Immigration Status

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Immigration Status

Immigrants
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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. Starting January 1, 2027 a small limited group of immigrant may be eligible for subsidies.

For Medicaid and CHIP, a five-year waiting period usually applies.

Statuses that qualify to use the Marketplace

Starting January 1, 2027

Under federal policy changes established by H.R. 1, the group of lawfully present immigrants who can purchase an ACA Marketplace plan depends heavily on whether they are paying full price or seeking financial assistance.

Who Can Purchase a Plan?

All lawfully present immigrants retain the right to buy an insurance plan through HealthCare.gov or state-based exchanges for 2027, provided they pay 100% of the premium out-of-pocket.

This comprehensive list of eligible statuses includes:

  • Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs or Green Card holders)
  • Refugees and Asylees
  • Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders
  • Valid non-immigrant visa holders (e.g., H-1B, H-2A, student visas, F-1, J-1)
  • Humanitarian parolees (paroled into the U.S. for at least one year)
  • Individuals with valid Employment Authorization Documents (EAD/work permits)
  • Victims of trafficking (T-visas) and crime (U-visas)

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.

Statuses with employment authorization that qualify for the Marketplace

Any individual who has been granted an Employment Authorization Document (EAD/Form I-766) or has temporary work authorization through a valid non-immigrant visa is considered "lawfully present" and qualifies to purchase health insurance through the ACA Marketplace.

Only a very narrow subset of lawfully present immigrants can qualify for subsidies:

  • Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs / Green Card holders)
  • Cuban and Haitian entrants
  • Compact of Free Association (COFA) migrants (citizens of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau)

Important— Information about immigration status may be used to determine eligibility for coverage and also for immigration enforcement. A federal judge ruled that ICE can access basic data from Medicaid databases to aid in deportation -- including names, home addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth.

Marketplace data is still restricted by statutory text of the Affordable Care Act and the Marketplace Privacy Act. The administration cannot not bypass this restriction without a direct change in the law by Congress. At least, that is the way it is supposed to work.

Documents needed for a Marketplace application.

 

Source: HealthCare.gov, CMS, HHS