SAIPAN — Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster assistance is available to U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals and qualified aliens affected by Typhoon Sinlaku following the presidentially-declared disaster, according to a joint notice from FEMA and the CNMI Joint Information Center.
Assistance may cover temporary housing, repairs to owner-occupied homes, personal property loss, medical expenses, funeral expenses and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance.
Qualified aliens who may be eligible include legal permanent residents, refugees, individuals granted asylum, aliens whose deportation status is being withheld, Cuban and Haitian entrants, certain battered aliens or their spouses or children, certain victims of severe human trafficking, and legal residents under the Compacts of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau.
Households that do not meet citizenship or immigration requirements may still apply for certain federal assistance if a parent or legal guardian of a U.S. citizen minor child applies on behalf of that child, provided the parent lives in the same household and the child was under 18 at the time of the disaster.
FEMA also noted that life-sustaining resources including shelter, food, water, crisis counseling, disaster case management, disaster supplemental nutrition assistance and disaster legal services are available to survivors regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
Individuals unsure of their immigration status eligibility are encouraged to consult an immigration expert before applying.