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MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OF MEDICAID Eligibility Policy and Procedures Manual CHAPTER 102 – Non-Financial Requirements Page |22 Effective Date: January 2019 In general, to verify the citizenship status of foreign-born children, use the “Evidence of U.S. Citizenship” described in 102.04.06 below if the citizenship of child cannot be verified using SSA data. 102.04.04 VERIFICATION OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IDENTITY USING OTHER REQUIRED DOCUMENTS The verification requirements found in this section pertain only to applicants declaring to be U. S. citizens. Aliens applying for Emergency Medicaid services only are not required to provide information about citizenship, immigration status or Social Security Number and should not be asked to do so. Refer to Section 102.05 for handling applicants who are qualified or non-qualified aliens. The process of obtaining primary, secondary and third and fourth level documents, as outlined below, is only for applicants who are not exempt from the requirements as outlined in 102.04.01, or whose citizenship/identity cannot be verified using electronic data as discussed in 102.04.02 or whose citizenship is not verified using the Child Citizenship Act process described in 102.04.03. For all applicants who are eligible on all factors other than providing verification of citizenship and identity verification documents as described below, the 90-Day Reasonable Opportunity period applies as outlined in 102.04.05 below. Hierarchy of Evidence The evidences of citizenship are divided into a hierarchy of primary, secondary, third level and fourth level documents. Primary evidence has the highest reliability and conclusively establishes both a person’s citizenship and identity. When the individual has secondary, third or fourth level documentation of citizenship, additional verification must be provided to establish identity. The evidences of identity are not prioritized. Available Documents The highest level of verification must be used if it is available. “Available” means the document exists and can be obtained within the time period allowed for providing information during application processing or during the reasonable opportunity period. Therefore, when a higher-level document is not available, it is permissible to use a lower-level document. For example, a U. S. Passport is primary evidence of citizenship and identity. If the