How to Change Address with USCIS

Family, Business and other types of Immigration Petitioners, Applicants and Beneficiaries must remember to inform the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) of address changes for pending applications, and some approved applications.

Petitioners and Beneficiaries of Family and Business Cases

If a Family (Form I-130) or Business case (I-140) is filed and still pending, the Petitioner and Beneficiary of the Petition must always inform the USCIS of any address change within 10 days of the change of address. This is important to ensure you are informed of any updates of the application. To do so, please see “How to Change Address” below.

For Petitioners of Non-Immigrant/Temporary Visa cases (Companies filing Form I-129 for employees for L, H or other similar visas), an Amended Form I-129 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-129) should be filed.

Non-Immigrant/Temporary Employees should follow the “How to Change Address” below.

Sponsors of the Affidavit(s) of Support

Financial Sponsors of family cases must also inform the USCIS of changes to addresses. This includes all Petitioners that are also Sponsors, and filed a variation of the Form I-864. They must keep the USCIS updated until within 30 days of the change of address while the sponsorship agreement is still in force (until):

1. The Immigrant becomes a U.S. Citizen,
2. Receives credit for 40 quarters of work in the U.S.,
3. Departs the U.S. permanently, and either formally abandons lawful permanent resident status (by filing Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status) or is formally held in a removal proceeding to have abandoned that status,
4. In a removal proceeding, loses the lawful permanent resident status that the sponsored immigrant obtained based on the Sponsor’s Form I-864; or
5. The Lawful Permanent Resident dies.

Unless one of the above occurs, the Sponsor must submit a separate Form I-865 to report an address change even if sponsors share the same address.
See: https://www.uscis.gov/i-865

Lawful Permanent Residents (Green Card Holders)

Each individual that have obtained Lawful Permanent Residence (Green cards) must also keep the USCIS informed of their address until they obtained U.S. Citizenship, within 10 days of the change of address. To do so, please see “How to Change Address” below.

How to Change Address
Most non-U.S. citizens must report a change of address within 10 days of moving within the United States or its territories. Exceptions include:

1. Diplomats (visa status A),
2. Official government representatives to an international organization (visa status G), and
3. Certain nonimmigrants who do not possess a visa and who are in the U.S. for fewer than 30 days.

If you are not a U.S. citizen, and do not belong to one of the three excepted groups listed above, please do the following:

• If you have no case pending:
  • File Form AR-11 by mail (https://www.uscis.gov/ar-11), or
  • File Form AR-11 online (recommended: https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/displayCOAForm.do)
• If you have a pending or recently approved application(s) or Petition(s), except VAWA, T or U Visa cases, you should do:
  • File Form AR-11 by mail (https://www.uscis.gov/ar-11) AND call the USCIS at 1-800-375-5283. For TTY (deaf or hard of hearing) call: 1-800-767-1833, OR
  • Recommended: File Form AR-11 online (recommended: https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/displayCOAForm.do)
• If you have a have a pending or approved VAWA I-360, T nonimmigrant I-914 (“T visa”), or U nonimmigrant I-918 (“U visa”), AND you have also filed an I-485, I-765, I-601, I-192, I-131, or I-929:
  • File your change of address request at: USCIS, Vermont Service Center, 75 Lower Welden Street, St. Albans, VT 05479-0001
  • You may NOT change your address online.

If you mail a paper Form AR-11:

• We strongly recommend using certified, registered or return receipt mail. This will give you documentation that you did mail the form to USCIS, in case there should ever be a question.
• You must still update your address on any pending or recently approved applications by calling 1-800-375-5283. For TTY (deaf or hard of hearing) call: 1-800-767-1833.

What Information Should I Include?
For the Form AR-11: Complete the information requested on the form, including present address, last address (most recent only), alien or registration number, country of citizenship, date of birth, and your signature. You do not need to include temporary addresses as long as you maintain your present address as your permanent residence and continue to receive mail there. When sending us a change of address, you do not need to include numerous last addresses; only the most recent last address is needed. Be sure to also indicate in the appropriate block on the Form AR-11 your current employment and school, where applicable.

U.S. Citizens
U.S. citizens are not required to file a Form AR-11 and can make a change of address on pending cases via our Online Change of Address page or by calling 1-800-375-5283. For TTY (deaf or hard of hearing) call: 1-800-767-1833. U.S. Citizens who do not have an application or petition pending with USCIS are only legally required to notify USCIS of a change of address if they have previously submitted a Form I-864 on behalf of someone who has become a permanent resident. If you have previously submitted a Form I-864 for someone who immigrated to the U.S., you must complete a Form I-865 within thirty days of the completion of your move.

Where Can I Find The Law?
The INA is a law that governs immigration in the United States. For the part of the law concerning reporting of your address and for the penalties if you do not comply, please see INA Parts 265 and 266. The specific requirements for reporting your change of address are federal regulations found in 8 CFR Part 265 and 8 CFR Section 264.1(f)(6), concerning designated special registrants.

Penalties for Failure to Comply
A willful failure to give written notice to the USCIS of a change of address within 10 days of moving to the new address is a misdemeanor crime. If convicted, you (or the parent or legal guardian of an alien under 14 years of age who is required to give notice) can be fined up to $200 or imprisoned up to 30 days, or both. The alien may also be subject to removal from the United States. (INA Section 266(b)). Compliance with the requirement to notify the USCIS of any address changes is also a condition of your stay in the United States. Failure to comply could also jeopardize your ability to obtain a future visa or other immigration benefit. The law also says that an LPR can actually be removed (deported) for failing to give USCIS a new address, unless the LPR can prove: (1) that the failure to report a change of address was “reasonably excusable” or (2) that the failure was not “willful.”

We recommend that you print or save a copy of your completed notice to review in the future and for your records.
You should retain in your records:
1. A copy of the completed Form I-865; and
2. Evidence that you sent the original Form I-865 to the correct USCIS office and USCIS received that Form I-865.
USCIS will accept this documentation as proof that you complied with the requirement to file Form I-865. For example, if you send Form I-865 using the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), you should keep with your file copy of Form I-865, the USPS certified mail receipt or Express Mail shipping label along with a return receipt, both bearing postmarks and the address where you mailed Form I-865. If you send Form I-865 by a commercial delivery service, you should keep a photocopy of the shipping label and signature proof of delivery