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Implementation of the INS Secondary Confirmation Match in 2001-2002

Publication Date: August 2, 2001

Author: CPS | Central Processing System

Summary: Implementation of the INS Secondary Confirmation Match in 2001-2002

Posted On Date: August 3, 2001

The automated INS Secondary Confirmation Match will be implemented in the CPS for 2001-2002 on August 6, 2001. The INS secondary confirmation process itself is unchanged. The only things that will change are: 1) the CPS will automatically request INS to conduct the secondary confirmation when applicants who apply as eligible non-citizens fail INS primary verification, and 2) schools will get the results of the INS secondary confirmation via ISIRs. (For a detailed description of citizenship issues, including secondary confirmation, go to http://www.ifap.ed.gov and under "Most Frequently Visited Publications" select SFA Handbooks, 2001-2002 Award Year, Volume 1 - Student Eligibility, Chapter 2 Citizenship.)

Within 72 hours of an ISIR being sent to the school with the primary verification results, INS will send the results of its automated secondary confirmation to the CPS. The CPS will then generate another CPS transaction and report the results in the INS Secondary Confirmation Match flag in field 150 on a new ISIR we send to you. The SYS GEN indicator in ISIR field 135 on the new ISIR will be set to "I" meaning that INS secondary confirmation has been completed.

Processing Results:

ISIR transactions of applicants who fail the INS Primary Verification Match will continue to have an INS match flag of "N" in ISIR field 148, which means that INS did not confirm the student's claim of being an eligible non-citizen. Also, the INS Secondary Confirmation Match flag in ISIR field 150 will be "P", which means that automated secondary confirmation is in progress.

The INS secondary confirmation processing results and resolution guidance are described below. Note that INS Secondary Match Flag is provided in ISIR field 150 and will have one of the following match values. The INS Match Flag, which are the results from primary verification is provided in ISIR field 148 and will always be "N" when one of the following values is provided in ISIR field 150.

INS Secondary Match Flag = 'P': Automated secondary confirmation in progress. (comment 144 and SAR C code associated with INS Match Flag of "N" will also be present. Note the minor change in wording from current comment 144.)

Comment 144: "The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has not yet confirmed your statement that you are an eligible non-citizen. INS will continue to check their records and we will notify you when we have received more information from them."

Resolution: School should wait at least five, but no more than 15, business days for a CPS generated ISIR with results of automated secondary confirmation. If no response, school must begin paper (G845S) secondary confirmation process.

INS Secondary Match Flag = 'Y': Citizenship Confirmed, comment 120.

Comment 120: "This SAR has been produced due to information we received from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regarding your citizenship status. Your citizenship status has been confirmed by the INS and you meet the citizenship requirements for federal student aid."

Resolution: Student eligible, no resolution required

INS Secondary Match Flag = 'C': In Continuance, comment 105, SAR "C" code.

Comment 105: "This SAR has been produced due to information we received from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regarding your citizenship status. The INS has not yet confirmed your statement that you are an eligible non-citizen. You must submit proof of your non-citizen eligibility to your school. If you fail to submit proof to your school within 30 days, or longer if your school allows, you may not be eligible for federal student aid."

Resolution: School is encouraged, but not required, to wait ten business days for another systems generated ISIR with updated Secondary Confirmation Match flag. If no response, begin mandatory paper (G845S) secondary confirmation process.

INS Secondary Match Flag = 'N': Citizenship Not Confirmed, comment 46, SAR "C" flag.

Comment 46: "This SAR has been produced due to information we received from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regarding your citizenship status. The INS did not confirm your statement that you are an eligible non-citizen. You must submit proof of your non-citizen eligibility to your school. If you fail to submit proof within 30 days, or longer if your school allows, you may not be eligible for federal student aid."

Resolution: Begin paper (G-845S) secondary confirmation process.

INS Secondary Match Flag = 'X': INS needs more information, comment 109, SAR "C" code.

Comment 109: "This SAR has been produced due to information we received from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regarding your citizenship status. The INS did not have enough information to confirm your statement that you are an eligible non-citizen. You must contact the Financial Aid Administrator at your school to find out what information is needed. If you fail to submit the required information to your school within 30 days, or longer if your school allows, you may not be eligible for federal student aid."

Resolution: Begin paper (G-845S) secondary confirmation process.

Note: match flag values of P, C and X will need to be added to the valid field values for field 150 of the ISIR record layout and in the EDE Technical Reference.

Multiple Transactions:

If a correction is made to a transaction that contains Secondary Confirmation Match results, we decide, based on those results, whether we need to send the newest transaction to the INS Match again. If secondary confirmation results confirmed citizenship (match value of "Y") or if it is in continuance (match value of "C"), CPS will not send the records through the match process again. Likewise, if primary verification results show a match value of "Y", the record will not be resent. Otherwise, the record will be resent for matching.

The SYS GEN transaction is always a response to the transaction that was originally sent to secondary confirmation (has a "P" value in INS Secondary Confirmation Match flag).

It is possible that the student or the school might have made a SAR/ISIR correction during the time that INS was conducting automated secondary confirmation. This correction (made after automated secondary confirmation began) will start the process all over again. So, if INS Primary Verification Match flag is "N" on the transaction being corrected, and name, date of birth, signature and alien registration number on the correction are valid, the INS primary verification match will once again be conducted. If the correction transaction passes primary verification (INS Match Flag = Y), it can be used for awarding. If the correction transaction does not pass primary verification, it will be automatically sent to secondary confirmation.

Check Student's Identifiers:

If the applicant fails primary verification, please confirm that the student identifiers, especially the INS alien registration number and date of birth, are accurate before sending copies of documentation to the INS. If it is not correct, submit corrections to the CPS instead of paper secondary confirmation (i.e., the submission of a completed G-845S form). In all cases, if the FAA does not receive a response to the paper secondary confirmation request after 15 days, he or she may then award the student aid if the documentation supports the claim of eligible non-citizen status.

If you have questions about the implementation of the INS Secondary Confirmation Match, please contact CPS/WAN Technical Support at (800) 330-5947, or via email at cpswan@ncs.com.