Student Assistance General Provision – Subpart I – Immigration Status Confirmation

1845-0052 – Immigration Status Confirmation Public Institutions

This request is for approval of an extension of the reporting requirements currently in the Student Assistance General Provisions, 34 CFR 668, Subpart I. This subpart governs the Immigration-Status Confirmation, as authorized by section 484(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1091). The regulations may be reviewed at 34 CFR 668, Subpart I. The regulations are necessary to determine eligibility to receive program benefits and to prevent fraud and abuse of program funds. This collection updates the usage by individuals and schools.

THIRD STEP VERIFICATION (FORMERLY FORM G-845)

If the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) match fails after automated primary and secondary verification, the school must conduct a third step verification. If the student didn’t pass secondary verification or if the institution has conflicting information about the student’s immigration status after receiving a match result, the institution must review the record for third step verification. Third step verification is performed via the Systematic for Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.

Third step verification preparation involves the institution:

1. Requesting the student’s most current, unexpired immigration document. When it is submitted, make a copy of it.

2. Carefully reviewing the student’s immigration documentation against the accepted status and document descriptions as outline by Federal Student Aid.

3. Determining whether the student’s immigration documentation supports eligibility for Title IV aid. If the documentation does do not support an eligible status, the institution can tell the student that they is not eligible now, but may be eligible if/ when they provides eligible noncitizen documentation. The institution should not complete third step verification for an ineligible student.

If the student’s immigration documentation appears to demonstrate that the student is an eligible noncitizen, the institution must complete a third step verification request. Using the DHS verification number, submit it through the SAVE system to confirm that the documentation is valid and to obtain the student’s immigration status.

Respondents: 1,855

Responses: 20,713

Hours: 3,521

Paperwork Burden Statement

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1845-0052. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.17 hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this collection is required to obtain or retain a benefit (section 484(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended). If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this regulation, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, 202-570-8414 directly.