Secondary verification is an electronic process that must be initiated by the CAO after receiving an initial response of Institute Additional Verification (IAV). In order to complete the verification process and have the applicant’s status verified which provides a more extensive search of automated and paper United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), all SAVE users must promptly take additional verification actions when Institute Additional Verification response is received. The CAO may escalate a case for additional verification any time after receiving a response and it is believed to be incorrect or incomplete.
NOTE: 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.
Below is the screen that will appear when an initial response of IAV is received:
To obtain secondary verification the CAO will:
Use the “Special Comments” field to request specific information and/or explain why an initial response needs additional review. If information is needed on the pending applications, the CAO may write “Request Pending Application(s) and the application number(s)” in comments.
NOTE: SAVE will not specifically indicate that an applicant does not have an application pending in its response, and such requests will not receive a response. This step takes between 3-5 federal working days.
SAVE will respond with information about the applicant: either the applicant’s US citizenship information, or immigration status (if any) and/or other information such as employment authorization, admit to or expiration date, or a request to “Resubmit Doc.” The CAO must use the Scan and Upload function to electronically submit photocopies (front and back) of the applicant’s relevant immigration/citizenship documents when instituting additional verification to avoid the possibility of a “Resubmit Doc” response.
NOTE: When submitting the additional verification request, the CAO may include more information and/or a copy of the applicant’s immigration document. If all the requested documentation is not uploaded, a “Resubmit with Docs” response will be received.
After the USCIS returns the SAVE response, the CAO will examine the USCIS response to determine if the noncitizen has lawful immigration status and if the noncitizen's status allows eligibility for assistance. See the noncitizen status charts in CAH 122, MAEH 322, and SNAP 522 for help in determining noncitizen eligibility. The CAO makes the actual decision regarding eligibility. USCIS only reports noncitizen status.
The CAO must scan a copy of the SAVE response and its attachments in the case record permanently.
Updated September 26, 2025, Replacing February 23, 2016