Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA) are time-limited cash payments and health coverage funded by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) for refugees and other ORR-eligible arrivals who do not qualify for TANF or Medicaid. On October 1, 2026, ORR raised the eligibility period for both programs to up to 12 months from a person's ORR eligibility date, correcting an 8-month figure it had announced on July 14, 2026. The 12-month period applies to anyone whose ORR eligibility date is on or after January 1, 2026. States and Replacement Designees were given 30 days to implement it.
That is a large change for recent arrivals, because the period had been cut to 4 months in fiscal year 2025. It matters more now that federal law has removed most refugees from Medicaid and SNAP, leaving ORR-funded assistance as the main support during the first year.
What Changed, and When
ORR sets the RCA and RMA eligibility period each year under 45 CFR 400.211, based on appropriations, projected arrivals, and participation data, and must announce any change in the Federal Register. The period has moved repeatedly:
| Period in effect | Months of RCA and RMA | Authority |
|---|
| FY1992 through FY2021 | 8 months | ORR annual determinations |
| FY2022 through FY2025 | 12 months | ORR annual determination |
| FY2025 | 4 months | 90 FR 13370, March 31, 2025 |
| From July 14, 2026 | 8 months | 91 FR 43107 |
| From October 1, 2026 | 12 months | 91 FR 62534 (correction) |
The October notice corrected the July notice so that every reference to 8 months reads 12 months. ORR's Dear Colleague Letter 26-05, revised October 1, 2026, gives the reasoning: a full-year appropriation at the FY2024 enacted level plus lower-than-projected arrivals freed up funding, while "reduced access to other benefits" pushed more people onto ORR-funded assistance.
Which period applies to you
The clock is tied to your ORR eligibility date, not to the date you applied or the date a check arrived.
| Your ORR eligibility date | Maximum months of RCA and RMA |
|---|
| On or after January 1, 2026 | Up to 12 months |
| During 2025, after your state implemented the 4-month cut | Up to 4 months |
| Before the 2025 cut took effect in your state | Up to 12 months under the rule then in effect |
States implemented the FY2025 reduction on their own dates. Illinois, for example, applied the 4-month period to eligibility dates on or after May 5, 2025. If your eligibility date falls in 2025, ask your state refugee office which period your case was coded under.
If You Were Already Cut Off, You May Be Owed Months
This is the part most people miss. DCL 26-05 tells states and Replacement Designees that within 30 days, to the extent practicable, they must give people currently enrolled the additional months up to the 12-month limit by adding months going forward, by issuing retroactive assistance for unpaid months inside the window, or by some combination capped at 12 months total. ORR also tells states to "expeditiously re-enroll individuals who are terminated from RCA and RMA but remain eligible."
So if your eligibility date is on or after January 1, 2026 and your assistance stopped at month 4 or month 8, contact the agency that handled your case and ask to be re-enrolled and reviewed for the remaining months. Payments cover only months inside your first 12 months of ORR eligibility, and only months in which you met every requirement. For RCA, that includes keeping your registration with an employment services agency and accepting appropriate job offers during those months, unless you were exempt.
Who Is ORR-Eligible
Congress decides which immigration categories ORR may serve. Asylum applicants with a pending case are not eligible unless they belong to another eligible group.
| ORR-eligible group | Eligibility date generally starts |
|---|
| Refugees admitted under INA section 207 | Date of arrival in the US |
| Asylees granted asylum under INA section 208 | Date asylum was granted |
| Cuban and Haitian entrants | Date of parole or other qualifying status |
| Amerasian immigrants from Vietnam | Date of arrival |
| Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa holders | Date of arrival, or date of adjustment if adjusted inside the US |
| Certain Afghan humanitarian parolees (paroled by September 30, 2023, plus certain later-arriving relatives) | Date of parole |
| Certain Ukrainian humanitarian parolees (paroled by September 30, 2024) | Date of parole |
| Certified victims of human trafficking | Date of ORR certification or eligibility letter |
| Green card holders who previously held one of the statuses above | Date of the original qualifying status |
Afghan parolees who applied for re-parole, asylum, or adjustment of status before their parole period ended can keep ORR eligibility while that application is pending.
Refugee Cash Assistance: Rules and Payment Amounts
RCA is a last-resort cash program. Under 45 CFR 400.53, eligibility is limited to people who:
- Have been in the US less than the current RCA eligibility period
- Are not eligible for TANF, SSI, or the older aged, blind, and disabled programs in the territories
- Meet the immigration status and documentation requirements, or are dependent children in the same family unit as someone who does
- Are not full-time students in a college or university
Because of that second rule, the agency screens you for other programs first. Families with children are referred to TANF. People 65 or older, blind, or disabled are referred to Social Security for SSI, and the state can pay RCA while that decision is pending. Refugees and asylees can qualify for SSI for up to seven years from the date they got that status, covered in our guide to SSI eligibility for immigrants and noncitizens.
