Last week, the U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released updated instructions for Financial Aid Administrators to access the DHS Systematic Alien Verification Entitlement (SAVE) Program, an electronic process to verify students who were not confirmed to be eligible noncitizens through FSA’s automated matching process.
After a student completes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and enters an Alien Registration Number (ARN), FSA completes the first and second steps and returns the matching results on each student’s Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) in the Match Flags section’s “DHS Match” and “DHS Sec. Conf.” fields. Since post–secondary institutions must confirm that a student is in an immigration status that qualifies them for Title IV funds, when the first and second steps fail, institutions request verification for only the third step of the process. DHS created this third step only electronic process in their SAVE system especially for FSA.
Version 3.0 of SAVE instructions is now available for Financial Aid Administrators to use and should replace the Version 2.0 instructions. The Department of Education also released three videos supporting the instructions:
Additional and Updated Information
In the updated SAVE system, PDPA User IDs are now enabled to view records and submit third step verification requests and ED changed the “Additional Request” buttons (VAWA, Cuban/Haitian Entrant, and Fraud). In addition, starting with FAFSAs processed after September 2019, the DHS Verification Numbers found on the ISIR will start with “00” followed by the last 2 digits of a year (e.g. 0019 or 0020).
Version 3.0 also includes additional “how to” sections, including:
- When and how to use the “Resend Record to Matches” field in FAA Access to CPS Online to generate a new ISIR with a new DHS Verification Number;
- How to resolve the “No Cases Found” error message;
- How to resolve other common SAVE Error Messages;
- How to upload immigration documentation (graphic);
- How to resolve the “Resend Record to Matches” field not appearing in FAA Access to CPS Online in Corrections;
- How to advise students who need to correct, renew, or replace their immigration documents;
- How to add CPS Online Service to a PDPA’s SAIG Enrollment form; and
- How to provide feedback on the SAVE Instructions
Updated sections include:
- What action is necessary for each of the five SAVE response messages;
- How to proceed if a SAVE response is not received within 15 business days of third step verification request submission;
- How to check the ISIR DHS Match Flags for a confirmed eligible noncitizen status;
- How to determine whether unusual immigration statuses are eligible for Title IV Aid; and
- How to notify SAVE of incorrect information on a student’s case (e.g. Name, DOB, and ARN)
Download Version 3.0 of the SAVE Instructions
Sources:
IFAP: SAVE Instructions for U.S. Department of Education (School) Users Version 3.0 Available