As stated in VB 00205.200B., an individual cannot be qualified for SVB for any month that begins AFTER the month in which SSA is notified by the Attorney General that the veteran has been removed from the United States pursuant to section 237(a) or 212(a)(6)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and BEFORE the month in which the individual is lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. The notice is issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

If the DHS notice is received by SSA before the qualification determination is made, the removal or deportation results in denial of the SVB claim.

If the DHS notice is received after the date of the notice of qualification, the removal or deportation results in the suspension of SVB payments. Payments are suspended effective with the month after the month in which the notice was received by SSA.

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  the month after the month in which SSA received the notice; or

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  the date of entitlement to SVB.

The determination of qualification cannot be reversed since it was correct when it was made, but the individual cannot receive any payments because of his/her removal from the United States.

Each month, INS sends SSA lists of individuals who were removed from the United States during the previous month. If the DHS records contain the individual's Social Security Number (SSN), this is included on the listing.

The removal information is matched against SSA's files to determine if an SSN can be located for the individual, or to verify that the SSN provided by DHS is correct. If the match verifies the SSN or produces a possible SSN for the individual, the removal information is entered onto the Disability, Railroad, Alien and Military Service (DRAMS) file using that SSN.

The DRAMS output will show the:

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  name and alias, if any;

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  date of birth;

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  sex;

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  country of birth;

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  country to which removed;

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  date of removal;

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  removal final charge code;

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  INS alien registration number; and

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  date the DHS notice was received by SSA.

If a claimant/beneficiary indicates that he/she has been deported or if a report of a removal is received from some other source, obtain a DRAMS file printout to verify the removal and to determine if the removal requires denial or suspension.

See VB 00205.050C.2. for information on accessing the DRAMS file.

If disagreements with the identifying information on the DRAMS file cast doubt on whether the removal report applies to the claimant/beneficiary:

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  advise the claimant/beneficiary of the removal report;

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  obtain a statement of explanation when he/she disagrees with the deportation report; and

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  obtain available evidence to support the claim that he/she is not the person on the removal report.

If the removal record does not belong to the claimant/beneficiary, have the DRAMS record deleted as explained in RS 02635.005B.4.

If it appears that the DHS report was associated with the correct record but the claimant/beneficiary protests and states the record does not apply to him/her:

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  Obtain a statement of explanation and any evidence available (preferably a statement from DHS) to support his/her claim (e.g., if the individual may allege that his/her identity papers were stolen).

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  Telephone OIP at (410) 965-3566 if the claimant/beneficiary is unable to resolve the identity problem.

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  Delete the entry from the DRAMS record, as explained in RS 02635.005B.4., if it is determined that the record does not apply to the claimant/beneficiary.