Posted Date: February 26, 2018
Author: Federal Student Aid
Subject: Transition from Paper G-845 Form to an Electronic Confirmation Process for Eligible Noncitizen Status
In April 2018, Federal Student Aid (FSA) plans to transition from the Department of Homeland Security-United States Customs and Immigration Services (DHS-USCIS) paper Form G-845 (for third step verification) to an electronic process via DHS’ Systematic for Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.
FSA is currently in the process of completing final operational tasks required to transition authorized school users to the electronic process by the end of April 2018.
DHS-USCIS is going paperless on May 1, 2018. DHS will reject (return to sender) all Forms G-845 received on or after this date. To avoid rejected Forms, schools are instructed to stop mailing Forms G-845 to DHS beginning on April 24, 2018. On that date, schools must hold all third step requests until their SAVE system access is activated.
Access to the SAVE System
Following FSA’s standard method of assigning user access to systems, FSA will provide each Title IV-eligible institution log-on credentials to access the SAVE system. An electronic announcement will be posted to notify schools when the SAVE system log-on credentials have been issued.
Each Primary Destination Point Administrator (PDPA) with Central Processing System (CPS) access will be assigned a SAVE user ID and temporary password. PDPAs can retrieve their SAVE system log-on credentials by accessing the SAIG Enrollment website at (https://FSAWebenroll.ed.gov), and then navigating to the “Manage your SAIG Mailboxes” screen. Using their log-on credentials, PDPAs will establish their SAVE account on the SAVE website.
PDPAs will act as custodian of SAVE system user IDs at their institution, assigning subordinate user IDs to authorized users (Financial Aid Administrators (FAAs)); doing so will allow FAAs access to the SAVE system, including submission of third step verification requests.
Using the SAVE System
Upon receiving log-on credentials, FAAs can log on to the SAVE system, and submit third step DHS Verification requests for eligible noncitizen students with minimal data entry. FAAs can upload the student-provided immigration document(s) to the student’s record and then submit the verification request.
SAVE will provide the student’s immigration status response through SAVE in three to five business days. This status response will appear as text such as, “Lawful Permanent Resident” or “Refugee”; FAAs will determine the student’s eligibility for Title IV funds by comparing the SAVE immigration status response with eligibility responses in Volume I, Chapter 2 of the FSA Handbook, as is the current procedure.
SAVE System Resources
A new link will be established on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website (“DHS-SAVE, Eligible Noncitizen”) in March 2018. It will be a repository for all electronic announcements, SAVE system instruction documents, and other information related to eligible noncitizen issues.
FSA hopes that this transition to an electronic process helps institutions achieve modernization and sustainability goals. FSA genuinely appreciates the community’s patience and assistance throughout the implementation of this process.