or cruelty, or by a member of the spouse’s or parent’s family who lived in the same household as the alien, and the spouse or parent consented to or acquiesced in the battery or cruelty. The alien also must not have actively participated in the battery or cruelty. This applies only if, in the opinion of the agency providing the benefits, there is a substantial connection between the battery or cruelty and the need for the benefits; and (B) meets paragraph (1)(B)’s requirement.

(3) An alien child who: (A) lives in the same household as a parent who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the United States by that parent’s spouse, or by a member of the spouse’s family who lived in the same household as the parent, and the spouse consented to or acquiesced in the battery or cruelty. This applies only if, in the opinion of the agency providing the benefits, there is a substantial connection between the battery or cruelty and the need for the benefits; and (B) meets paragraph (1)(B)’s requirement.

(4) An alien who has been granted nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(T) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, or who has a pending application that presents a prima facie case that the alien is eligible for that nonimmigrant status.

This subsection does not apply to an alien during a period when the person responsible for the battery or cruelty lives in the same household or family eligibility unit as the person who was subjected to the battery or cruelty.

After consulting the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development, the Commissioner of Social Security, and the heads of Federal agencies administering benefits that the Attorney General considers appropriate, the Attorney General must issue guidance, in the Attorney General’s sole and unreviewable discretion, for purposes of this subsection and section 1631(f). The guidance concerns the meanings of “battery” and “extreme cruelty,” and the standards and methods for deciding whether a substantial connection exists between the battery or cruelty suffered and an individual’s need for benefits under a specific Federal, State, or local program. This section does not otherwise define “battery,” “extreme cruelty,” or “substantial connection.”