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During the eligibility interview, the interviewee is questioned about various personal characteristics of each individual in the assistance group, including whether the person under consideration is a citizen of the United States.

When an AG indicates inability or unwillingness to provide documentation of immigration status for any AG member, that individual without documentation must be considered as an undocumented immigrant for SNAP and Cash Assistance.

DFR staff will not report any information about an immigrant applying for SNAP and/or Cash Assistance to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) unless the USCIS has established that the immigrant is unlawfully present in the United States through a formal review process conducted by USCIS.

A Systematic Alien Verification Entitlements request and response of inaccurate documentation does not serve this purpose. An applicant's statement or any other third-party information does not constitute a determination of unlawful status. An eligibility worker should not seek to obtain an immigrant's status unless the immigrant requests help in obtaining this verification.

A refusal to sign the declaration will result in the ineligibility of the entire AG. 2402.10.00 DEFINITION OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP

To be considered a U.S. citizen, an individual must meet one of the following conditions: • Be born in the U.S. or a U.S. territory (2402.10.05) • Be a naturalized citizen (2402.10.10) • Be born abroad to a U.S. citizen and meet specified criteria (2402.10.15). 2402.10.05 BORN IN THE U.S. OR A U.S. TERRITORY

An individual is considered born in the U.S. or a U.S. territory if either of the following conditions is met: • The individual is born in one of the United States or the District of Columbia (D.C.); or • The individual is born in one of the following current territories: o Puerto Rico; o Northern Marianas; o American Samoa; o Swain's Island; o Guam; or o The U. S. Virgin Islands. 2402.10.10 NATURALIZED CITIZENS

An individual is considered a naturalized citizen when U.S. citizenship is gained after birth either: • Through individual naturalization; or • Derived from a naturalized parent.