How does ICE use the SAVE system to verify citizenship and what documents trigger SAVE checks?
This fact-check may be outdated. Consider refreshing it to get the most current information.
Executive summary
SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) is a DHS/USCIS-operated, document-driven verification system that benefit-granting and licensing agencies use to check an applicant’s immigration status by matching biographic data and numeric immigration identifiers against homeland-security databases, and it returns an instant primary response or triggers additional verification steps if data conflict or are missing [1] [2]. Agencies commonly run SAVE for public benefits, driver’s licenses, Social Security adjudications and other status-sensitive transactions; when SAVE cannot confirm status it requires a second/third-level review and may request scanned copies of the applicant’s immigration documents for manual verification [3] [4] [5].
1. How SAVE works in practice — an automated, tiered verification
A submitting agency first inputs biographic fields (name, DOB) plus at least one numeric immigration identifier or a Social Security number; SAVE then compares that input to USCIS and partner databases and returns either an immediate verification or a prompt for more action (IAV) — SAVE’s multi-step design is intended to produce a near‑real‑time “current status” or escalate to additional checks when records don’t match [1] [2]. Agencies can access SAVE via a secure web browser or machine-to-machine web services, and USCIS emphasizes entering all available identifiers exactly as they appear to maximize instant matches [1] [6].
2. What documents and identifiers trigger SAVE checks — the practical triggers
Documents and document-based numeric identifiers commonly used to prompt SAVE queries include USCIS/Alien Registration Numbers (A‑Numbers), Form I‑94 Arrival/Departure Record numbers, SEVIS IDs for nonimmigrant students, unexpired foreign passport numbers, Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) numbers, and Employment Authorization Document (EAD) card numbers; these document fields are treated as the primary triggers for an initial SAVE verification [6] [7] [8]. SAVE also supports photo matching when a document contains a photo, and specific benefit types may require particular document types (for example, SAVE will return EAD-based responses to indicate temporary employment authorization depending on agency configuration) [9] [7].
3. When agencies run SAVE — typical use cases that force a check
State DMVs, Social Security adjudicators, Medicaid and other public‑benefit programs, and licensing bodies run SAVE when eligibility depends on lawful immigration status or when an applicant self‑identifies as a non‑citizen; federal guidance and state procedures show SAVE is the standard verification step for programs that require immigration status verification under the Immigration Reform and Control Act and later statutes [3] [10] [7]. SAVE is not intended for native‑born U.S. citizens and agencies are advised to query only for individuals covered by the Immigration and Nationality Act and who possess immigration‑related documents [2].
4. What happens when SAVE can’t verify — additional verification and document upload
If the system cannot immediately match records SAVE returns an “Institute Additional Verification” prompt and the agency must provide more data or initiate SAVE’s second/third‑level process; third‑level review usually requires the agency to scan and upload front-and-back copies of the applicant’s immigration documents (or submit Form G‑845 in legacy manual workflows) so USCIS status verifiers can manually research the record and issue a final response [5] [4] [11]. Agencies are told not to rely on SAVE as final until required additional verification is completed [5].
5. Limits, accuracy concerns and competing agendas
SAVE provides point‑in‑time information and depends on the underlying source databases and data accuracy; record errors, incomplete databases, and varying agency configurations mean SAVE can return no match or require manual review even for eligible applicants, and critics and privacy advocates have warned about possible misuse, lack of redress for erroneous denials, and the expansion of SAVE’s scope beyond original IRCA purposes [6] [11] [10]. Agencies and advocates push different priorities — program integrity and quick verification on one side, and privacy, due process and preventing wrongful denials on the other — and USCIS documentation repeatedly stresses procedural safeguards such as not denying benefits solely on an unresolved SAVE response [3] [5].
6. Bottom line
SAVE is a document-driven, tiered verification tool that uses specific immigration identifiers and document numbers (A‑Number, I‑94, SEVIS ID, passport, Green Card and EAD numbers among others) to generate instant or escalated verification responses for agencies determining benefit or license eligibility, and when SAVE cannot confirm status it prompts agencies to submit scanned document images for manual resolution — while the system improves automated checks, it carries known accuracy and privacy tradeoffs that agencies must manage [1] [4] [7] [11].