WASHINGTON — More than a year ago, Congress passed a law giving extra college money to as many as 175,000 veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan and other actions in the war on terrorism.

Specifically targeting activated members of the reserves and National Guard, the new benefit is worth as much as $827 a month.

But so far, not a single check has been mailed, and most reservists haven't even applied for it.

The program remains in bureaucratic limbo. The Department of Defense is still creating a database of eligible veterans that the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to process benefit applications. And so far, those who are eligible haven't been told they qualify.

Once processing begins, student veterans who've been called to active duty since the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be entitled to lump-sum retroactive payments, some worth thousands of dollars.

Officials at both departments said they hoped that at least some checks would be mailed before the end of the year, but they acknowledged that they've missed previous target dates.

Students like Gabriel Medina, 23, a history and political science major at the University of California-Riverside, spent another Veterans Day waiting as he continued his struggle to pay for tuition, housing and other expenses.

"Trust me, this would make a big difference," said Medina, a Marine Corps reservist who spent nearly two years on active duty beginning in January 2002, including a tour in Iraq as a machine-gunner. Medina, a full-time student, works two jobs, receives grants and has taken out student loans.

Medina receives $297 a month from the VA through the older Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve program, also called a Chapter 1606 benefit. But he should receive more than double that under the new program, called Chapter 1607, which is supposed to reward his activation for the war in Iraq.

"We're in the same fighting role with the active-duty guys, but we don't qualify for the same educational benefits," Medina said. Active-duty military personnel are eligible for monthly education payments of up to $1,034.

In October 2004, President Bush signed the Chapter 1607 education benefit into law to give larger payments to reservists and National Guard members who were activated after 9/11 in response to war or national emergency.

For full-time students, Chapter 1607 provides monthly education allowances of $413 for those who served on active duty at least 90 consecutive days but less than a year. Those who serve one year but less than two years can get $620 a month. Those activated for two years or more can get $827 a month.

As many as 175,000 reservists are thought to be eligible for the new benefit, and the VA expects to pay $360 million to about 50,000 students over the next year, said Bill Susling, assistant director of the VA's education service.

So far, 8,149 people have applied for the money, even though the VA can't process the claims until the Defense Department completes a database tracking how long reservists and Guard members served on active duty.