2145 Documentation of Citizenship -

2145.1- Citizenship Documentation for all Programs - For Food Assistance, United States citizenship shall be documented and verified only when a household's statement concerning a member is questionable. For TANF and Child Care, United States citizenship shall be documented for all individuals for whom assistance is requested when identified as U.S. citizens on their application. For those who are identified as non-citizens on their application, eligibility shall be established based on KEESM 2146. For each TANF individual and each child care child for whom assistance is requested, and for Food Assistance individuals for whom citizenship is questionable, acceptable forms of documentation are

1. Birth certificate showing birth in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico (on or after 1/31/41), Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands (on or after 1/17/17), American Samoa, Swain's Island, Panama Canal Zone (from 1904 to 101/1/79), or the Northern Mariana Islands (with the exception of persons born to foreign diplomats residing in the U.S.);
   
   This includes report of birth abroad of a U.S. citizen per form FS-240 (issued by the Department of State to U.S. citizens), Certificates of Birth per form FS-545 (issued by a foreign service post), and Certifications of Report of Birth per form DS-1350 (copies available from the Department of State).
    

2. Religious records;
    

3. Voter registration cards;
    

4. Certificates of citizenship or naturalization provided by USCIS, such as Identification Cards for Use of Resident Citizens in the U.S. (INS Form I-179 or INS Form I-197);
    

5. U.S. passports; and
    

6. Receipt of medical assistance if verification of citizenship was obtained for that household.
    

See Appendix item A-12 for a more complete list of acceptable documents.

If the above forms of documentation cannot be obtained and the individual can provide a reasonable explanation as to why documentation is not available, the agency shall accept a signed statement from someone who is a U.S. citizen which declares, under penalty of perjury, that the person in question is a U.S. citizen.

The signed statement shall contain a warning of the penalties for helping someone commit fraud, such as: "If you intentionally give false information to help this person get assistance, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both."

Delayed Documentation

• Citizenship Questionable - For Food Assistance, the individual whose citizenship is being questioned shall be ineligible to receive assistance until proof of U.S. citizenship is obtained. The individual disqualified pending documentation and verification of questionable citizenship will have his or her income and all of his or her resources considered available to any remaining family or household members as set forth in 4113 and 4212.
   

• Citizenship Not Questionable - Failure to provide documentary evidence of citizenship for Medical (per 2145.2), does not make the individual's U.S. citizenship questionable for food assistance. Therefore, persons shall not be denied or terminated based solely on the failure to provide documentation for other programs. In addition, since the Medical Assistance citizenship requirements are different from TANF, there may be situations of TANF participation without medical benefits.

  
  

• Citizenship Documentation Delayed for TANF and Child Care - Individuals whose U.S. citizenship is not questionable may be allowed a reasonable opportunity to provide verification of that citizenship . If otherwise eligible, the application shall be processed and approved granting a reasonable opportunity period to the individual to provide the verification. The reasonable opportunity period shall be three calendar months commencing from the date the case is authorized. If the verification is not received by the end of the reasonable opportunity period, benefits shall end allowing for timely and adequate notice. If verification is provided within the month after the month of case closure, eligibility may be reinstated without a new application or request. If U.S. citizenship is questionable, the individual would be ineligible to receive assistance until proof of U.S. citizenship is provided. Note: The reasonable opportunity period may be extended in situations where the individual is making a bona fide effort to obtain the verification, but circumstances outside his/her control are delaying the effort. A decision to extend the period must be thoroughly documented and supported in the case file.
   

2145.2 Documentation for Citizens at Birth

For Food Assistance Only - For program processing purposes, no additional documentation will generally be required when a child is conferred citizenship under 2141.1. A declaration made by the person signing the application that household members are citizens is acceptable, and that same process is applicable regardless of how citizenship was attained. Because these children are now legal citizens, this same declaration procedure will apply to these children. A request to add a child newly conferred citizenship to an ongoing case may also be made without additional verification in most cases. If previous documentation of non-citizenship status conflicts with the current statement, a written statement from the client specifying the date the child became a citizen will generally be sufficient to document citizenship. The prudent person and simplified eligibility verification requirements outlined in KEESM 1300 are also to be followed.