Resources Money, food, benefits and taxes
Who can get which benefits
Which benefits people with different immigration statuses can get in New York City, as of November 2026. During 2026 the State began applying the federal law H.R. 1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill, 2025) to food help and health insurance for non-citizens.
"Yes" means you may get the help if your income and household also fit; the only way to know for sure is to apply. The table is about you personally: a child who is a U.S. citizen has their own right to help, even if the parent has none.
If your status is not in the table (for example Temporary Protected Status (TPS), humanitarian parole or a U visa), the rules may differ. Ask a free lawyer or write to us and we will point you to organizations. QARAVAN does not provide legal services.
Start here
- Asylum applicants and, since April 2026, people granted asylum without a green card cannot get SNAP, but can apply for a U.S.-citizen child.
- New York State may pay Cash Assistance to people who only applied for asylum, even without a work permit, if income is low.
- Health insurance from October 1, 2026: green card holders stay in federal Medicaid; people granted asylum may move to the Essential Plan, a low-cost State plan.
As of November 2026.
What people with different immigration statuses can get in New York City, November 2026
| Asylum applicant, no work permit yet | Asylum applicant with a work permit (Employment Authorization Document, EAD) | Asylee (asylum granted), no green card yet | Green card holder (lawful permanent resident) | No immigration status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNAP: monthly food money on an EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) card | No. People with a pending asylum application are not in the groups eligible for SNAP. You can apply for a child who is a U.S. citizen. | No, a work permit does not change this. You can apply for a child who is a U.S. citizen. | No, since April 1, 2026, while you have only asylee status (checked when you apply or renew). Once you have a green card, see the next column. You can apply for a child who is a U.S. citizen. | Yes if any one condition is true, for example more than 5 years in a "qualified" status or a green card that came through asylum or refugee status. The full list is in the SNAP entry. | Not for yourself. A parent can apply for a child who is a U.S. citizen without getting a Social Security number. |
| Cash Assistance: monthly money from the City and State; the federal program Family Assistance or the State program Safety Net Assistance | Yes if income and savings are low. The State pays Safety Net Assistance to asylum applicants (rule of the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, OTDA, of May 12, 2023, 23 TA/DC039). | Yes, same as the left; a work permit is not required for Safety Net Assistance. | Yes if income and savings are low: Family Assistance if you have children, otherwise Safety Net Assistance. | Yes if income and savings are low: Family Assistance if you have children, or Safety Net Assistance. | The City's benefits site ACCESS NYC says to apply whatever your status, and HRA (the Human Resources Administration) will process it. Parents can apply for children who are U.S. citizens. |
| Medicaid: government health insurance for people with low income | Not federally funded Medicaid. NY State of Health (the State's online health insurance marketplace) checks state-funded Medicaid or the Essential Plan for you; a free enrollment assistor can help. | Not federally funded Medicaid. NY State of Health checks state-funded Medicaid or the Essential Plan for you. | Federal funding for asylees ended October 1, 2026. Your coverage may move to the Essential Plan with the same benefits. | Yes if your income fits: permanent residents stay in federally funded Medicaid. | Only Emergency Medicaid, for emergency conditions. |
| Essential Plan: low-cost health plan from New York State for ages 19 to 64 | Apply on NY State of Health and ask an enrollment assistor whether you qualify. | Yes if income is up to $31,920 a year for one person ($43,280 for two) and you are not eligible for Medicaid. HealthCare.gov counts a work permit as lawful presence. | Yes if you are 19 to 64 and income is at or below the limit; people leaving Medicaid may move here. | Only if you are not eligible for Medicaid (for example, income above its limit) and income is at or below the Essential Plan limit. | No, the plan requires lawful presence in the U.S. |
| WIC: nutrition help and advice for pregnancy and children under 5 | Yes if you are pregnant, recently gave birth, are breastfeeding or have a child under 5, and income fits. Status is not asked. | Yes, same conditions. Immigration status is not asked. | Yes, same conditions. Immigration status is not asked. | Yes, same conditions. Immigration status is not asked. | Yes, same conditions. Immigration status is not asked. |
