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MISSISSIPPI DIVISION OF MEDICAID Eligibility Policy and Procedures Manual CHAPTER 102 – Non-Financial Requirements Page |26 Effective Date: July 2025 Extension of Reasonable Opportunity Period Benefits are not terminated until the agency obtains verification of the individual’s status when the individual provides acceptable documents by the end of the reasonable opportunity period and verification by the agency is still in process. For example, the individual provides documents to establish his qualified alien status on the 90th day. The documents must be submitted through Homeland Security by DOM. Benefits would continue until verification of alien status is received from Homeland Security. A 30-day extension of the reasonable opportunity period is possible if the individual has verifiable, documented evidence a good faith effort has been made to obtain verifications, but documents have not yet been received. 102.04.06 EVIDENCE OF U. S. CITIZENSHIP Primary evidence has the highest reliability. Therefore, when the applicant or beneficiary presents any of the following primary documents the requirements for both citizenship and identity have been met and no further verification is needed. If any other level of evidence is used to verify U. S. citizenship, a second document verifying identity must be obtained. The following documents may be accepted as primary proof of an individual’s citizenship and identity. Primary Documents Explanation U. S. Passport A U. S. passport does not have to be currently valid to be accepted as evidence of U. S. citizenship as long as it was originally issued without limitation. On an emergency basis, the passport office will issue a U.S. passport without proof of citizenship. In this instance, the passport is issued with the limitation that it is valid for one year rather than the usual 5 or 10 years. When the holder of a passport with limitations returns to the country, he has to provide proof of citizenship to have the passport reissued without limitation. To determine if a passport was issued with limitation, compare the issuance date with the expiration date. If the expiration date is less than five years from the issuance date, the passport was issued with limitation and cannot be used as proof of citizenship. Each passport presented must be examined closely to determine whether or not the passport was issued with limitation. Spouses and children were sometimes included on one passport through 1980. U. S. passports issued after 1980 show only one person. Consequently, the citizenship and identity of the included person can be established when one of these passports is presented. NOTE: Do not accept any passport as evidence of U. S. citizenship