Verifying 40 Quarters

If a noncitizen (who is an LPR) does not appear to meet eligibility for SNAP, you must explore eligibility based on qualifying work quarters. Refer to Legal Permanent Resident - SNAP.

A noncitizen client may claim work quarters if they:

  • Have worked a minimum of 40 qualifying quarters under Title II of the Social Security Act; or
  • Can be credited with a total of 40 qualifying quarters under Title II of the Social Security Act as worked by a combination of the:
    • noncitizen;
    • parent(s) of the noncitizen while the noncitizen was under age 18 including quarters worked before the noncitizen was born or adopted even if the noncitizen was not present in the US when the quarters were earned; and/or
    • spouse of the noncitizen during their marriage if the noncitizen remains married to the spouse or is widowed.

Qualifying Quarters

Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) that have 40 quarters of work experience may be eligible for SNAP benefits. A quarter of coverage is any calendar quarter as follows:

  • January 1 to March 31
  • April 1 to June 30
  • July 1 to September 30
  • October 1 to December 31

The individual must have a specified amount of wages or self-employment income in each quarter to count that quarter.

Amount of Earnings Needed Per Quarter to Earn One Quarter of Coverage

Year Quantity of Earnings Year Quantity of Earnings Year Quantity of Earnings
1978 $250 1995 $630 2012 $1130
1979 $260 1996 $640 2013 $1160
1980 $290 1997 $670 2014 $1200
1981 $310 1998 $700 2015 $1220
1982 $340 1999 $740 2016 $1260
1983 $370 2000 $780 2017 $1300
1984 $390 2001 $830 2018 $1320
1985 $410 2002 $870 2019 $1360
1986 $440 2003 $890 2020 $1410
1987 $460 2004 $900 2021 $1470
1988 $470 2005 $920 2022 $1510
1989 $500 2006 $970 2023 $1640
1990 $520 2007 $1000 2024 $1730
1991 $540 2008 $1050 2025 $1810
1992 $570 2009 $1090 2026 $1890
1993 $590 2010 $1120    
1994 $620 2011 $1120    

Federal Means - Tested Program

Individuals cannot claim any quarter after 12/31/96 if the LPR received any assistance from a federally means tested program during the quarter.

The following are federal means-tested programs for purposes of determining qualifying quarters:

  • Food Stamps
  • SNAP
  • Transitional Assistance to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC)
  • SSI
  • Medicaid
  • State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
  • Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) in Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Marianas (CNMI)

Initial Eligibility

If an LPR claims to have 40 qualifying work quarters, they must be approved for SNAP benefits if they submit a signed self-declaration, which can be telephonic, and are otherwise eligible. 

If a client reports that they have 40 qualifying work quarters, and there is no self-declaration in the ECF, you must inform the client that they can provide a telephonic signature. If the client declines to provide a telephonic signature you must issue a User Entered VC-1 with a Verification Element of Additional Verification, enter Declaration of 40 Qualifying Work Quarters under Additional Verification Details, select Optional for FS under Program(s), and add the following text in Document(s) of evidence:

“You have reported that you are a Legal Permanent Resident with 40 qualifying work quarters. Please, submit a signed statement declaring your eligibility as a Legal Permanent Resident with 40 qualifying work quarters.”

Once approved, the LPR has six months to verify that they have 40 qualifying work quarters. You must create a Follow-Up Action to check for this verification 6-months after the date of application.

If you do not receive the verification or determine later that the LPR does not actually have 40 qualifying work quarters, you must remove them from the household as an ineligible non-citizen. 

Presumptive Eligibility

LPRs may participate in the SNAP program for up to six months while the Department verifies the LPR’s qualifying work quarters through the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Quarters of Coverage History System (QCHS).

There is no recoupment of benefits:

  • if the claimed 40 quarters are not subsequently verified; or
  • if the verified working quarters equal less than 40.

