Nearly all foreign nationals who are staying in the United States for 30 days or more must notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of any address change within 10 days of moving. This requirement excludes A and G visa holders and visa waiver (ESTA) visitors, but includes permanent residents (“green card” holders). Failure to report an address change can result in serious consequences, including fines, imprisonment, and compulsory removal from the U.S.
While this is not a new requirement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced its intention to prosecute foreign nationals who fail to comply with this address change requirement. This makes compliance particularly critical in the current environment.
Filing a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) or any other federal agency does not satisfy this requirement. Foreign nationals can report an address change through a USCIS online account, or by filing a hard copy notice by mail. USCIS strongly encourages foreign nationals to submit their change of address using the online option. This method updates the address almost immediately in the government’s case management systems.
A foreign national for whom an employer filed a work visa petition cannot link a new address to the receipt number of that petition, as the receipt number belongs to the employer. A new address should be linked to applications filed directly by the foreign national, in particular for those applications that are listed in the applicant’s USCIS online account so that any USCIS notices are delivered to your new address.
Each family member should complete their own Form AR-11, with the exception of children under the age of 14. Detailed information on how to change an address, including special instructions for specific populations, can be found on USCIS’s How to Change Your Address page.
There is not currently a place to view the address that USCIS has on file. Individuals should keep copies of their paper-filed AR-11 forms or confirmations from the online system to verify compliance with the address reporting requirement.
Foreign nationals should not retroactively report address changes. For example, if they failed to report a prior address but have since moved to a new address. This could inadvertently direct delivery of immigration notices to a prior address. Certain U.S. citizens who sponsor a foreign national on a Form I-864 Affidavit of Support (usually through a family-based immigration sponsorship process) must also report address changes to USCIS using Form I-865 within 30 days of moving.
F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors enrolled in a SEVIS program can satisfy this reporting requirement by ensuring their address is timely updated in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Importantly, to maintain status in the U.S., such individuals must report a change of address to their Designated School Official (DSO) within 10 days of the change. Once the change of address has been communicated to the DSO, the DSO must input the new information in SEVIS within 21 days. If the foreign national’s SEVIS record is timely updated to reflect the change of address, there is no need to file Form AR-11 with USCIS.
Additional Information
Please contact a member of our Immigration Practice Group if you have any questions on notifying the government of a change of address.