The New EIV Citizenship Verification Tool

On January 12, 2026, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a letter to Owners and Management Agents (O/As) reinforcing their legal obligation to ensure that Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) is restricted to U.S. citizens and noncitizens with eligible immigration status.

The directive provided specific instructions on two core requirements:

1. Verification: Documenting and verifying the citizenship or eligible immigration status of individuals prior to admission to the PBRA program.
2. Proration: Prorating housing assistance for any “mixed-status households” that include an ineligible noncitizen.

Introduction of the EIV-SAVE Tenant Matching Report

Following up on the January directive, HUD released a new applicant and tenant screening tool on May 21, 2026, called the EIV-SAVE Tenant Matching Report.

This tool helps O/As identify potential citizenship and immigration status discrepancies. It achieves this by cross-referencing information in HUD’s Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS) with data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.

The EIV-SAVE Tenant Matching Report is not automatically updated. A tenant will not actually be removed from the report until HUD publishes an updated report. At this time, HUD has not specified when an update to the report will be released. It is important to note that this is different from other standard EIV reports, such as the Identity Verification or Deceased Tenants Reports, which HUD generally mandate running on a strict monthly or quarterly basis.

Technical Delays and Compliance Guidelines

While HUD initially required O/As to review and resolve all discrepancies by June 20, 2026, technical issues have impacted the EIV-SAVE Tenant Matching Report webpage. HUD has indicated that it anticipates extending the initial compliance date once the report functionality is fully restored.

To safeguard your property against non-compliance penalties, implement the following documentation procedures immediately:

• Document System Errors: Print the webpage displaying the system error message.
• Annotate the Printout: Clearly note on the page that the O/A attempted to run the EIV-SAVE Tenant Matching Report but received an error message.
• Authorize and File: Sign and date the printout, then place it directly into your EIV Master Binder.
• Maintain Frequent Checks: Monitor the system regularly and document every single attempt to access the report.

Note: Not all projects will have discrepancies; if no discrepancies exist, a report will not be generated. If a report is not generated due to no discrepancies, make sure to print the webpage and include printer header and footers showing the date and time of your attempt. Have the person who ran the report sign and date and place the copy in your Master EIV binder that no report was available to print due to no discrepancies found.

Failure to run the report and/or document attempts to run the report may result in EIV penalties per Handbook 4350.1 REV-1, Ch. 0-19, or Active Partners Participation System (APPS) compliance flags.

System Access Requirements

To run the EIV-SAVE Tenant Matching Report, users must secure sequential credentials across three separate systems:

1. Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System (TRACS) Access: Gain access to TRACS, specifically the TRACS Intranet Applications of Tenant and Voucher Queries.
2. Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) System: Request access to the Enterprise Income Verification (EIV) System through your TRACS credentials.
3. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system: Request access to the USCIS Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.

Resolving Discrepancies on the EIV-SAVE Tenant Matching Report

Note: O/As must ensure they have both EIV and SAVE access before completing the following steps. Certain SAVE resources can only be accessed when a user is logged in.

Step 1: Log in to SAVE and navigate to Help>Resources to find the Guide to Understanding SAVE Verification Responses. Locate the “Initial Verification Responses” section of the Guide to assist with interpreting the USCIS Responses listed in the EIV report.

Step 2: Log in to EIV and navigate to the USCIS-SAVE System report under “External Links.” Select a contract or project number to review. Note: Only properties with tenant discrepancies will have reports available to review.

Step 3: Find the USCIS Response (last column of the report) for each tenant listed in the project’s report. If the tenant is no longer receiving assistance or no longer lives at the property, then no further action is necessary.

Step 4: Confirm that the tenant’s file contains acceptable evidence of eligible immigration status required by 24 CFR § 5.508 and prior SAVE verification results (including Class of Admission (COA)[1]) if applicable. See the table below for a description of acceptable evidence based on an individual’s citizenship or immigration status. If acceptable evidence does not exist in the tenant file, then the O/A must obtain the required evidence and verify the tenant’s eligible immigration status per 24 CFR § 5.512.

 

Citizenship/Immigration Status	Required Evidence of Citizenship or Eligible Immigration Status
U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals	· Signed declaration of U.S. citizenship or U.S. nationality · Owners may require applicants/residents to provide verification of citizenship
Noncitizens who are 62 or older at the time of admission	· Signed declaration of eligible immigration status · Proof of age document
All other noncitizens	· Signed declaration of eligible immigration status · An original document designated by DHS as acceptable evidence of immigration status in one of the six categories in Ä 5.506(a) for the specific immigration status claimed by the individual · Verification consent form
Individuals who do not contend immigration status Note: These individuals will not be listed in the EIV-SAVE Tenant Matching Report	· The family must identify in writing to the O/A the family member (or members) who does not contend that they have eligible immigration status.

 

Step 5: Verify that the tenant’s biographic information in Section C. Household Information of the HUD-50059 (e.g., name, date of birth, relationship code, citizenship status, Social Security Number, alien registration number, etc.) is correct based on tenant file documents. O/As must immediately correct any data entry errors by transmitting a corrected HUD-50059 to TRACS.

Note: Do not use dashes when entering an individual’s alien registration number into the HUD-50059. For example, if an alien registration number is A-123-456-789, enter the alphanumeric number as A123456789.

Step 6: If steps 4 and 5 do not resolve the discrepancy between the information for a tenant listed in the EIV-SAVE Tenant Matching Report and the acceptable evidence of eligible immigration status provided by the tenant, then the O/A may create a new SAVE case using a full nine-digit Social Security Number (SSN) and/or immigration enumerator (such as an A-Number/USCIS Number, Arrival-Departure Record I-94 Number, SEVIS ID Number, Naturalization/Citizenship Certificate Number, or Visa Number) to determine the tenant’s citizenship/eligible immigration status. If the O/A determines that the tenant does not have citizenship or eligible immigration status based on the previous steps, the O/A must follow HUD’s regulations at 24 CFR § 5.514 prior to reducing or terminating a family’s assistance, after obtaining a signed verification consent form from the tenant, or an adult residing in the unit if the tenant is a child.

Step 7: Retain the EIV-SAVE Tenant Matching Report in both the project’s EIV Master File and in the tenant file, along with notes on actions taken to resolve the discrepancy

Owners and Management Agents should be well trained in understanding the rules and regulations of the affordable housing programs pertaining to their properties as they relate to maintaining compliance. MLCM offers consulting services and training regarding various affordable housing programs. For more information on these services, don’t hesitate to contact us.

The information presented in this article is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be construed as consulting advice from M&L Compliance Management LLC.

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