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SAVE History & Milestones
SAVE History & Milestones
SAVE has been helping federal, state and local benefit-granting agencies since 1986 by ensuring that only eligible applicants receive government benefits. SAVE serves over 1,000 agencies across the United States. Explore the timeline below to see SAVE’s milestones.
2017
SAVE Case Check in Espanol
February, 2017SAVE CaseCheck is a free service now available in English or Spanish. CaseCheck assists the agency and its benefit applicants who have verification cases that require additional processing times.
2016
SAVE turns 30
November, 2016SAVE celebrates its 30th anniversary. USCIS Director León Rodríguez narrates our 30th Anniversary video.
SAVE 30th Anniversary video
2015
CaseCheck adds new feature
September, 2015The free online service for benefit or licensing applicants, CaseCheck, now lets them continue to use their verification case number or use numeric identifiers from select immigration documents, such as their passport number, in combination with their date of birth to check the progress of their SAVE case.
2012
SAVE launches CaseCheck
November, 2012SAVE launches CaseCheck, a free and fast service that lets people follow the progress of their SAVE case online after they apply for a benefit or license with a federal, state of local government agency that uses SAVE.
Number of registered agencies reaches 1,000
May 17, 2012The City of Aragon, Georgia, registers as SAVE’s 1,000th agency.
2010
SAVE's First User Forum
June, 2010SAVE holds its first annual forum for registered agencies. Howard “Mac” McMillan welcomes guests at the event.
Health Act adopts SAVE
March, 2010The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is passed, requiring health and human services agencies to use SAVE to verify the immigration status of non-citizen applicants before granting health benefits.
2005
Real ID Act expands SAVE
May, 2005The Real ID Act of 2005 is passed, requiring states to use SAVE to verify the immigration status of applicants for driver’s licenses and ID cards.
1996
Congress passes IIRIRA
September, 1996The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) is passed, requiring government agencies to verify immigration status before granting benefits to immigrant applicants.
1986
Reagan signs Immigration Act
November, 1986President Ronald Reagan signs the Immigration Reform and Control Act to establish a system for verifying the immigration status of non-citizen applicants for, and recipients of, certain types of federally funded benefits. The system would be available to federal, state and local benefit-granting agencies that administer such benefits.
Pilot program evolves
1986Under the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), SAVE goes from being a pilot program to becoming an official program.
1984
SAVE gains Colorado support
August, 1984Governor Richard Lamm from Colorado sends correspondence to all U.S. governors in support of SAVE to ensure that only eligible applicants receive federal benefits.
