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SNAP CERTIFICATION MANUAL – SECTION 1000 1600 Determining Household Composition 1621 Citizenship Status

1621 Citizenship Status SNAP Manual 07/01/2026 Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is limited to U.S. citizens and certain non- citizens who are lawfully residing in the United States. Citizenship will be verified at each case action for all applicants, regardless of declared citizenship or alien status. A United States citizen is: • A person (other than the child of a foreign diplomat) born in the United States of America or in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or the Northern Mariana Islands, who has not renounced or otherwise lost his or her citizenship. • A person born outside of the United States to at least one (1) U.S. citizen parent. (These individuals are sometimes referred to as “derivative citizens.”) • A naturalized U.S. citizen. Individuals who claim to be naturalized citizens must have completed all the requirements for citizenship, including swearing in, and must have verification of their status as a naturalized citizen before they can participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as a citizen. (If they do not meet these requirements, they may participate as a non-citizen if they meet the non-citizen requirements.) A United States non-citizen national is: • A person born in American Samoa or Swains Island on or after the date the U.S. acquired the possession of either territory. American Samoa was acquired April 17, 1900 and Swains Island was acquired March 4, 1925. • A person whose parents are U.S. non-citizen nationals. U.S. non-citizen nationals are treated as U.S. citizens. The eligibility worker must accept participation in another program as acceptable verification if verification of citizenship or non-citizen national status was obtained for that program. For other household members, the eligibility worker may accept any of the following documents as proof of citizenship: • Birth certificate showing birth in one (1) of the fifty (50) states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Swain’s Island or the Northern Marianna Islands; • United States passports except for limited passports which are issued for a period of less than five (5) years; • Report of birth abroad of a U.S. citizen issued by the Department of State; • Certificate of birth by a foreign-service post; • Certificate of Naturalization; • Certificate of Citizenship issued to individuals who derive their citizenship through a parent; • Northern Mariana Identification Card;