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Citizenship
Regulation [63-405.1]
An individual who is a United States citizen is eligible for CalFresh, if otherwise eligible.
Definition
For the purpose of qualifying as a United States citizen, the United States shall be defined as:
- The 50 states
- District of Columbia
- Puerto Rico
- Guam
- Virgin Islands
Additionally, citizens of the following islands who reside in the United States shall be considered to have met the citizenship eligibility requirements.
- American Samoa
- Swain's Island
- Northern Mariana Islands
Verification [63-300.532]
Verification of citizenship shall not be required except in questionable cases which affect a household's eligibility or benefit level.
To be considered questionable, the information on the application must be inconsistent with statements made by the applicant, inconsistent with other information on the application or previous applications, or inconsistent with other information received by the EW.
Acceptable forms of verification include:
- Birth certificates
- Religious records
- Certificates of citizenship or naturalization provided by USCIS
- U.S. passport
Questionable Citizenship
A person(s) whose citizenship is questionable shall be ineligible and treated as an excluded noncitizen household member until proof of U.S. citizenship is obtained. Refer to Excluded and Non-household Members for information on the treatment of income for such a person.
Child Citizenship Act
The Child Citizenship Act of 2000, amends the INA to permit children born outside the United States, including adopted children, to acquire citizenship automatically if they meet certain requirements. This Act became effective on February 27, 2001.
Requirements
Under this Act, a child born outside of the U.S. automatically becomes a citizen of the U.S. when ALL of the following conditions are met:
- At least one parent of the child is a citizen of the U.S., whether by birth or naturalization,
- The child is under the age of eighteen years,
- The child is residing in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent and the child entered the U.S. lawfully for admission to permanent residence. (Admission in ANY immigrant category will satisfy the requirement that the applicant be admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident), and
- In the case of an adopted child, that child is under the age of sixteen and has resided in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent(s) for at least two years. Sibling children adopted by the same parent(s) have until the age of 18.
Verification
The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 will eventually provide a Certificate of Citizenship to children who qualify for automatic citizenship under this Act.
Until the Certificate of Citizenship is issued, the EW must determine if the child meets this citizenship status by verifying the following:
- The citizenship status of at least one custodial parent,
- The age of the child,
- The child entered the U.S. lawfully for admission to permanent residence. (Admission in any immigrant classification will satisfy the requirement that the applicant be admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident),
- The legal relationship of the child to the parent, and
- In the case of adopted children, that the child is under the age of sixteen and has resided in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent(s) for at least two years. Sibling children adopted by the same parent(s) have until the age of 18.
Date of Acquired Citizenship
A child acquires citizenship at whichever of the following occurs LATER:
- The date the Act became effective (February 27, 2001) if he/she met ALL of the Child Citizenship Act requirements on that date, or
- The date, after February 27, 2001, on which the child meets ALL of the Child Citizenship Act requirements.
A family consisting of a husband, wife and their 2 children (ages 3 and 5) entered the U.S. as lawful permanent residents in 1991. The father became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998. On 02/27/01 (the date the Act became effective), their 13-year old daughter and 15-year old son automatically acquired U.S. citizenship.
A family consisting of a husband, wife and their 2 children (ages 3 and 5) entered the U.S. as lawful permanent residents in 1995. The father became a naturalized U.S. citizen on 12/11/01. Their 10-year old daughter and 12-year old son automatically acquired U.S. citizenship on the date (12/11/01) that their father became a U.S. citizen.
Children who turned 18 years of age before the act became effective (February 27, 2001) do NOT qualify for citizenship under this act, even if they meet all of the other criteria. If they choose to become United States citizen, they must apply for naturalization and meet eligibility requirements that currently exist for adult lawful permanent residents.
A family consisting of a husband, wife, 9-year old daughter and 10-year old son entered the U.S. as lawful permanent residents in 1991. The father became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998. Since both children turned 18 years of age before the Act took effective, they do NOT qualify to become U.S. citizens under this Act.
For non-citizen children who turned 18 years of age since February 27, 2001, EWs must explore if the child met the new citizenship rule anytime during the period of February 27, 2001 until the day prior to the child’s 18th birthday. A child who met the requirements, before turning 18, qualify for citizenship under this act.
On March 11, 2002, a family consisting of a husband, wife and their 18-year old son (DOB 07/23/83) apply for CalFresh. The family entered the U.S. as lawful permanent residents in 1995 and the father became a naturalized U.S. citizen on 06/30/01.The EW determines that the 18-year old child met the Child Citizenship Act requirements prior to his 18th birthday, and therefore has acquired citizenship under the Act.
Children who turn 18 years of age after February 27, 2001 but before meeting all of the other criteria, do not qualify for citizenship under this act. If they choose to become United States citizen, they must apply for naturalization and meet eligibility requirements that currently exist for adult lawful permanent residents.
A family consisting of a husband, wife, their daughter (DOB - 3/3/84) and their son (DOB - 4/16/83) entered the U.S. in 1991 as lawful permanent residents. The father became a naturalized U.S. citizen on 05/17/01. As of that date, their 17-year old daughter automatically acquired U.S. citizenship. However, their 18-year old son does NOT qualify for automatic U.S. citizenship because he turned 18 years of age BEFORE his father became a citizen.
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