{"id":1028815,"date":"2026-08-28T04:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T04:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1028815\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T04:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T04:40:11","slug":"green-card-delays-are-leaving-some-san-antonio-refugee-families-without-snap-benefits-advocates-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1028815\/","title":{"rendered":"Green card delays are leaving some San Antonio refugee families without SNAP benefits, advocates say"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 For some refugee families in San Antonio, waiting for a green card can mean more than waiting for immigration paperwork to be processed.<\/p>\n

The Center for Refugee Services says some families are also struggling to access food assistance while they wait for their permanent residency applications to move forward.<\/p>\n

Mary Field, executive director of operations at the Center for Refugee Services, said the organization is seeing the effects among families with pending green card applications.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are families who should have received a green card,\u201d Field said. \u201cThey are eligible to receive the green card, and because they don\u2019t have it, they\u2019re ineligible for the SNAP benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, helps eligible low-income households pay for food. Federal changes enacted in 2025 narrowed SNAP eligibility for certain noncitizens.<\/p>\n

For some refugee families, the changes have created another hurdle while their immigration cases remain pending.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of families affected in San Antonio<\/p>\n

The Center for Refugee Services was established in 2010 to help legally resettled refugees become independent, self-sufficient and integrated into the San Antonio community.<\/p>\n

Field said CRS currently has about 6,300 active clients. The organization sees between 30 and 50 clients on a typical day.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit does not directly assist clients with green card applications, but Field said it is seeing the downstream effects of pending applications.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a couple hundred families in San Antonio who are affected by this in our client population,\u201d Field said.<\/p>\n

Field said many of the affected families are low-income households with several children. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a low-income family with a large number of children,\u201d Field said. \u201cUsually, it\u2019s at least four kids. So it\u2019s really impacting children, is what I want people to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding other ways to put food on the table<\/p>\n

Without SNAP or other government assistance, some families have to find other ways to meet basic needs.<\/p>\n

Field said CRS helps families through its own food pantry and referrals to other food pantries and community organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe assist with our food pantry,\u201d Field said. \u201cWe can refer out to other food pantries in the area and support from other agencies that might be available.\u201d<\/p>\n

CRS also helps refugees navigate other challenges that come with building a new life in the United States.<\/p>\n

Field said language barriers can make it difficult for adults to find work and establish themselves. Refugees with professional careers in their home countries may also face education and occupational licensing requirements that prevent them from immediately working in the same field.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are a dentist in one country, it\u2019s very hard to practice dentistry here in the U.S. because we have occupational licensing requirements, educational requirements, particularly in the medical field,\u201d Field said.<\/p>\n

The organization also helps clients navigate the U.S. healthcare system and connects them with other agencies that can provide assistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a lot to make sure that we help people access healthcare, that we remove as many barriers as possible,\u201d Field said.<\/p>\n

Green card applications can take time<\/p>\n

Green card applications for refugees are processed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.<\/p>\n

USCIS\u2019 historical processing data show that processing times for refugee-based green card applications can vary. The agency reported a median processing time of 7.7 months for refugee-based Form I-485 applications during fiscal year 2026 through May 31, 2026. Individual cases can take longer.<\/p>\n

Field said some CRS clients have waited years to receive their green cards.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had people waiting years to receive their green cards,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Center for Refugee Services says it has seen the effects of federal policy changes among its clients since those changes were implemented.<\/p>\n

Field said CRS has also seen challenges for refugees who are separated from family members overseas because of changes to federal immigration policies.<\/p>\n

A growing refugee population in San Antonio<\/p>\n

CRS has seen a significant increase in the number of people it serves in recent years. Before 2021, Field said the organization served about 900 people a year. After the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August 2021, the organization began serving thousands of Afghan refugees.<\/p>\n

Today, CRS has about 6,300 active clients, Field said. The organization was able to expand its work with help from the San Antonio community, including faith groups, students and other organizations.<\/p>\n

Field said community members continue to contact CRS looking for ways to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get emails, calls every week from student groups, faith groups, even just friends, like two friends who know each other from college who want to help out,\u201d Field said.<\/p>\n

Refugee families building futures<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges facing refugee families, Field said she continues to see young people succeed in school and plan careers in fields such as nursing, dentistry, medicine and teaching.<\/p>\n

She described families living in three-bedroom apartments with several children while parents work to make ends meet. Still, she said some students have excelled academically.<\/p>\n

Field said she knows of young people who have earned the highest grades in their math classes. She added that many young people served by CRS want to give back to the communities that helped them. She said former clients sometimes return to CRS to volunteer and help others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have former clients who are teachers in schools in San Antonio right now,\u201d Field said.<\/p>\n

For Field, that is part of the larger story of refugee resettlement in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur city, we have welcomed thousands of legally resettled refugees over the years,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they, and their children especially, have become San Antonians. That\u2019s who they are now.\u201d<\/p>\n

CRS continues working with refugee families as they navigate food assistance, healthcare, education, employment and the immigration process while building their lives in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

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