Once you file your signed Food Stamp application form, DHS will usually make you an appointment for an interview.  This will normally  take place within a few days to a couple of weeks later.  You will be interviewed at the Food Stamp office corresponding to the Zip Code area where you are living. See the El Paso Food Stamp Office List page for the address of the office where you will be interviewed.  

How to breeze thru the interview--

Scroll down, or click on:

• What should I bring for the interview?
  
• What NOT to bring.
  
• Know your rights.
  
• Special situations / emergencies.

  • If it looks like you qualify for emergency food stamp benefits, you can be interviewed on the same day you turn in your application.  Emergency applications are accepted at any Food Stamp office.

  All you need to provide is your I.D.
  
  

  • If you would prefer your interview at an office close to where you go to school, this can sometimes be arranged by speaking with a supervisor at the office corresponding to your residence or school Zip Code.

  
  
  

  • If  you are disabled and/or homebound, the Food Stamp program can sometimes arrange for an interviewer to come to your house.

  
  
  

  • If you live more than 30 miles from the nearest Food Stamp office, are ill the day of the interview, cannot leave another household member, or if you cannot get to the Food Stamp office due to weather, you can have a telephone interview. Contact your Food Stamp office to arrange this.

  
  
  

  • If your schedule conflicts with their office hours, or if you have no transportation to get to their offices, the Food Stamp program can authorize a telephone interview.  Call your Food Stamp office and explain the circumstances.

  
  
  

  • There are traveling Food Stamp interviewers who go to Fort Bliss, to various El Paso area hospitals, to Social Security offices, clinics, and to outlying colonias.  If you think this might be helpful for you, call any Food Stamp office.

  
  
  

  • If you are at the Battered Women's Shelter, a Food Stamp interview can be conducted there.  Ask your counselor for details.

  
  
  
  What should I bring with me to the interview?
  IMPORTANT!!! READ THIS PART CAREFULLY!!!  REVIEW IT AGAIN THE DAY OF YOUR INTERVIEW!  PRINT IT OUT IF YOU THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL.

  Have your "ducks in line" and you might get benefits faster.

  Interviewers are generally instructed not to take your word on anything.  So, it's helpful for you to bring the following items.

   Valid drivers license, DPS or school ID,  or other official picture ID.  (They can take a birth certificate or other positive ID document only if you don't have any picture ID at all.)

  
  

  if you or anyone for whom you are applying does not have U.S. citizenship, a "Green Card" (Proof of permanent legal residency) or other immigration documents, . (U.S. citizens are NOT required to prove U.S. citizenship for the Food Stamp program!) 

  See the Food Stamp FAQ page for details on what categories of non-citizens qualify for benefits.
  
  

  A valid Social Security number, or proof you have applied for one, for each person for whom you want benefits (even for newborn babies!).
  

  Hint: You don't have to bring your actual social security card if you don't have yours handy. They can check your social security number by computer, though it takes several days for them to do so.

  
  

  Proof of all income for the last sixty days, such as all pay stubs or a signed statement from your employer. (Make sure the boss or payroll clerk puts down your gross earnings payday by payday, not a total!)  Also proof of any current bank interest (even if it's only pennies), all family contributions, military allotments, cash gifts, support and money-allowances (even if not taxable), and all current student financial aid and work-study (even though it's not counted!).  If you're self-employed, ask your interviewer about special requirements, which can be extremely complicated.

  
  

  Your most recent bank or credit union statement(s), and other proofs of countable assets, money, savings, checking, investments, trust funds, Certificates of Deposit, Savings Bonds, and other resources, if any.  This applies any time your own name is on any account.  

  
  

  Proof of where you live, and of monthly shelter expenses and utilities you owe or are paying,  such as your mortgage book, most recent rent receipt or utility bills (if you pay these yourself), your current lease, or a note from the people with whom you live, saying  that you are staying with them and how much you pay to stay there.  Don't bring your parents' receipts.

  
  
  

  Hint: If you are staying with family, it is very wise to bring some additional positive proof (in addition to a note from your relatives!) of where you are living. Something from your school, or some correspondence or bill with your own name and your current address on it may help. You're grown up now, and relying on "a note from mommy" won't cut it with the Food Stamp interviewer!  This applies even if you're just staying there temporarily, or only for a few days. In the latter case, you might even want to bring a signed note from a non-related friend, to prove where you live.  Or, as a last resort, you can ask for someone from DHS to visit, to prove where you are staying, although this can seriously delay your application.

  
  

  Proof of current school attendance, such as a schedule, receipt, or financial aid papers.
  

  General Hints: Most of this stuff is required. and if you don't bring it to your interview, they might sit on your application until you do.  They can be VERY picky, and the fact that you don't have any food and you need help right away might not seem to be very important to them. They should warn you that they have 30 days to complete your application, and unless you qualify as an emergency case, they won't hurry unless YOU hurry them along.  So, if they want your last four check stubs, don't bring three from last summer, just 'cause that's all you can find.  Get a letter from your boss.  
  

