The CAO must verify through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program, the immigration status of all noncitizens who apply for or receive:
Pub. L. 99-603, Section 121(d)(3)
cash assistance.
food stamps.
medical assistance.
Exception: The CAO does not need to verify immigration status for a noncitizen who receives emergency medical assistance.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Services, or INS) provides two verification methods for SAVE: primary verification and secondary verification.
Primary verification uses the noncitizen's Alien Registration Number, or A-Number, to query the automated SAVE.
Secondary verification is initiated after receiving an initial response of Institute Additional Verification (IAV). All SAVE users must promptly take additional verification actions when an Institute Additional Verification response is received. An authorized SAVE user will use the Scan and Upload function to electronically submit photocopies (front and back) of the applicant’s relevant immigration/citizenship documents. CAO SAVE users must stop using the G-845-S forms as that process is obsolete. If additional verification is no longer needed because eligibility may be determined without a SAVE response, action must be taken to close the case.
NOTE: When completing a SAVE request, the CAO will not utilize Sponsorship Compliance functionality. If the SAVE case results page includes sponsor or household member information, additional questions may be asked. Responses to these questions are not required and the CAO should select Close Case.
The CAO must not delay, deny, reduce, or terminate benefits pending completion of noncitizen status verification through SAVE. Not delaying benefits means the applicant who is otherwise eligible for benefits and has a pending SAVE verification should have benefits opened until SAVE leads the CAO to conclude the applicant is not eligible.
NOTE: Noncitizen documentation differs from verification of noncitizen status:
Noncitizen documentation consists of original USCIS documents which anoncitizen must provide to the CAO as a condition of eligibility.
A noncitizen must present to the CAO with a valid, unexpired document from the USCIS indicating that the noncitizen is lawfully residing in the U.S. The CAO must refer noncitizens without documentation, or with an expired USCIS document, to their local USCIS office for follow-up. The CAO may accept a receipt or other indication from the local USCIS office that a petition has been filed but has not yet been adjudicated. Failure to meet the documentation requirement may result in the delay, denial, or reduction of benefits for the client.
Verification of noncitizen status is done through SAVE after the noncitizen provides the USCIS documentation. The receipt of scanned documents is acceptable to proceed with SAVE determination. The CAO will need the A-Number or I-94 Number to verify the status.
Benefits cannot be delayed, denied, or reduced pending SAVE verification of noncitizens documented status.
The CAO will examine the USCIS response to SAVE verification and determine if the noncitizen has lawful immigration status and if the noncitizen's immigration status allows eligibility for assistance. USCIS does not determine eligibility; USCIS only provides information regarding noncitizen status. See the noncitizen status charts in CAH 122, MAEH 322, and SNAP 522 for help in determining noncitizen eligibility.
NOTE: Individuals granted deferred action under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) cannot be considered lawfully present and should be coded as citizenship code 05. The only benefit a DACA individual is likely to qualify for is Emergency Medical Assistance.
This chapter provides instructions for primary and secondary verification of noncitizen status, as well as information regarding the SAVE data base and help in understanding the USCIS response.
The CAO will verify an noncitizen's immigration status only once unless:
previously obtained verification is questionable.
the noncitizen's status is subject to change.
Example: Medical assistance (MA) Renewal, MA recipient is no longer under the 5-year bar, another SAVE request should be made to confirm eligibility as a change occurred in the individual’s eligibility.
NOTE: Examples of when a noncitizen status is subject to change includes, but is not limited to:
Noncitizen status should be reviewed at reapplication and a new SAVE initiated if recipient indicates or the CAO is aware that there has been a change.
a SAVE response indicating lawful noncitizen status is not present in the case record.
A Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Human Services was revised to grant permission to verify the status of naturalized citizens through SAVE. The CAO will need the A-number of the naturalized citizen to verify the individual's status. However, a SAVE response cannot be used as documentation of U.S. citizenship. The individual must cooperate in obtaining a copy of the Naturalization Certificate or in submitting another proof of U.S. citizenship along with identity documentation. With confirmation of the individual's naturalized citizenship status through SAVE, the individual will be authorized if otherwise eligible.
Once obtained, the CAO must scan a copy of the SAVE response in the case record.
NOTE: If any inconsistency exists between these procedures and the SAVE procedures in the Cash assistance Handbook, the Medical Assistance Eligibility Handbook, or the SNAP Handbook, these SAVE Procedures supersede those in the program handbook.
Updated September 26, 2025, replacing October 9, 2012