Payment levels
States run RCA one of two ways. In a publicly administered program, the state uses its TANF rules for income, resources, and payment levels. In a public/private program, local resettlement agencies administer RCA under state contract, using a state-set income standard and the payment ceilings in 45 CFR 400.60:
| Family unit size | Monthly RCA payment ceiling |
|---|
| 1 person | $335 |
| 2 people | $450 |
| 3 people | $570 |
| 4 people | $685 |
| Each additional person | Add $70 |
Those are ceilings, unchanged since 2000, and they are not the whole picture. Agencies may not pay less than the state's TANF payment for a family of the same size, and where TANF pays more, RCA must be comparable to TANF. In practice your RCA amount tracks your state's TANF grant. Ask for your state's written RCA policy, which the agency must make available in English and in other languages its clients use.
Three income rules work in your favor: resources left behind in your country of origin cannot be counted, a sponsor's income cannot be treated as available to you just because they sponsored you, and a Reception and Placement cash grant does not count as income.
Work requirements and sanctions
RCA carries employability requirements, not TANF work requirements. Unless your state or resettlement agency exempts you, you must register with an employment services agency, start participating within 30 days of receiving aid, attend job interviews, accept appropriate job offers, and take part in available job or language training under an individual employability plan.
Appropriate work has limits: commuting time normally cannot exceed two hours round trip, the wage must meet the applicable minimum wage, and assignments must fit your employability plan. If you quit a job or refuse to participate without good cause, assistance stops for 3 payment months for a first instance and 6 for any later one, after written notice at least 10 days in advance and with a right to mediation and a hearing.
Refugee Medical Assistance: Rules and Income Limits
RMA is health coverage for ORR-eligible people who are ineligible for Medicaid and CHIP but meet the RMA financial standard. The state must decide Medicaid and CHIP eligibility first for every family member, then decide RMA, and the notice has to say clearly which decision applies to which program.
Under 45 CFR 400.101, a state picks its RMA income standard: in states with a medically needy Medicaid program, either the medically needy standard or a standard set at up to 200% of the federal poverty level; in states without one, either the state's AFDC standards as of July 16, 1996 or that same 200% option. Where a state uses the 200% option, these are the 2026 figures for the 48 contiguous states and DC:
| Household size | 200% of poverty, annual | Monthly |
|---|
| 1 | $31,920 | $2,660 |
| 2 | $43,280 | $3,607 |
| 3 | $54,640 | $4,553 |
| 4 | $66,000 | $5,500 |
| 5 | $77,360 | $6,447 |
| 6 | $88,720 | $7,393 |
| 7 | $100,080 | $8,340 |
| 8 | $111,440 | $9,287 |
Alaska and Hawaii use higher poverty guidelines, so their 200% figures are higher. A state using a medically needy standard instead will have a much lower limit, so ask your caseworker which standard your state picked.
Four RMA protections are worth knowing:
- Spend down. If your income is over the state's RMA standard, the state must let you deduct incurred medical expenses to reach it.
- Earnings do not end RMA. Starting work or getting a raise does not affect your RMA for the rest of your eligibility period. If you lose Medicaid because of earnings while still inside the RMA period, you must be moved to RMA without a new eligibility determination.
- Scope of care. RMA must cover at least the same services, in the same manner and extent, as your state's Medicaid program.
- Medical screening. A state may provide a refugee health screening in the first 90 days after arrival without first determining eligibility.
A state cannot require you to apply for or receive RCA as a condition of getting RMA. If you do receive RCA and are not eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, you are eligible for RMA.
Why RMA Carries More Weight in 2026
Two federal changes under Public Law 119-21 moved refugees out of mainstream programs:
- SNAP, since July 4, 2025. SNAP is limited to citizens and nationals, green card holders, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau. Refugees, asylees, and parolees without a green card no longer qualify. See our guide to refugee SNAP eligibility after the 2025 changes.
- Medicaid and CHIP, since October 1, 2026. Full Medicaid and CHIP now follow that same narrow list, so refugees, asylees, and parolees without a green card generally no longer qualify. See our state-by-state look at Medicaid for asylees.
ORR said as much in its own notice: recent legislative changes have limited access to certain benefits for some ORR-eligible populations, increasing reliance on ORR-funded assistance and raising expected RMA participation.
