2-003 Citizenship and Alien Status
To be eligible for social services, an individual's status must be documented as one of the following using acceptable documents, as defined by federal regulations and listed in 475-000-603:
1. A citizen of the United States;
2. An alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (see 473-000-604) ;
3. A refugee admitted to the U.S. under Section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA);
4. An asylee under Section 208 of INA;
5. An alien whose deportation is withheld under Section 243(h) of INA;
6. An alien from Cuba or Haiti who was admitted under Section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980;
7. A refugee who entered the U.S. before April 1, 1980, and was granted conditional entry;
8. An alien who is paroled into the U.S. under Section 212(d)(5) of INA for a period of at least one year;
9. An Amerasian immigrant under Section 584 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 1988, as amended; or
10. An alien who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty in the U.S. by a spouse or a parent or by a member of the spouse's or parent's family who is residing in the same household as the alien.
Receipt of SSI, SSDI, or Medicare is sufficient proof of citizenship or lawfully admitted alien status.
Individuals who declare to be U.S. citizens must be given a reasonable opportunity to present satisfactory documentation of citizenship or nationality. Benefits must not be denied, delayed, reduced, or terminated pending receipt of the requested citizenship verification. Reasonable opportunity is defined as ten days from the date documentation was requested. The worker may authorize an additional ten day extension for verification if the necessary information has been requested by the client. If DHHS has requested verification, such as an out of state birth certificate, benefits will not be denied or terminated while awaiting receipt. Once an individual has declared s/he is a U.S. citizen or national and has provided all other information to determine eligibility, benefits must be provided.
If the client is not cooperating in providing documentation, the client must be closed.
{10/6/2010}