Unemployment on Green Card
 

We recently relocated to the US from the UK. I am the USC, husband the UKC who is now a full time employed, permanent resident. We both are still employed, but are obviously worried about our jobs in the short term given everything that's going on. If he were to get laid off, is he legally able to apply for unemployment? I know green card holders are allowed to, but unsure of what it means given that we just moved 2 months ago. I'm not sure if he's been employed long enough to even qualify for unemployment, just trying to understand what our options are if the worst happens.

Re: Unemployment on Green Card
 

Unemployment Insurance is handled at the State level.

Re: Unemployment on Green Card
 

Yes, but when we applied for his green card I thought our proof of income was to help prove we would not rely on state funds. Trying to understand how that applies when permanent residents are legally allowed to have access to unemployment. So not really a question about what the state allows, but if there is an issue applying for unemployment as a recent green card holder.

Re: Unemployment on Green Card
 

Immigration is Federal and the I 864 relates to Federal issues, Unemployment is insurance anyway

Re: Unemployment on Green Card
 

Unemployment is funded by a payroll tax paid by your employer. The more you pay in, the more you get out, and if you pay under a certain amount in you won't be able to get anything out. You'll need to be fairly high income to get benefits after only 2 months of paying in. Even if he has paid enough, the benefits he'll get will be limited compared to someone who's worked for longer. He can definitely apply though, and it's certainly worth checking to see if he can get anything. It's generally based on the last few quarters you worked, and since he started 2 months ago all his earnings will be in Q1 2020. Starting in April, the beginning of Q2, he'll be able to apply for unemployment based on his Q1 earnings. See if your state has a benefit calculator online you can try out.

Note, all of what I said above is how it works under normal circumstances. These are not normal circumstances. If Congress ever ends up agreeing on a Coronavirus relief bill, expanded unemployment benefits will almost definitely be part of that, and eligibility rules may change. So watch this space.

Re: Unemployment on Green Card
 

In some states, if you apply now, only pay that you received before the end of September of last year counts, and if you apply in April, only pay that you received before the end of December of last year will count.