TN 36 (02-24)

RS 02610.024 Actions Upon Receipt of Proof of Presence in the United States

A. Background about U.S. visits related to the Alien Nonpayment Provision (ANP)

This section explains action to take upon receipt of proof of U.S. presence for individuals subject to the ANP under Section 202(t) of the Social Security Act.

The ANP requires that we suspend Title II benefits of individuals who are not citizens or nationals of the United States, beginning the month after the sixth consecutive calendar month they are not present in the United States, unless they meet one of the exceptions described in RS 02610.010. Beneficiaries who meet an exception are not subject to the ANP and can receive Title II benefits without regard to absence from the United States. Dependents and survivors must satisfy a secondary requirement to meet certain exceptions. To learn more about this secondary requirement, see RS 02610.025.

Beneficiaries who are subject to the ANP can make certain types of U.S. visits, described below in this section, to prevent benefit suspension or to resume benefits after suspension. A U.S. visit is a period of physical presence in the United States. For more information about establishing absence and presence in the United States under the ANP, see RS 02610.020.

For purposes of the ANP, the United States includes the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.

Note: 

Physical presence is different from lawful presence. For information about the Lawful Presence Provision and the ANP, see RS 02610.041.

1. Types of U.S. visits that allow benefits to continue under the ANP

The list below describes the types of U.S. visits that allow continuation or resumption of benefits under the ANP.

  • 1-Day Visits

    After a full calendar month of lawful U.S. presence, beneficiaries subject to the ANP can leave the United States and delay the beginning of the 6-month period of absence by returning for any part of a day before 30 days have passed.

  • 30-Day Visits

    When beneficiaries who are subject to the ANP leave, and remain outside the United States for 30 consecutive days, we count the first calendar month after the "Left U S DATE OR OUTSIDE OF U S DATE" as the beginning of the 6-month period of absence. These individuals may break the 6-month period of absence by returning to the United States and remaining physically and lawfully present for 24 hours of each day for 30 days in a row, without leaving the United States at any time, before the end of the sixth month. The last day of the 30 consecutive day period must be completed before the last day of the sixth calendar month outside the United States.

    When the 6-month period is broken, it does not start again until the beneficiary leaves and remains outside the United States for at least 30 consecutive days.

  • Full Calendar Month Visits

    Once benefits are suspended under the ANP due to a 6-month period of absence, we can resume benefits beginning the month that the beneficiary is physically and lawfully present in the United States for 24 hours of each day for an entire calendar month, without leaving the United States at any time.

Technicians can use the San Francisco Alien Non-Payment Resources Interactive Interview Checklist and Date Calculators for each scenario.

2. Examples of U.S. visits that allow benefits to continue under the ANP

  • Example of a 1-day visit:

    The spouse of a number holder (BIC B) was lawfully in the United States for the entire month of June 2022. B left the United States on July 15, 2022. If B returns for any part of one day within the next 30 days (July 16 through August 14), the 6-month period of absence does not begin (i.e., we do not consider B to be outside the United States). If B does not return to the United States on or before August 14, the 6-month period of absence begins August 2022 and ends January 2023. If B takes no action to interrupt the 6-month period of absence, B's benefits will be suspended beginning February 2023.

  • Example of a 30-day visit:

    The widow of a number holder (BIC D) left the United States on December 10, 2021 and did not return within 30 days. D's 6-month period of absence began January 2022. D returned on May 1, 2022, and remained in the United States lawfully and continuously present for 30 days from May 2 through May 31. This 30-day visit interrupted the 6-month absence and prevented suspension of benefits because it was completed before the end of the sixth consecutive calendar month after D left the United States on December 10, 2021.

  • Example of a full calendar month visit:

    A surviving mother (BIC E) left the United States on May 1, 2021 and did not return within 30 days. E’s benefits were suspended beginning December 2021 because E remained outside the United States for six consecutive calendar months (June 2021 through November 2021). E returned to the United States on January 1, 2022 and remained lawfully and continuously present until leaving again on April 3, 2022.

    We can resume benefits effective February 2022 because this is the first full calendar month E was in the United States. (The month of January does not count as a full calendar month because E was not inside the United States for 24 hours on January 1, 2022.)

    E left the United States again on April 3, 2022. E’s benefits will be suspended again beginning November 2022 unless E returns to the United States:

    • for any part of one day from April 4 through May 3, 2022 (within 30 days of the "Left U S DATE OR OUTSIDE OF U S DATE"); or

    • no later than October 1, 2022 to complete a 30-day visit before November 1, 2022. The 6-month period of absence is May through October 2022. Therefore, a 30-day visit must be completed before October 31 to prevent suspension starting November 2022, the month after the sixth consecutive month of absence.

For more examples, see RS 02610.020.

B. Policy for Proof of U.S. Presence Related to the ANP

When a beneficiary makes a U.S. visit to prevent or interrupt a 6-month absence, or to resume benefits, collect proof of U.S. presence as described in RS 02610.022. To learn about acceptable proof of U.S. presence, see RS 02610.023.

CAUTION: Evidence of 30-day or full calendar month visits requires proof that the beneficiary was physically present in the United States for the entire visit. A beneficiary cannot provide evidence of a completed U.S. visit of 30 consecutive days or a full calendar month until after the last day of that period has passed.

1. Policy for obtaining proof of U.S. presence for ANP

Although beneficiaries often present proof in person, at a field office (FO) or a Federal Benefits Unit (FBU), in-person visits are not required. An in-person visit is only one of the types of proof of U.S. presence listed in RS 02610.023.

Beneficiaries can send proof of U.S. presence related to the ANP by mail or fax to the FO, FBU, or the servicing Program Service Center (PSC). Inform beneficiaries about possible delays and risks of losing proof in the mail.

