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Citizenship Eligibility Requirements
[EAS 42-430, 42-431 - 42-433]
Citizens of the U.S. and certain categories of non-citizens are eligible for CalWORKs. Citizens must prove their citizenship and non-citizens must prove their eligible non-citizen status. Aid shall not be authorized until citizen/non-citizen status is verified.
To be eligible for aid, an applicant or recipient must be a California resident who is either a:
- U.S. citizen, or
- U.S. Nationals born in U.S. territories such as American Samoa or the American Virgin Islands, or
- A non-citizen who is a “qualified alien/qualified non-citizen”:
- Lawfully admitted for permanent residence
- PRUCOL, including persons granted status as:
- Refugees,
- Asylees,
- Parolees,
- Conditional Entrants,
- Persons granted an indefinite stay of deportation, and
- Persons granted indefinite voluntary departure in lieu of deportation.
- A victim of trafficking, domestic violence, or other serious crime victim
- Compacts of Free Association (COFA) citizens.
Citizenship Verification
[EAS 42-431.1, 42-433]
For CalWORKs, acceptable verification of citizenship status must be provided and imaged to the case record. Acceptable verification includes the following:
- U.S. birth certificate
- Baptismal certificate
- Military discharge papers
- U.S. Passport
- “Certificate of Citizenship” (N-560 or N-561) from USCIS
- “Certificate of Naturalization” (N-550 or N-570)
- “United States Citizen Identification Card” (I-179 or I-197)
- USCIS Identification form, or similar proof which shows the date and place of birth.
If this evidence is NOT available, the EW must document the client's explanation for lack of such evidence in the Journal Detail page of CalSAWS. The client must provide other evidence which proves the date and place of birth in the U.S. or U.S. territory or citizenship within ninety days. Failure to do so will result in ineligibility.
Note: The EW must document citizenship verification for all citizen applicants or recipients on the SAWS 2 Plus or other appropriate Statement of Facts.
Related Topics
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