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ESA SNAP Policy Manual 48 For more information, see Section 12.7.2, Homeless Shelter Deduction. 5.4 Verification of Citizenship/Noncitizenship An individual must be a US citizen or an eligible noncitizen to participate in SNAP. Nationals of Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa or Swain’s Island are equivalent to US citizenship. Other individuals are ineligible to participate until they become US citizens or meet exemption criteria. See Section 8.6, Citizenship and Noncitizenship, for additional information on exemptions. 5.4.1 Citizenship Verification of citizenship is a mandatory eligibility requirement for SNAP. The household’s statement is acceptable, unless questionable. If questionable, ESA must ask the household to provide verification of citizenship. For acceptable forms of verification, see Table 25.2.c, Verification Chart. 5.4.2 Noncitizenship ESA must verify eligible immigration status of all noncitizen household members applying for SNAP. Households are required to submit US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) documentation for each noncitizen applying for SNAP benefits as a condition of eligibility. ESA is then required to verify the validity of these documents through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. Table 5.4.2.a contains examples of acceptable forms of documents to verify noncitizenship through some of the SAVE categories.

Legal Authority Expenses (federal): SNAP: 7 CFR § 273.2(f)(1)(iv), 7 CFR § 273.2(f)(1)(xii), 7 CFR § 273.2(f)(3), 7 CFR § 273.2(f)(4), 7 CFR § 273.2(f)(8), 7 CFR § 273.9(d)(4), 7 CFR § 273.12(c)(4) Return