Verification of Work Quarters

An LPR’s qualifying work quarters can be verified with one of the following:

  • Electronic records from the SSA (see Using QCHS to Electronically Verify Work Quarters below);
  • A current employer prepared wage statement of earnings;
  • Statements of earnings signed by the custodian of the employer’s records;
  • W-2 and W-2c, or an IRS copy of the individual’s tax return;
  • A timely filed tax return, if the LPR is or had been self-employed;

    • Note: You must be sure that the proof of filing, canceled check, money order or copy of IRS schedule C form bearing the IRS time stamp indicates the return was filed within 3 years 3 months and 15 days after the end of the year in which the self-employment income was derived.

  • Other evidence of self-employment that allows you to determine that a business did exist and that a profit was earned. Comparison of bills, payment vouchers, and receipts are examples of evidence you might use to make a determination;
  • Records of employment agencies in Massachusetts or any other state;
  • Any other evidence of earnings including pay envelopes, pay vouchers, union records, or an individual’s copy of a federal or state tax return; and
  • Documentation of employment and earnings earned after the effective date from a foreign country listed below:

Foreign Country / Effective Date

Country Effective Date Country Effective Date
Austria November 1, 1991 Japan October 1, 2005
Australia October 1, 2002 Luxembourg November 1, 1993
Brazil October 1, 2018 Netherlands November 1, 1990
Belgium July 1, 1984 Norway July 1,1984
Canada August 1, 1984 Poland March 1, 2009
Chile December 1, 2001 Portugal August 1,1989
Czech Republic January 1, 2009 Slovak Republic May 1, 2014
Denmark October 1, 2008 Slovenia February 1, 2019
Finland November 1, 1992 So. Korea April 1, 2001
France July 1, 1988 Spain April 1, 1988
Germany December 1, 1979 Sweden January 1, 1987
Greece September 1, 1994 Switzerland November 1, 1980
Iceland March 1, 2019 United Kingdom January 1,1985
Ireland September 1, 1993 Uruguay November 1, 2018
Italy November 1, 1978    

When you receive documentation of quarters from a foreign country, you must use the exchange rate pertinent to the period for which they are claiming work quarters. You must use the correct conversion rate, applicable for the specific period, to US dollars to determine if they qualify for work quarters claimed.

The following two websites for currency conversion used by SSA will be used by DTA for currency conversion purposes:

Using QCHS to Electronically Verify Work Quarters

To verify a noncitizen’s qualifying work quarters, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has developed the Quarters of Coverage History System (QCHS). QCHS records contain information on work covered by the Social Security Act and all federal, state, or local wages since 1983.

It is important to remember that QCHS records will NOT include:

  • current or last year’s earnings;
  • self-employment in which the employer report or tax return has not been processed by SSA;
  • earnings that were obtained in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and/or United Kingdom; and

    • Note: If a client reports that any of the above income sources (that SSA cannot verify), applies to them, you must issue a User Entered VC-1 with a Verification Element of Additional Verification. Enter Verification of 40 Qualifying Work Quarters under Additional Verification Details. Select Optional for FS under Program(s), and add the following text in Document(s) of evidence:
      “You have reported that you have qualifying work quarters which cannot be verified through the Social Security Administration. Please, provide verification of all earnings for the reported quarters.”

  • qualifying quarters of a non-client spouse or parent. If the client states that they can claim work quarters from a spouse or a parent who worked before the noncitizen turned 18, you must:
  • Request the information required to complete the Request for Quarters of Coverage History Based on Relationship SSA-513 form.
  • Ask the client for the full name, date of birth, SSN, relationship to the individual for whom quarters are being claimed, and all years and quarters the client is claiming eligibility (SSA will only provide information for the years and quarters you indicate on the SSA-513 form). You must send:
    • the original SSA-513 form to SSA;
    • a copy of the SSA-513 form to the client; and
    • a third copy of the SSA-513 form to the client’s Electronic Case Folder (ECF).

      • Important: You cannot under any circumstances request the spouse or parent’s work quarters via QCHS. This action would be considered a breach of privacy.

Sending an Inquiry to QCHS

To send an inquiry, follow these steps:

  1. open the Legal Permanent Resident page View/HideView/Hide

    LPR Page

  2. select Yes for 40 Quarters claimed and Pending for Verified
  3. click Finish View/HideView/Hide
    1. Completing these three steps will automatically send an inquiry to QCHS for work quarter information, which will be returned in approximately six months.

