Page 62

Page | 61 frames. If waived for expedited processing, the response must be received prior to approving future benefits.

If a SAVE verification is returned showing the document is not valid because it is altered or counterfeit, notification must be sent to the District Director of the United States of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

3500 ALIEN STATUS

An adult household member is required to sign a statement attesting to the citizenship or lawful alien status for each member of the household requesting or receiving SNAP benefits. A non-citizen must provide proof of his eligible alien status before receiving benefits. When either a household or individual indicates inability or unwillingness to attest to the alien status for any household member, the person whose alien status is in question is an ineligible (not illegal) alien. If the individual is determined ineligible, we cannot continue efforts to obtain documentation of alien status. The household will, however, be required to answer questions and submit verifications about the excluded individual’s income, resources, etc.

3600 SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS (SSN)

A household participating or applying for participation in the SNAP Program must provide the Specialist with the SSN for each household member or apply for one before certification unless the individual is a child 6 months of age or younger. If an individual has more than one SSN, all numbers will be required.

The Specialist must explain to applicants and participants that refusal or failure to provide an SSN, without good cause, will result in disqualification of the individual for whom a SSN is not obtained. Households which express a religious objection to obtaining or providing an SSN may participate in SNAP if otherwise eligible. Household with a religious objection should be advised that a method of assigning SSNs to persons without their cooperation or obtaining SSN information from other sources may be developed for use in SNAP. The verification code for these individuals on the ACCESS system will be “U”, which will allow good cause for no SSN.

DSS is authorized to use SSNs in the administration of SNAP in accordance with Federal regulations.

The numbers are used for:  Computer processing;  Cross matching with other agencies;  Verification of household circumstances;  Monitoring compliance with program regulations and program management; and  Federal and state agencies, as well as private claim collection agencies for claim collection action.

Social Security numbers may also be disclosed to Federal and State agencies for official examination and to law enforcement officials for the purpose of apprehending persons fleeing to avoid the law.

3610 OBTAINING SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS FOR INDIVIDUALS OVER 6 MONTHS OF AGE

Most applicants and recipients already have an SSN. If an applicant or recipient has never applied for an SSN, and they are under age 18, they must be referred to the nearest Social Security office