  
  

  Don't rely on the interviewer to call around by phone to get all your information--It's YOUR responsibility to provide proofs, though the interviewer may sometimes help.  Most responsible employers don't give out employee's wage  information by phone anyhow. Yes, you may very well end up having to come back to bring the things you need, but it's worth the time and effort if you qualify. 
  

  
  

  If someone in your household isn't a US Citizen, and doesn't have a "Green Card," just tell the interviewer, and you will usually not have to provide any documents for them. The Food Stamp program is NOT allowed to report undocumented people to Immigration, and anything you put on the application or say in the interview is strictly confidential.  (Of course, you don't get benefits for undocumented or ineligible individuals, though you may qualify for others in the household.)
  

  
  

  Remember, they aren't allowed to demand the impossible from you (e.g. if you lost a pay-stub, they can't keep on asking for it), but they can demand something else instead (like a signed letter from your boss, to prove your gross pay).  If you have a problem with an interviewer demanding a proof that you can't get or don't need to provide, ask to speak to a supervisor.  If they have some proof (like a social security number or Green Card) already on file, even in another office, they aren't supposed to demand it from you again, unless something changes. But, they can legally keep demanding new, updated proofs of earnings, bank balances, and of your residence, each and every time you apply, even if these things haven't changed.
  

  
  

  They can check on their computers to verify your Social Security or SSI benefits, Unemployment, or Texas welfare.  So, you don't have to bring proof of these benefits. They can't verify VA benefits, so bring proof if you get any veteran's benefits (a letter from the VA or something similar.)

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  What Not to Bring:
  

  Don't bring your income tax forms, unless you're self-employed, have your own business, or do "side jobs" on your own.  Unless you work for yourself, income tax papers are almost NEVER needed, for you, for  your parent(s), or for anyone else.
  

  Don't bring proof of parental income.  Also, don't bother to bring any proofs from anyone else for whom you're not applying!  (It doesn't matter whether your parents are claiming you as a tax dependent or not.)  Don't bring proof of where your parents live, either.
  

  Don't bother to bring car papers, auto, health or life insurance policies, marriage licenses, diplomas, transcripts, the FAFSA, or shot records.  You normally don't need any of that for Food Stamps.

  Don't offer to let them come out and check your refrigerator (they don't care about how much or little food you have on hand) or visit your apartment, unless you have no other way to prove where you are staying.  If they want to make a home visit, they'll ask you, and they're supposed to make an appointment before hand.

  Hint: They can't come out unannounced, and no "midnight raids" are allowed.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  
  

  Know your rights:
  

  You do not have to attend the interview personally.  Any responsible member of your household (or any other adult that you authorize in writing) can attend the interview for you, if you cannot attend in person.
  

   Be on time for the interview--at some offices, if you are as little as 10 minutes late, you will counted as a no-show, and your appointment will be given to someone else.  But, your application cannot be denied (refused) on that basis alone.  You must be offered a second chance appointment, but only if there is time available within 30 days after you filed your application form.  You might have to wait on "standby," until an interviewer is available.
  

  If you refuse to cooperate, or don't provide all the information they requested within 30 days, your application will be denied (refused).  They have only 30 calendar days from the day you file your application to complete your case, and to issue your benefits if you qualify.  They may well take every one of those thirty days to finish, so see a supervisor if they're taking too long.  Emergency benefits should be issued the same day you apply. 

  YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE RIGHT TO APPEAL!!!  Use it!

  Hint: They might not mention it, but they will be checking your identity, driver's license record, address,  credit record, motor vehicle ownership records, and criminal records if any.  So don't lie or give deceptive information.

   

  Hint:  If you're pregnant (no matter if you're married, single, divorced, or whatever), or if you're under 19 years of age (male or female), ask about Medicaid, during the interview or when you put in your application. You might have a good chance to qualify for Medicaid, even if you already have insurance, and it can be a big help!  Best of all, you don't have to fill out an extra application!

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  Legal Disclaimer ("the fine print":
  

  Information on this page is based on Texas DHS  information and other sources. The contents of this website do NOT constitute official government or University information, and are provided for advisory purposes only! If you feel you need Food Stamps, you should apply for benefits at your local Texas DHS office and be interviewed. Only then will you be able to know for sure whether you qualify or not! DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED if, based on the information on this site, it appears you may not qualify. Food Stamp program regulations fill a book larger than the El Paso telephone directory, so it is altogether possible that in your individual situation, some special exception or "loophole" may apply, allowing you to qualify. It costs nothing to apply, so ALL students in need of Food Stamp help are encouraged to make application!

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