      1. Important: If an LPR claims to have 40 qualifying work quarters, you must complete the Legal Permanent Resident page and ensure the fields are completed per these instructions. Otherwise, the inquiry won’t be sent to QCHS.

    LPR 40 Quarters

Once again, an LPR claiming to have 40 qualifying work quarters may receive SNAP benefits for six months before verification is required.

  1. create a follow-up Action to retrieve the QCHS results in six months. For more information, see Creating Follow-Up Actions.

Retrieving 40 Quarter Information

  1. select RAPID in the BEACON Home Screen under Useful Links View/HideView/Hide 

    1. Important: Your username for RAPID is your active directory username (i.e., jsmith) and the password is your active directory password.

    Useful Links

  2. on the Rapid Home page, click BEACON Reports View/HideView/Hide

    RAPID Home Page

  3. click the Benefit Issuance folder View/HideView/Hide

    Benefit Issuance Folder

  4. from the Benefit Issuance folder click on the SVES folder View/HideView/Hide

    SVES Folder

  5. click on SVES 40 QTR_FOOD STAMP ELIGIBILITY View/HideView/Hide

    Food Stamp Eligibility

  6. select the SVES 40 QUARTER REPORT_FOOD STAMP ELIGIBILITY workbook
    1. This will populate a list of SVES 40 Quarter Reports View/HideView/Hide

      SVES 40 Quarter Report

  7. select the Report for the client in question View/HideView/Hide

    SVES 40 Quarter Report 2

If you need to determine when the request was first made, then:

  1. open the History workflow in the Legal Permanent Resident page View/HideView/Hide

    History workflow

  2. check the date when 40 Quarters claimed was first marked Yes and Verified was first marked Pending View/HideView/Hide

    40 Quarters History

Understanding the QCHS Report

The report from QCHS will include Department and SSA information. The Department information will contain the regular case information, such as the case name and APID. The SSA information section will list four quarters (QRTR) for each year (YR), from the past 60 years.View/HideView/Hide

QCHS Report

The LPR’s total qualifying work quarters is denoted by “Total C.”

The codes are each defined as follows:

  • C = Covered Earnings. “C” will appear in each quarter with sufficient wages from private sector, government, agricultural, military, railroad, and self-employment to be considered a qualifying quarter.
  • N = Non-covered earnings. “N” will appear in each quarter with no earnings or insufficient earnings to be considered a qualifying quarter.
  • Q = Questioned. “Q” will appear in each quarter for which SSA cannot determine whether there is a qualifying quarter.
  • Total C = total number of covered earnings. This total is the number of qualifying quarters for the noncitizen.

Following Up if the Verification is Received

If you receive verification that the client has 40 qualifying work quarters, then:

  1. open the Legal Permanent Resident page View/HideView/Hide

    LPR Page

  2. change the Verified field from Pending to Yes
  3. click Finish View/HideView/Hide

    Verified Field

  4. wrap up the case

Following Up if Work Quarters < 40 or the Verification is not Received

If you determine that the client does not have 40 qualifying work quarters, or you do not receive verification of 40 qualifying work quarters after six months:

  1. open the Legal Permanent Resident page View/HideView/Hide

    LPR Page

  2. change the Verified field from Pending to No View/HideView/Hide

  3. click Finish
  4. open the AU Composition Results page View/HideView/Hide

    AU Composition Results Page

  5. open the AU Member tab
  6. select the appropriate household member
  7. select Program Rules for Reason category
  8. select Ineligible Noncitizen for Reason
  9. click Finish
  10. wrap up the case View/HideView/Hide

This will likely result in a decrease in SNAP benefits for the household.

Related Topics

Entering Citizenship Data

Entering INS Designation

Entering Legal Permanent Resident Data

Entering Noncitizen Data

Entering Sponsor Deeming Data

40 Quarters Policy and Procedures

Last Update: October 28, 2025