ORR published a Federal Register Notice, links to an external website correction (91 FR 62534) on October 01, 2026, announcing an increase in the eligibility period for Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and Refugee Medical Assistance (RMA)2.
Effective on the date of publication of the Federal Register Notice, ORR will provide up to 12 months3 of RCA and RMA to eligible individuals. This change applies to people whose eligibility date for ORR benefits is on or after January 1, 2026. States and Replacement Designees (RDs) should begin implementing the expanded RCA and RMA eligibility period as soon as possible and will have up to 30 days to complete any necessary system or operational changes.
Sam Busa