A veteran, for purposes of this provision, means a person who served in the active U.S. military, naval, or air service, who fulfilled the minimum active duty service requirements, and was released with a discharge characterized as honorable and not on account of alienage, and includes veterans who died while serving in active duty in the Armed Forces of the U.S. (For purposes of determining eligibility of a surviving spouse under this provision, a veteran also includes a veteran who died after discharge from the U.S. Armed Forces.) A veteran also includes individuals with certain military service before 7/1/46 in the military forces (including certain organized guerilla forces) of the government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and certain service in the Philippine Scouts. (See SI 00502.135A.2.)

Active duty as a member of the Armed Forces of the U.S. means the individual is on full-time duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard.

Active duty, as a member of the Armed Forces of the U.S. for purposes of this provision and only for purposes of determining eligibility for SSI benefits and Food Stamps, also includes:

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  service before 7/1/46, in the organized military forces of the government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines while such forces were in the service of the Armed Forces of the U.S. pursuant to the military order of the President dated 7/26/41;

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  service before 7/1/46, in the organized guerrilla forces of the Philippine Commonwealth Army while such forces were in the service of the Armed Forces of the U.S. pursuant to the military order of the President dated July 26, 1941, under commanders appointed, designated, or subsequently recognized by the U.S. Army; and

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  service in the Philippine Scouts under section 14 of the Armed Forces Voluntary Recruitment Act of 1945.

Active duty for training is temporary full-time duty in the Armed Forces performed by members of the Reserves, Army National Guard, or Air National Guard for training purposes. Active duty for training does not establish eligible alien status. However, SSA will not make a military service determination for such cases. These should be referred to the VARO for a determination of active duty service.

A veteran, in order to qualify under this exception, must have fulfilled the minimum active-duty service requirements of 38 U.S.C. 5303A(d). For most veterans, this minimum active-duty service requirement is 2 years. Active duty service in the U.S. Armed Forces of less than 2 years should be referred to the VARO to determine satisfaction of the minimum active-duty service requirement. SSA will not make these determinations in cases with less than 2 years active duty service.

Do not routinely reopen determinations of veteran status made before November 1, 1997. Assume, absent any evidence to the contrary, that the minimum active-duty service requirement has been met. If evidence is brought to SSA's attention that the minimum active-duty service requirement was not met, reopen that determination under the rules of administrative finality.

A spouse is a person’s partner in a marital relationship. Spouses are two persons who:

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  have been determined spouses under State law,

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  have been determined spouses under section 216(h)(1) of the SSAct for purposes of title II, or

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  are holding themselves out to the community as spouses.

A spouse includes an unremarried widow or widower of a deceased veteran, for purposes of this provision. See SI 00502.140A.6.

An unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran or active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces may also be eligible for SSI benefits when one of the following conditions is met:

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  the surviving spouse was married to the veteran or active-duty service member for one year or more; or

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  a child was born of the relationship between the surviving spouse and the veteran or active-duty service member, either during or before the marriage; or

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  the surviving spouse was married to the veteran or active-duty service member within fifteen years after the termination of the period of service in which the injury or disease causing the death of the veteran was incurred or aggravated. (This determination will not be made by SSA. Refer such cases to the VARO.)

The term “spouse” includes all marital relationships as described in SI 00502.140A.5. If the relationship was a “holding out” one, the surviving spouse must have been living with the veteran or active-duty service member at the time of the veteran/service member's death.

An unmarried dependent child of a veteran or active duty member of the Armed Forces is a child who is:

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  the biological or legally adopted child of an active duty member of the Armed Forces or an honorably discharged (not based on alienage) veteran of the Armed Forces of the U.S., or the biological or legally adopted child of their spouse, and

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  not married, and

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  dependent on the veteran/active duty member of the Armed Forces (i.e., can be claimed as a deduction on their Federal income tax return), and

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  under the age of 18 (or under age 22 and a student regularly attending school). See SPECIAL NOTE below.

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  this definition also applies to a disabled child age 18 or older if the child was disabled and dependent on the active duty member or veteran prior to the child's 18th birthday.

A child includes the child of a deceased veteran, for purposes of this provision. The child must have been dependent upon the veteran at the time of the veteran's death.

There is no requirement that the child be living with the veteran or service member.

Contact the VARO to verify if veterans status is met if:

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  the individual is unable to present evidence of military service,

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  the evidence presented is questionable (e.g., evidence appears to have been altered or forged),

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  the character of service is “Honorable,” but the entry for DEPARTMENT, COMPONENT AND BRANCH is not one of the 5 services listed in SI 00502.140A.2.,

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  the evidence presented does not confirm 2 years or more of active-duty service, or

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  active duty for training (ACDUTRA) or inactive duty training is shown.

Provide the VARO with the full name of the individual claiming veteran status, the date of birth, the service number (if issued), and the SSN. See RS 01701.005 for development of evidence of military service from other sources.

Request the individual's service identity card, which should be a white service identity Common Access (CAC) card with the Affiliation marked as “Uniformed Services” and the Agency/Department marked with the armed forces branch of service.

Determine active duty status based on the individual's service identity card. Look at the expiration date on the CAC card. If it is more than 1 year from the date of your review, assume the individual is on active duty other than for training. If the date is one year or less from the date of your review, obtain a copy of the individual's current military orders to verify active duty other than for training.

Contact the personnel office at the military installation to which the individual is assigned to verify status if the current military orders are needed but unavailable, the authenticity of the card is questionable, or the service member refuses to provide evidence to establish eligibility for a spouse or child. If the military installation is unable to verify the service member's active duty status, verify by a written request (which may be transmitted by facsimile) to:

Verify the spousal relationship under the rules in SI 00501.150C.3. When the veteran or former active duty member is deceased, follow relationship development instructions in SI 00502.145.

When the veteran/military member is deceased, see SI 00502.140A.6. If unable to confirm surviving spouse status based on evidence submitted, contact the VARO. If they allege remarrying, do not determine eligible alien status based on this exception.