Citizenship and FEMA Eligibility for Georgians

FEMA is committed to helping all eligible Georgia households recover from Tropical Storm Debby and Hurricane Helene, including U.S. citizens, non-U.S. citizen nationals or qualified non-citizens.

You or a member of your household must be U.S. citizen, non-U.S. citizen national or qualified non-citizen to apply for FEMA assistance. Families with diverse immigration status, including adults who are undocumented, can apply as long as at least one family member is a citizen, non-U.S. citizen national or qualified non-citizen. For instance, if you are undocumented and have a child under 18 who is a U.S. citizen and lived in the household during the time of the disaster, you can apply for FEMA assistance.

A qualified non-citizen includes:

• Legal permanent resident ("green card" holder)
• An asylee, refugee, or a non-citizen whose deportation is being withheld
• Non-citizen paroled into the U.S. for at least one year
• Cuban/Haitian entrant
• Certain non-citizens subjected to extreme cruelty who have been a victim of a severe form of human trafficking, including people with a "T" or "U" visa.

For adults who apply on behalf of a minor child, the child must have a Social Security number and live with the parent or guardian who applies. The parent or guardian will not have to provide any information on their own immigration status or sign any documents regarding their status.

The minor child must be under age 18 as of the first day of the disaster incident period, which is Aug. 4, 2024 for Tropical Storm Debby and Sept. 24, 2024 for Hurricane Helene.

How to Apply

Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov, use the FEMA App, visit a Disaster Recovery Center or call 800-621-3362 any day. Multilingual operators are available. If you use a relay service, captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.