Informing USCIS of any address change is a must for immigrants
If you are a non-U.S. citizen residing in the United States for more than 30 days, and you are neither a diplomat (visa status A) nor an official government representative to an international organization (visa status G), it is your responsibility to inform USCIS of all changes of address within ten days of relocation. This process involves completing and filing Form AR-11 for yourself and, separately, for each family member who is changing address, including children. Additional steps may be required depending on whether you have applications or petitions still pending, or if you have certain kinds of status from previously approved petitions.
For those with no pending applications, the process is quite simple. Form AR-11 is a one-page form available at https://www.uscis.gov/ar-11 where one can download it in pdf format and print it. Instructions are included in the pdf, as is the mailing address of the USCIS office. If you prefer to submit a change of address online instead, you may do so at https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/displayCOAForm.do. In either case, there is no filing fee. Note that if you fill out the AR-11 online, you do not have to submit a paper version.
As noted above, if you have pending applications or petitions, you must complete a second step: in addition to submitting the AR-11, you must also change your address on all pending or recently approved applications through the online service or by telephone at 1-800-375-5283 (for the hearing-impaired: 1-800-767-1833). You should have receipt numbers for all pending or recently approved petitions handy. Using either method will help you complete both steps in one go.
Finally, for immigrants with pending or approved petitions of certain types—including Form I-360 (VAWA), I-914 (T visa), I-918 (U visa), or I-485 (Adjustment of Status)—one must print out an AR-11 and fil it with USCIS’s Vermont Service Center rather than the address included in the pdf. For I-751s, special divisions of either the Vermont Service Center or the California Service Center must receive your AR-11. Form AR-11 must also be submitted for all subsequent applications related to these cases as well. The online service and the phone number mentioned above are not permissible in these cases.
Full instructions for the change of address process can be found at https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange. We emphasize that failure to complete this process in a timely manner can delay or even jeopardize your application, so take this seriously. And as always, if you need assistance with filling out the AR-11 form or other steps, we at Soberalski Immigration Law are happy to help. You can reach our office at 414-533-5000.