USCIS to Discard SAVE Records Older Than 10 Years
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced plans to dispose of Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) records that are more than 10 years old. This initiative is part of USCIS’s ongoing efforts to protect personal information and adhere to federal records retention policies.
What is the SAVE Program?
The SAVE program is an online service used by federal, state, and local government agencies to verify an individual’s immigration status when they apply for public benefits or licenses. By accessing the SAVE system, agencies can confirm the lawful presence of immigrants and non-citizens, ensuring they meet the eligibility criteria for various benefits.
What Records Will Be Affected?
USCIS will dispose of SAVE case records that are older than 10 years, meaning cases created on or before December 31, 2013. This is part of USCIS’s effort to protect sensitive personal information and comply with federal data retention policies. The records slated for disposal will no longer be accessible after January 17, 2025.
What should SAVE User Agencies do?
Government agencies that use the SAVE system are to review their records immediately. If any historic cases are needed for future reference, agencies must download these records before the disposal date. This applies especially to agencies involved in processing long-term benefits, like Social Security, Medicaid, and other public assistance programs, where old records may still be relevant.
How to Download Historical SAVE Records
If you need to retain SAVE records for any ongoing cases or potential audits, follow these steps to download them before they are permanently deleted:
- Log in to the SAVE system using your authorized credentials.
- Navigate to the “Historic Records” section within the system.
- Run the Historic Records Report to identify any cases that are over 10 years old.
- Save the information in a CSV format, which can be easily accessed and stored for future reference.
SAVE agency users with the Superuser role have until Jan. 16, 2025, to download case information from the Historic Records Report if they want to retain information about these SAVE cases.
Impact on SAVE Users
While this disposal process is routine, it can have significant consequences if your agency relies on older records for verification purposes. Failing to download necessary records before they are deleted could create difficulties in processing certain benefits, verifying past decisions, or responding to audits.
What’s Next?
While this disposal process is routine, it can have significant consequences if your agency relies on older records for verification purposes. Failing to download necessary records before they are deleted could create difficulties in processing certain benefits, verifying past decisions, or responding to audits.
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