Citizenship Overview

U.S. Citizenship

All persons born in, and subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S., are U.S. citizens. Citizenship can be established by an applicant's statement on the appropriate Statement of Facts. For CalWORKs, acceptable verification must be in the case record. Acceptable verification includes:

  • 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)
  • “United States Citizen Identification Card” (I-197)
  • USCIS Identification form, or
  • Similar proof which shows the date and place of birth.

Birth in U.S. Territories

Persons born in U.S. territories are American nationals entitled to enter the U.S. for permanent residence at any time without going through immigration procedures and are considered U.S. citizens. Citizenship through U.S. territorial birth is established by an applicant's statement on the appropriate Statement of Facts. (CalWORKs must have verification.) The U.S. territories are:

  • American Samoa
  • Guam
  • NMI; they are not nationals (refer to “Northern Mariana Islands” below)
  • Puerto Rico
  • Swains Island
  • Virgin Islands

Former Trust Territories

In October-November 1986, two laws became effective relative to what was previously known as the TTPI. The TTPI (created in 1947) has been dissolved and four separate sovereign nations were created. The four nations are:

U.S. citizenship is not the same for all four sovereign nations. See the following sections.

Republic of Palau (PAL)

Citizens of Palau must qualify as immigrants or nonimmigrants. Noncitizens from the PAL must meet the normal noncitizen documentation verification requirements for all aids.

This group may be considered PRUCOL. Refer to Rule.

Northern Mariana Islands (NMI)

Citizens of the NMI were declared citizens of the U.S. under Public Laws 94-241 and 99-239, if certain conditions are met. The person must have been issued either:

  • A U.S. passport, or
  • A certificate of identity issued by the Commonwealth of the NMI.

Main islands of the Marianas are Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. Citizens of NMI who do not provide either a U.S. passport or a certificate of identity, issued by the Commonwealth of NMI, are to be considered noncitizens and must meet all noncitizen verification requirements.

Republic of the Marshall Islands (MIS)

The MIS is considered a Freely Associated State. Citizens of MIS are allowed to enter the U.S. to live, work, or study and are considered indefinite legal residents. They are given an “Arrival-Departure Form” (I-94) with an admission stamp followed by the notation CFA/MIS. The I-94 is stamped “Employment Authorized.” Citizens of MIS are eligible for CalWORKs and Medi-Cal if they have the above verification.

This group may be considered PRUCOL. Refer to Rule.

Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)

The FSM is considered a Freely Associated State in all aspects to MIS above. Citizens are allowed to enter the U.S. to live, work or study, and are considered indefinite legal residents. They are given an I-94 with an admission stamp followed by the notation CFA/FSM. The I-94 is stamped “Employment Authorized”. Citizens of FSM are eligible for all aids if they have the above verification.

This group may be considered PRUCOL. Refer to Rule.

Compact of Free Association (COFA)

On December 27, 2020, the federal Consolidated Act was signed into law which provided that individuals from any of the member sovereign states of the COFA are now considered QNCs and exempt from the federal five-year bar on full scope Medi-Cal eligibility. COFA is applicable to citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

Under the new law, individuals from any of the COFA states are eligible for federally funded full scope Medi-Cal retroactive to December 2020, regardless of age or pregnancy status if they meet all the eligibility requirements for Medi-Cal.

Code of Admission (COA) Codes

Counties will generally receive COA codes as part of the SAVE response when the status of the is verified by the SAVE system. When a COA code is sent the SAVE response, indicating an individual has a COFA immigration status, that is sufficient verification of a COFA immigration status for Medi-Cal applicants and beneficiaries.

Common COA codes are:

Note: A COA Code of “PI” from a SAVE response indicates the individual is identified from the Pacific Trust Territories. Individuals with this COA may or may not be form a COFA state. An additional SAVE verification steps must initiated to confirm the COFA immigration status. This is referred to as a “third” step “SAVE” verification process.

Documents

The USCIS documents listed below represents the most common immigration documents provided to individuals from COFA states:

  • 1-766 EAD - Individuals from COFA states may have an EAD code of “A08” (citizen of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, or Palau admitted as a nonimmigrant).
  • Unexpired Foreign Passport
  • I-94

Related Topics

Derivative Citizenship and Child Citizenship Act

Identification