| Free school breakfast and lunch in NYC public schools | Yes for your children: every public school student eats free, and every child has the right to attend whatever their status. | Yes for your children, whatever the status. | Yes for your children, whatever the status. | Yes for your children, whatever the status. | Yes for your children, whatever the status. |
| Fair Fares NYC: 50% off subway and bus rides for low-income New Yorkers aged 18 to 64 | Yes if you are 18 to 64, live in NYC and 2026 income is at most $23,940 for one person ($32,460 for two). Open whatever your immigration status (ACCESS NYC, October 2026). | Yes, same conditions. Open whatever your status. | Yes, same conditions. Open whatever your status. | Yes, same conditions. Open whatever your status. | Yes, same conditions. Open whatever your status. |
| Heating help (Home Energy Assistance Program, HEAP), opens November 2, 2026 | Not for you personally: under OTDA's rule, asylum applicants are not eligible for HEAP. A household qualifies if another member is a U.S. citizen or a "qualified non-citizen" (for example, a child). | Same as the left: not for you personally, but the household can qualify through another member. | The rule says "qualified non-citizen"; federal law lists people granted asylum among them. | Yes if income fits (in 2026-2027, at most $3,563 a month for one person). | The household qualifies if it includes a U.S. citizen, such as a child, and income fits. |
| Free food at soup kitchens and food pantries | Yes. The City says free food is available to everyone in need. | Yes, as on the left. | Yes, as on the left. | Yes, as on the left. | Yes, as on the left. |
Name your situation
Pick one of five columns: applied for asylum without a work permit; applied for asylum with a work permit; granted asylum; green card; no status. Until you have an asylum decision, you stay in one of the first two columns however long you wait.
Read your cell
The cell says what you can expect if your income and household fit.
Check the dates
The new SNAP rules apply when you apply or renew, so an open benefit does not change right away. The health insurance rules for non-citizens took effect on October 1, 2026, with more changes on January 1, 2027.
Apply if you are unsure
Anyone has the right to apply; the agency decides. Do not give up help for a U.S.-citizen child because of your own status.
Each kind of help in brief.
SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
Any statusNYC residentsFree
A federal food program; in New York City, HRA takes the applications. The money goes onto an EBT card; the maximum for one person from October 1, 2026 is $306 a month. Apply on ACCESS HRA, the City's online account for benefits. A green card holder qualifies if any one is true: more than 5 years in a "qualified" status; under 18; more than 40 "qualifying quarters" of work credit; certain disability benefits; age 65 or older on August 22, 1996; or the green card came through asylum, refugee or another listed status.
Cash Assistance
Any statusNYC residentsFree
Monthly money for people with low income. Families get federal Family Assistance for up to 60 months; single adults and families past 60 months get the State's Safety Net Assistance. OTDA oversees both. Apply on ACCESS HRA, then call for the interview: say "Russian" and a free interpreter joins. In most cases adults must work or study.
Medicaid and the Essential Plan through NY State of Health
Any statusFree
NY State of Health (NYSOH) is the State's online health insurance marketplace for Medicaid and the Essential Plan. If the new rules affect you, you should have received a letter, text or WhatsApp message between September 1 and 4, 2026. New coverage lasts from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027. Find a free enrollment assistor on the website.
WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children)
Any statusFree
A New York State Department of Health program: an eWIC card for healthy food at grocery stores and pharmacies, plus nutrition and breastfeeding counseling. You can start online, in the chat with the Wanda assistant at health.ny.gov/prevention/nutrition/wic: it checks whether you qualify and sends your details to a local WIC office.
Fair Fares NYC
Any statusNYC residentsFree
A City discount of 50% on subway and local buses (not express buses) for New Yorkers aged 18 to 64. Apply on ACCESS HRA; it lasts a year, then you reapply. People who already get, or can get, full carfare from HRA or another reduced fare are not eligible.
HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program)
Any statusNYC residentsFree
Help paying for heat: the payment goes straight to your energy provider. Regular applications for 2026-2027 are open from November 2, 2026 to April 16, 2027; emergency help is set to open January 4, 2027; money is first come, first served. Apply online on ACCESS HRA or in person at a HEAP office. An OTDA program.
School breakfast and lunch
Any statusFree
Free meals for every New York City public school student. The school does not ask about status. Ask the parent coordinator about other help.
Free meals at soup kitchens and pantries
Any statusFree
The City's Food Help NYC map shows the nearest place; you can also call 311 at any hour: say "Russian" and a free interpreter joins.
