About the SAVE Program

History 

In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which required the creation and implementation of a verification system that confirms immigration statuses of individuals applying for certain federally-funded benefits.  This system originally came under the jurisdictional purview of legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).  To successfully accommodate this federal mandate, legacy INS created the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program in 1987 to develop the verification system.  With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, jurisdiction is now under the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Verification Division.

Mission

The SAVE Program will provide timely customer-focused immigration status information to authorized agencies in order to assist them in maintaining the integrity of their programs.  SAVE will promote the use of automated systems to enhance efficiency, customer service and interagency collaboration, while protecting sensitive information.