Citizenship and FEMA Eligibility

FEMA is committed to helping all eligible Florida households recover from Hurricanes Milton, Helene and Debby, 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. 1, 2024 for Hurricane Debby, Sept. 23, 2024 for Hurricane Helene and Oct. 5, 2024 for Hurricane Milton.

How to Apply

Homeowners and renters are encouraged to apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov or by using the FEMA App. You may also apply by phone at 800-621-3362. If you choose to apply by phone, please understand wait times may be longer because of increased volume for multiple recent disasters.Lines are open every day and help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service. For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance go to FEMA Accessible: Applying for Individual Assistance - YouTube.

If you applied to FEMA after Hurricanes Debby and Helene and have additional damage from Hurricane Milton, you will need to apply separately for Milton and provide the dates of your most recent damage.

For the latest information about Hurricane Milton recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4834. For Hurricane Helene, visit fema.gov/disaster/4828. For Hurricane Debby, visit fema.gov/disaster/4806. Follow FEMA on X at x.com/femaregion4 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fema.