Immigration Status

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Immigration status and the Marketplace

You need an eligible immigration status before you can purchase health insurance through the Marketplace. Without the proper immigration status you can still purchase insurance but not at the Marketplace and without any financial help.

► Most "qualified" or "lawfully present" immigrants can buy Marketplace coverage without a waiting period and may be eligible for subsidies. But a five-year waiting period applies to Medicaid and CHIP.

Statuses that qualify to use the Marketplace

Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR/Green Card holder)

Asylee

Refugee

Cuban/Haitian Entrant

Paroled into the U.S. for at least one year

Conditional Entrant Granted before 1980

Battered Spouse, Child and Parent

Victim of Trafficking and his/her Spouse, Child, Sibling or Parent

Granted Withholding of Deportation or Withholding of Removal, under the immigration laws or under the Convention against Torture (CAT)

Individual with Non-immigrant Status, includes worker visas (such as H1, H-2A, H-2B), student visas, U-visa, T-visa, and other visas, and citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau

Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

Deferred Enforced Departure (DED)

• Deferred Action Status - Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was not an eligible immigration status for applying for health insurance. However, the Biden administration changed the HHS rule and from Nov. 1, 2024 it allowed DACA individuals to apply for ACA health plans.

► DACA update - the Trump administration changed the HHS rule back so that DACA individuals will no longer be eligible to enroll in ACA health plans. This new HHS rule took effect on August 25, 2025.

Lawful Temporary Resident

Administrative order staying removal issued by the Department of Homeland Security

Member of a federally-recognized Indian tribe or American Indian Born in Canada

Resident of American Samoa

Additional statuses that qualify to use the Marketplace

Temporary Protected Status with Employment Authorization

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status

Victim of Trafficking Visa

Adjustment to LPR Status

Asylum*

Withholding of Deportation, or Withholding of Removal, under the immigration laws or under the Convention against Torture (CAT) (see note below)

► *Applicants for asylum are eligible for Marketplace coverage only if they’ve been granted employment authorization or are under the age of 14 and have had an application pending for at least 180 days.