Applying for a driver's license, professional license, or other government benefit?  Then you should know that immigrants who apply for driver's licenses and other benefits through state, federal or local government agencies must often wait for  verification of their immigration status through the SAVE program.

Standing for  Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, the SAVE Program helps federal, state and local benefit-issuing agencies, institutions, and licensing agencies determine the immigration status of benefit applicants.  It's an online service that allows access to immigration status information from more than 100 million records contained in the Department of Homeland Security databases.

Before the agency can issue a license or other benefit, it must get verification of the applicant's immigration status through SAVE.  However, not all agencies use SAVE and only authorized government agencies can use the SAVE program. To find out which agencies are registered to use SAVE, you can use the SAVE Agency Search Tool.

If you are an applicant for a public benefit like a driver's license or plan to apply, find out more about how your immigration status is verified through SAVE here.

Whenever an agency uses the SAVE program, it must give the applicant his or her SAVE verification number.  With that number, you  can check the progress of your SAVE case using the free SAVE CaseCheck online service.  You'll be asked to provide your date of birth and other identifying information so be sure to have one of the following immigration documents available as well:

• Certificate of Citizenship
• Certificate of Naturalization
• I-20 Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status
• I-94 Arrival/Departure Record
• I-94 stamp in Unexpired Foreign Passport
• I-551 Permanent Resident Card
• I-766 Employment Authorization Card

Visit the Save CaseCheck Online Service.