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Title 7: SNAP Page 4 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter I: Specific Households and Participants Households with Alien Members Revised February 13, 2026 Definitions “Sponsored alien” means aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence into the United States under the condition they have a person who signs an affidavit of support to guarantee financial support of the alien. “U.S. citizen” means a person born (other than born to foreign diplomats) in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico (on January 13, 1941, or later), Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands (on January 17, 1917, or later), or the Northern Mariana Islands and people who have become citizens through the naturalization process. Children born outside of the United States or its territories can also be U.S. citizens if at least one of their parents is a citizen (the law in effect at the time of birth determines if a person born outside of the U.S. is a citizen at birth). This is known as acquired or derivative citizenship. “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)” means the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security. “Non-Citizen U.S. national” means a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States. Only a relatively small number of persons acquire U.S. nationality without becoming U.S. citizens. The most common groups of non-citizen nationals are people born in certain U.S. territories, primarily American Samoa or Swains Island. Who Is an Eligible Alien Legal reference: 7 U.S.C. §2015(f); 8 U.S.C. §§1612, 1613 The only aliens who are “eligible aliens” for SNAP are listed under Eligible Aliens. Any alien who fails to meet a SNAP program requirement to be an “eligible alien” is an “ineligible alien.” This is true whether they are legally present in the U.S. or not. See Ineligible Aliens for more information. Eligible alien status must be verified at every application, every review, and every request to add an eligible alien to an existing household, even if the individual’s status was previously verified. See Alien Status Verification Requirements. An eligible alien may be a sponsored alien. After determining if someone is an eligible alien, make sure to identify if they have a sponsor. For more information, see Sponsored Aliens.