BASIC (01-02)

A. Policy

An individual cannot qualify for SVB for any month that begins AFTER the month SSA receives notice from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that an SVB beneficiary has been deported or removed from the United States under certain provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. (See VB 00205.205A for a general discussion of those provisions.)

The date that SSA receives DHS notification of a deportation or removal will be the determining factor in how it affects SVB entitlement and/or payments. If SSA receives DHS notification after the date of the SVB notice of qualification, benefits will be suspended (N13) effective with the month after the month in which SSA receives the DHS notification. See VB 00205.205A in situations when SSA receives DHS notification before the date of SVB notice of qualification.

IMPORTANT: The use of N13 in SVB cases will indicate nonpayment due to deportation or removal and NOT the loss of U.S. residency, citizenship or alien status as in SSI cases.

B. Process—Notification of Removal (Deportation) by Central Office

Each month, DHS sends SSA lists of individuals who were deported or removed from the United States during the previous month. The identifying data supplied by DHS is matched against the SSA numident and alphadent files to determine if the deportee has an SSN or to verify that the SSN provided by DHS is correct. If an SSN is found (or the SSN from DHS is verified), SSA enters the DHS removal data onto the Disability, Railroad, Alien and Military Service (DRAMS) file. The DRAMS data is then matched against the SSR. If DRAMS deportation/removal data applies to an SVB beneficiary currently receiving benefits, or to one whose benefits have been suspended or stopped, notice of the removal will be sent by Central Office to the CPS having SVB jurisdiction.

Currently, data matches involving DHS reports of deportation or removal are handled manually by SSA and are not subject to the provisions of the Computer Matching Privacy Protection Act of 1988 as explained in VB 01501.013. Nevertheless, SSA will attempt to independently verify/confirm the DHS report of deportation or removal from the United States.