U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has expanded its SAVE program to give state and local governments powerful new tools to verify voter eligibility and block non-citizens from registering or voting in U.S. elections.
The changes, announced May 22, 2025, streamline how state officials confirm an individual’s citizenship status by enabling checks using Social Security numbers—a significant shift from the prior requirement for DHS-issued IDs.
What is the SAVE program?
SAVE, short for Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, is a USCIS-run program that helps federal, state, and local agencies confirm immigration or citizenship status when determining eligibility for public benefits, licenses, or voter registration.
Under new updates, SAVE can now:
- Accept Social Security numbers as a primary input
- Allow bulk submissions of voter verification cases
- Provide real-time confirmation of U.S. citizenship status
These changes aim to close long-standing gaps in voter roll oversight and election security by helping prevent voter registration by non-citizens.
Why is this being implemented now?
According to USCIS, the updates fulfill provisions of Executive Order 14248, which directs federal agencies to improve the integrity of U.S. elections. The agency emphasized that under President Trump and Secretary Noem, the administration is prioritizing election security and preventing voter fraud.
“States have pleaded for years for tools to identify and stop aliens from hijacking our elections,” said USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser. “We’re delivering on that need.”
No more fees for states
As of April 1, 2025, all fees for state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies to use SAVE have been eliminated. This policy change is expected to drive adoption by jurisdictions nationwide.
States interested in accessing SAVE for voter verification can register through the USCIS website.
What this means for elections
This development allows for:
- Faster and more accurate verification of voters’ citizenship
- Easier integration into state and local election systems
- Broader adoption of SAVE nationwide due to the elimination of costs
Election officials across the country now have a single, centralized federal resource to cross-check citizenship claims using data from the Social Security Administration and DHS.
Key takeaways
- USCIS has updated its SAVE system to improve voter ID verification.
- States can now use Social Security numbers to confirm U.S. citizenship.
- The system accepts multiple case submissions at once for efficiency.
- SAVE is now free for state and local governments.
- These enhancements support Executive Order 14248 on election integrity.
For more details or to sign up for the SAVE program, visit uscis.gov.
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