Legal Question in Immigration Law in Texas

You will financially be obligated to your parents, under the Affidavit of Support, until they either naturalize or die, since they won't have 40 quarters paid into social security.

However, you should not be held responsible if they apply for any of the following benefits:

� Medicaid and other health insurance and health services (including public assistance for immunizations and for testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases; use of health clinics, short-term rehabilitation services, and emergency medical services) other than support for long-term institutional care

� Nutrition programs, including Food Stamps, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program, and other supplementary and emergency food assistance programs

� Housing benefits

� Energy assistance, such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

� Emergency disaster relief

� In-kind, community-based programs, services, or assistance (such as soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention, and short-term shelter)

For more information, go to www.uscis.gov and search "public charge" or "affidavit of support".