Agencies that issue federal, state, and local public benefits can use the SAVE Program to help determine whether an alien is eligible for a requested benefit. The Department of Homeland Security developed the Program in response to federal legislation.

Voluntary vs. Mandatory

Some types of public benefit programs are required to participate in SAVE, including the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, Medicaid, the federal unemployment compensation program, and some housing assistance programs. Others may choose to participate, such as the federal food stamp program, some state departments of motor vehicles, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In the past, agencies who wished to verify alien status were required to first check a database by entering certain information specific to the alien. Although the alien's status was sometimes immediately available, other times, the benefits worker was required to undergo a secondary verification system. This secondary system required agencies to send certain information, including photocopies of some documents, through the U.S. Mail so the local immigration status verification office could make a final status determination.

The new Automated Status Verification System makes the secondary process automated. Now, benefits workers can verify an alien's status, in nearly all cases, using one of five methods, all of which are computer-based. In most of these cases, when secondary verification is required, the user simply enters information into the computer, and the data is automatically transmitted for processing. This eliminates the need for using the U.S. Mail and for making copies of documents, thus reducing the amount of time needed for final decisions. Additionally, a Web-based method of accessing status verification data is under development.

Copyright 2007 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.