April 1, 2026: SNAP
OTDA, the State agency, issued guidance under H.R. 1: SNAP stays only with certain groups of non-citizens, and refugees and people with asylum but no green card lose it. This applies to new applications and renewals.
July 1, 2026: Essential Plan
The Essential Plan again covers only people with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level; people above that need another plan.
September 18, 2026: public charge rule
A new public charge rule took effect: for some green card applications, benefits you received are counted.
October 1, 2026: Medicaid and SNAP
Federal Medicaid for non-citizens narrowed to permanent residents and a few other groups; for people granted asylum, coverage may move to the Essential Plan. For SNAP, a new 36-month period of work rules for ABAWD (adults 18 to 64 with no child under 14) began and the month count was reset. People who are pregnant, care for someone who cannot care for themselves or have a mental or physical barrier to work may not have to meet the rules; HRA decides case by case. If SNAP closed under these rules, reapply on ACCESS HRA.
November 2, 2026: HEAP
Regular applications for heating help for the 2026-2027 season open.
January 1, 2027: Medicaid in New York
Medicaid is separated from HRA's cash assistance. Some adults 19 to 64 must work or study; most adults in the expansion group renew every six months; coverage for past months shrinks. The first SNAP losses under the new work rules can come in January 2027.
HRA: ABAWD Update
Any statusNYC residentsFree
HRA's page on the work rules: who they apply to, the Medical Statement form, how to restore SNAP and reapply on ACCESS HRA.
IDNYC
Any statusNYC residentsFree
A free City ID for New York residents aged 10 and up, whatever their immigration status. It gives free one-year memberships at more than 35 museums and cultural institutions and other discounts, and works as a library card at the city's public libraries. You apply in person after booking online on the IDNYC portal: a069-idnyconlineportal.nyc.gov.
Culture Pass
Any statusNYC residentsFree
With a Brooklyn Public Library, Queens Public Library or New York Public Library card (ages 13 and up), you can book free passes to more than 100 museums, gardens and other places.
- Asylum applicant and asylee
- An asylum applicant has filed for asylum and has no decision yet. An asylee has been granted asylum but does not yet have a green card.
- EAD
- Employment Authorization Document, the U.S. work permit, issued by USCIS, the federal agency U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
- Green card (lawful permanent resident)
- Permanent residence in the U.S. For SNAP and Medicaid, the number of years a person has spent in a "qualified" status is counted separately.
- PRUCOL
- Permanently Residing Under Color of Law: a New York State rule that treats a person without a green card, whose stay the authorities know about and are not trying to end, as living in the country lawfully. The State counts asylum applicants as PRUCOL, with or without a work permit.
- Qualified non-citizen
- A "qualified" non-citizen under federal law: for example, a permanent resident, a person granted asylum or a refugee. The list differs by program, and H.R. 1 narrowed it for SNAP and Medicaid.
- Safety Net Assistance and Family Assistance
- Family Assistance is the federal cash benefit (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF) for families with children, up to 60 months. Safety Net Assistance is the State's cash benefit for single adults, couples without children and people federal money cannot cover.
- Emergency Medicaid
- Medicaid that pays only for emergency care for people without lawful status.
- ABAWD
- Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents: adults 18 to 64 with no child under 14 in the household. They keep SNAP only while they work or train at least 80 hours a month; otherwise they get it for only three months in three years. Exceptions include pregnancy, caring for someone who cannot care for themselves, and a mental or physical barrier to work. If SNAP stopped, you can reapply on ACCESS HRA.
This is general information, not legal advice: QARAVAN has no lawyers. QARAVAN does not help anyone enter the US and cannot arrange visas, invitations, sponsorship or evacuation. For your own case, talk to a licensed immigration attorney or a representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice.
All pages: Money, food, benefits and taxes
Sources, checked November 2026
- nyc.gov/site/hra/help/cash-assistance.page
- nyc.gov/main/services/snap-benefits
- nyc.gov/site/hra/help/able-bodied-adults-without-dependents.page
- finder.nyc.gov/foodhelp
- access.nyc.gov/programs/women-infants-and-children-wic
- schools.nyc.gov/school-life/school-meals
- nyc.gov/site/fairfares/index.page
- access.nyc.gov/programs/home-energy-assistance-program-heap
- info.nystateofhealth.ny.gov/stay-covered
- nyc.gov/site/idnyc/benefits/benefits.page
- culturepass.nyc