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Title 7: SNAP Page 5 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter I: Specific Households and Participants Households with Alien Members Revised February 13, 2026 Who Is an Eligible Alien Eligible Aliens The following four alien categories are eligible aliens for SNAP: 1. U.S. non-citizen nationals. Most non-citizen nationals are persons born in American Samoa or Swains Island. 2. A Cuban or Haitian entrant under 501(e) of Refugee Education Assistance Act (REAA). 3. Citizens of nations under Compact of Free Association Agreements (COFA) (Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands), effective March 9, 2024, regardless of their date of entry. 4. Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) who have held that status for five years, or LPRs who are not subject to the five-year bar. See The Five-Year Bar and Exemptions. Any other alien who isn’t in one of the four eligible alien categories listed above is an ineligible alien for SNAP. Ineligible Aliens Legal reference: 7 CFR 273.4, 273.2 Aliens not specifically listed under Eligible Aliens, are “ineligible aliens” for SNAP. Ineligible aliens cannot receive SNAP. Do not request documentation of alien status from people who do not claim to have an eligible alien status. The income and resources of ineligible aliens are counted differently when determining eligibility and benefits for eligible household members. For more information about how ineligible aliens affect eligible household members, see Ineligible Household Members: Resources of Ineligible Household Members and Income and Deductions of Ineligible Household Members in this chapter. Also, see 7-C, Ineligible Members. Alien Status Verification Requirements Legal reference: 7 CFR 272.11, 273.2(b)(iii), 273.2(f)(1)(ii); 8 USC §§1611, 1612, 1613 An individual’s eligible alien status must be verified prior to approving them for SNAP. This means 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.