For information about when evidence of lawful presence is needed, see RS 02610.041. For evidence requirements to establish lawful presence, see RS 00204.025.

IMPORTANT: Never ask claimants or beneficiaries to mail original immigration documents to SSA. Under the law, non-citizens 18 years of age or older must always have immigration documentation in their possession. If they do not, they are subject to fine and/or imprisonment.

2. Who may process proof of U.S. presence for ANP

  • FOs and PSCs

    Record 1-day, 30-day, and full calendar month visits.

  • FBUs

    Record 1-day visits and 30-day visits.

    EXCEPTION: Although FBU personnel may record 30-day stays, they may not reinstate benefits when benefits were prematurely suspended due to current operation month (COM) change. For more information about this situation, see “Special Considerations” in RS 02610.024B.3 in this section.

    FBUs may not record full calendar month visits to resume benefits after a period of suspension.

    When beneficiaries report completion of full calendar month visits to an FBU, the FBU must notify the Division of International Operations (DIO) and request them to take action. FBUs do not have authority to take adjudicative actions, which includes resumption of benefits.

3. Special considerations

The system may prematurely suspend the benefits for a beneficiary completing a 30-day stay close to the end of the sixth calendar month of absence if the COM changes before the U.S. visit is complete. The FO or PSC representative may input the 30-day visit and reinstate benefits. The FBU representative should notify DIO of this situation and request that they take action to resume benefits.

Example of a premature suspension due to COM change: The widow of the number holder (BIC D) left the United States on December 10, 2021. D's six-month period of absence is January through June 2022. D reenters the United States on May 30, 2022 for a 30-day visit. D visits the FO on June 30 and provides proof of continuous U.S. presence from May 31 through June 29. Due to the COM change on June 25, D’s benefits are prematurely suspended. The FO may input the 30-day visit to reinstate benefits.

C. Procedure for Actions Upon Receipt of Proof of U.S. Presence

U.S. visits for ANP should be recorded in the "Left U S/Outside Of U S" (LEUS) screen. This screen is a common screen accessible in the Post Entitlement Online System (POS) and Manual Adjustment Credit and Award Data Entry System (MACADE). Inputs to LEUS for 1-day visits, 30 consecutive day visits, and full calendar month visits update the United States Presence (US PRES) Data Line on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR). There is no limit to the number of occurrences that can be recorded in POS or MACADE but the LEUS Screen and the MBR will only display the 20 most recent occurrences.

The Regular Transcript Attainment and Selection Pass Alerts (RETAP) system uses this information to determine which cases to suspend under the ANP (SJ-alien suspension). RETAP automatically selects cases for SJ-alien suspension where the date of the last U.S. visit is 7 months prior to COM.

Follow the steps below to process U.S. visits for ANP purposes:

  1. 1. 

    Obtain required proof per RS 02610.023 for the 1-day, 30-day, or full calendar month visit.

  2. 2. 

    Store the evidence in the Evidence Portal (EP). For an overview of the EP, see MS 09701.001.

  3. 3. 

    Confirm that the Citizenship Data Line, the Non Citizenship Data Line, and the Lawful Presence Data Line on the MBR contain current and accurate information. If not, update the Citizenship (CLCZ), Non-U.S. citizen (NUSC), and Lawful Presence (CLLP) screens as needed.

  4. 4. 

    If authorized to process the proof of U.S. presence per RS 02610.024B in this section, record the U.S. visit in the LEUS screen using POS or MACADE. For instructions to complete this screen, see MS 00705.024 and SM 03020.190. Enter the date that the beneficiary returned to the United States in the “RETURN TO U S DATE” field in MMDDCCYY format and enter the applicable code in the “SELECT RETURN TO U S INDICATOR” field.

    • Choose “1” if the beneficiary completed, and provided proof of, a 30-day visit before the end of the sixth calendar month after the last “Left U S DATE OR OUTSIDE OF U S DATE” in this screen;

    • Choose “2” if the beneficiary completed, and provided proof of, a full calendar month visit after the end of the sixth calendar month after the last “Left U S DATE OR OUTSIDE OF U S DATE” in this screen; or

    • Choose “3” if the beneficiary completed a 1-day visit before the 30th day after the last “Left U S DATE OR OUTSIDE OF U S DATE” in this screen.

    NOTE: The LEUS screen will not allow an entry input of a 30-day visit until the 31st day after the return to U.S. date. It will not allow an entry input of a full calendar month visit until the month after the full calendar month completion.

 

D. References

  • MS 06302.009 POS Foreign Actions (PEFA)

  • MS 00705.024 Left U.S./Outside of U.S. (LEUS)

  • MS 00705.010 Citizenship (U.S. And/Or Foreign) (CLCZ)

  • MS 00705.026 Non U.S. Citizen Coding (NUSC)

  • MS 00705.011 Lawful Presence (CLLP)

  • MS 09701.001 Evidence Portal Overview (EP)

  • RS 02610.020 Establishing Absence and Presence in the United States (U.S.)

  • RS 02610.022 When Evidence of Presence in the United States (U.S.) is Required

  • RS 02610.023 Acceptable Evidence of Presence in the United States (U.S.) for Any Part of One Day, 30 Consecutive Days, One Full Calendar Month

  • RS 02610.041 Lawful Presence and the Alien Nonpayment Provisions

  • SM 00510.240 Citizenship (CITIZEN) Data Line

  • SM 00510.245 Non Citizenship (NON CITZ) Data Line

  • SM 00510.250 United States Presence (US PRES) Data Line

  • SM 00510.275 Lawful Presence (LAW PRS) Data Line


To Link to this section - Use this URL:
http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302610024
RS 02610.024 - Actions Upon Receipt of Proof of Presence in the United States - 02/28/2024
Batch run: 02/28/2024
Rev:02/28/2024