Have you ever found yourself waiting for a long time at your local DMV office to get your driver’s license renewed only to find out that your application is on hold until the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program can verify your presence? Or have you experienced a delay in obtaining your Social Security Number because of the SAVE verification process? Well, you are not the only one!   

Hopefully, this overview will help you save some time by providing  a better understanding of how the SAVE program works.   

What is SAVE?  

The SAVE program is a web-based system that allows benefits-granting agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Education, and over a thousand other registered agencies nationally to confirm the immigration or citizenship status of applicants for federal, state, and local benefits.  Because the SAVE system utilizes information from several government databases, it has access to over 100 million records. In fiscal year 2023, over 21.5 million SAVE verifications were performed.   

What Does the SAVE Program Do?  

Through the SAVE program a government agency that is authorized by law to provide a benefit for which immigration status verification is required may use and access SAVE to verify an applicant’s immigration or citizenship status and ensure that only applicants who are eligible for benefits receive them.    

Verification Process 

 The SAVE process can include up to three verification steps. Once verification is complete, a benefit-granting agency will grant the requested benefits if it believes the individual is eligible for the requested benefit. 

1. Initial Verification(instantaneous) – The first level check is completed when the applicant initially appears at the agency. The agency inputs the individual’s numeric immigration identifiers in the system, such as USCIS/Alien Registration Number, Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record, and Card Number/I-797 Receipt Number. This step is generally completed instantaneously.
2. Second Level of Verification  – If your immigration status cannot immediately be verified at the first level of review, USCIS conducts independent research on the individual’s case. This process usually takes approximately four (4) federal workdays.  
3.  Third Level of Verification  – If your immigration status cannot be verified following the second-level check, manual verification and research is required. A benefit-granting agency uploads the individual’s documents to the system and opens a case with SAVE. This process usually takes about forty (40) federal workdays. 

Reasons for Delays 

Most of the delays in the SAVE program involve missing or conflicting data with an individual’s immigration identifiers. For additional information about immigration documents and immigration identifiers, see the  Commonly Used Immigration Documents page. 

If you believe the information on your SAVE verification case may be incorrect, you may seek a records correction by contacting your benefit-granting agency to update your information. 

If you believe your immigration record is incorrect, you may correct or update it with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). SAVE cannot correct, renew, or replace immigration records. 

The following tips may help in getting faster results: 

1. Make Sure Your Records are Accurate – If you changed your name or some other personal information, you may need to have your immigration record updated by the DHS agency that issues the document you will provide to apply for your benefit. 
2. Present Recently Issued Documents – If you received a new or updated immigration document, you should present this to your benefit-granting agency. 
3. Check with Your Agency  – Contact your benefit-granting agency to learn what documentation is required to process your application and ensure that you have provided all the required documents. 

Additional Resources   

For additional information on how to use the SAVE program, you can visit SAVE Tutorial | USCIS. Released on May 28, 2024, this tutorial provides up-to-date guidance on the following topics:  

• SAVE and the verification process;  

• SAVE CaseCheck; 

• Commonly used immigration documents and where to find immigration enumerators; 

• Common case responses; 

• Best practices for additional verification;  

• Managing cases; and  

• Administering SAVE accounts.  

You can monitor the progress of a pending SAVE verification at the following website: SAVE CaseCheck for Benefit Applicants | USCIS. If you need additional assistance, you may email SAVE at: SAVE.help@uscis.dhs.gov. 

The SAVE program is a unique service for immigration status verification that is undoubtedly  helpful to the many federal and state agencies that utilize it.   While SAVE verification delays can be frustrating, we hope that this information helps save you some time and frustration!  

Foster LLP will continue to provide practical immigration insights and provide updates about any developments via Immigration Updates©, social media posts, and blogs on our website at www.fosterglobal.com.