How does ICE verify citizenship using federal databases (like SAVE) and how long do those checks take?
Executive summary
The Department of Homeland Security (including ICE) verifies claimed U.S. citizenship or immigration status by querying federal records through USCIS’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, which runs an automated initial match in seconds and—if needed—can escalate to manual, document-based checks that take days; SAVE itself reports responses at multiple “levels” and does not adjudicate benefit eligibility [1] [2] [3]. Agencies must sometimes upload or mail supporting immigration documents for higher‑level verification, and USCIS retains records of those additional checks [1] [4].
1. How the first, automated verification works — “instant lookups that often finish in seconds”
When a user agency (which can include ICE or state/local agencies) submits a SAVE inquiry, the system performs an automated search of linked DHS/USCIS immigration databases and returns an initial verification response within seconds or a few minutes; that initial response can include current immigration status, naturalization or derivation of citizenship, or a prompt to “Institute Additional Verification” if no clear electronic match is found [1] [2] [5].
2. When SAVE flags need escalation — “additional verification and document review”
If the automated search fails to confirm status or returns incomplete information, SAVE will request additional verification (often called secondary or third‑level verification), and the agency must submit immigration identifiers and usually scanned copies of the applicant’s immigration documents (front and back); only after those documents are received can SAVE complete the manual review that produces a final response that agencies may rely upon [1] [5] [6].
3. Timing: what “seconds” and “days” actually mean in practice
The typical initial electronic match is essentially instantaneous—the underlying database queries take on the order of seconds to a few minutes—so most cases are resolved immediately at the first level [2] [1]. When additional verification is required, the process involves manual research by USCIS and is slower; publicly available guidance and user‑community reporting indicate secondary reviews can take up to several federal workdays (commonly cited as about four business days), and agencies should expect additional verification to take more time than the initial automated check [7] [3].
4. ICE’s role and standards for assessing citizenship during encounters
ICE personnel are required to assess indicators and probative evidence of potential U.S. citizenship during encounters and may use federal records like SAVE or request USCIS review as part of that assessment, but ICE regulations and internal guidance govern how such indicators and document evidence are weighed on the ground [8]. Available sources show SAVE is a tool for status verification rather than an adjudicative forum; agencies use SAVE outputs to inform eligibility or enforcement decisions, but SAVE does not itself determine legal eligibility for benefits [1] [9].
5. Limits, risks, and institutional transparency — “not a perfect mirror of citizenship”
SAVE relies on records that can be incomplete, out of date, or missing citizens who have no immigration‑system interactions, so mismatches routinely trigger requests for additional verification; USCIS retains records of additional verification and may refer suspicious documents to law enforcement, which raises privacy and enforcement interactions that agencies and advocates have criticized [4] [9]. Public documentation warns agencies they may not rely on incomplete SAVE responses and must follow escalation procedures when SAVE prompts manual review [1] [3].
6. What sources do and don’t show — “procedures are documented, but operational variance exists”
Official SAVE guides and USCIS pages document the multi‑step process, the requirement for document uploads for higher‑level review, and typical response times for initial versus additional verification, but these sources do not provide exhaustive, uniform timelines for every agency’s operational experience; therefore, while seconds for initial checks and days for manual verification are the established framework, real‑world delays and local practices can vary beyond the published guidance [1] [5] [3].