A few carve-outs survive. Emergency Medicaid still pays for emergency care for people who would otherwise qualify. States may still cover lawfully residing children and pregnant women under the CHIPRA section 214 option. Coverage a state keeps with only its own money is a state-funded program, not Medicaid. Cuban and Haitian entrants remain on the list of statuses that can qualify for Medicaid and SNAP, so they should be screened for those first.
What happens after month 12
RMA ends at the close of your eligibility period, and the main route into ongoing coverage is a green card. Refugees may apply to adjust status after one year of physical presence, asylees after one year in asylee status. Once you hold a green card, Medicaid's five-year waiting period does not apply to people who entered as refugees or asylees, as Cuban and Haitian entrants, as Amerasians, or with withholding of removal.
Marketplace coverage is narrower than it was. For 2026 coverage, lawfully present immigrants including refugees and asylees can still receive premium tax credits. For 2027 coverage, sold starting November 1, 2026, the credit is limited to citizens, green card holders, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau. Everyone else lawfully present can still buy a Marketplace plan, but at full price.
How to Apply
- Start with the agency that resettled you. It can tell you whether your state runs a publicly administered or a public/private RCA program, and in the public/private model it can often take the application itself.
- Or apply at the state benefits office. ORR says people can be screened at a state benefits office or at local ORR-funded agencies. In states that withdrew from administering the refugee program, a Replacement Designee nonprofit runs RCA and RMA instead. ORR lists the contact for each state on its refugee program contacts page.
- Bring your status documents. Form I-94, a Form I-797 notice, an I-551 green card, an asylum approval letter, or an ORR certification letter for trafficking survivors. You will also be asked for the name of the agency that resettled you, which RMA requires.
- Expect a decision within 30 days. If your need is urgent, ask for emergency cash assistance, which the rules let the agency issue on an expedited basis.
- Appeal if you are denied. Every applicant and recipient has a right to a hearing on an adverse decision, with final administrative action within 60 days of the request in the public/private model. Benefits cannot be terminated before that process finishes. States may also start RCA from the date of application so new arrivals are paid quickly.
If you are enrolled in ORR's Matching Grant program through a resettlement agency, that program is an alternative to public cash assistance, and you cannot receive RCA at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many months of Refugee Cash Assistance can I get in 2026?
Up to 12 months, measured from your ORR eligibility date, if that date is on or after January 1, 2026. ORR announced it in a Federal Register correction published October 1, 2026 (91 FR 62534) and in Dear Colleague Letter 26-05. The Refugee Act allows up to 36 months, but the funded period is the one the Director sets each year.
Is Refugee Medical Assistance the same as Medicaid?
No. RMA is funded by ORR and is only for ORR-eligible people who are ineligible for Medicaid and CHIP. The benefits look similar because federal rules require RMA to cover at least the same services as your state's Medicaid program, but RMA ends at the close of your eligibility period.
My assistance stopped after 4 months. Can I get the rest?
Possibly. If your ORR eligibility date is on or after January 1, 2026, ORR has directed states and Replacement Designees to provide the additional months up to 12, going forward or retroactively, and to re-enroll people who were terminated but remain eligible. Retroactive months are paid only for months in which you met every requirement, including RCA employability rules.
What is my ORR eligibility date?
For a refugee, it is the date you arrived in the US. For an asylee, the date asylum was granted. For a certified trafficking survivor, the date of your ORR certification or eligibility letter. For Afghan and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees, the date of parole. The date drives both the 12-month clock and which eligibility period your case falls under.
Can I work while receiving RCA or RMA?
Yes, and you are generally expected to. RCA requires non-exempt recipients to register for employment services and accept appropriate job offers, and earnings can reduce or end the cash payment under your state's income rules. RMA is different: earnings do not end your medical coverage for the rest of your eligibility period.
Do refugees still get SNAP or Medicaid?
Generally no, not without a green card. Federal law removed SNAP eligibility for refugees, asylees, and parolees without green cards on July 4, 2025, and full Medicaid and CHIP on October 1, 2026. Cuban and Haitian entrants remain in the qualifying categories for both. Emergency Medicaid and state options for lawfully residing children and pregnant women can still apply.
Can asylum seekers get Refugee Cash Assistance?
No. Someone who has applied for asylum but not been granted it is not eligible for assistance under Title IV of the Refugee Act, unless they qualify through a different category such as Cuban or Haitian entrant status or certification as a trafficking survivor. Eligibility starts on the date asylum is granted.
What other help is available after RCA and RMA end?
ORR-funded refugee support services, including employment services, case management, and English language training, are generally available for up to five years from your eligibility date, a longer window than the cash and medical programs. Your resettlement agency or state refugee program can tell you what is funded where you live. ORR did not award FY2026 support services funding to states that chose not to opt into the program.
