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Date of Last Review: 11/30/2023 Effective Date: 08/01/2020 Date of Next Review: 11/30/2026 RDA: SW22 Page 1 of 4 SNAP Citizenship Requirement Policy 24.09 Effective: August 1, 2020 Introduction The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) shall confirm all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) household members meet federal and state guidelines for citizenship and alien status requirements. Scope This policy was developed to outline the requirements for obtaining and verifying eligibility based on Citizenship and Alien status for all SNAP recipients. Policy As a condition of eligibility to receive SNAP, an individual must be a citizen of the United States, or a qualified alien who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence Verifying Citizenship An applicant’s statement that all members of the household are U.S. Citizens will be verified only when the statement is inconsistent or questionable with other information on the application, on previous applications, or on other documented information known to the worker. When an applicant’s statement that one or more of the household member’s citizenship is questionable, the worker will ask the person to provide acceptable verification of citizenship. Acceptable forms of verification include birth certificates, religious records, voter registration cards, certificates of citizenship or naturalization provided by United Status of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), such as Identification Cards for use of Resident Citizens in the U.S., or U.S. passports. USCIS documents are the primary source for verifying alien status. A Qualifying Alien Status of any individual applying for SNAP must be verified prior to approval or certification. The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system will be used to validate the alien’s documents and status. Individuals that are not US Citizens or qualified aliens, or if the worker is unable to verify immigration status, are ineligible to receive benefits. The income of the excluded household