For everyone following immigration news lately, it should come as no surprise that the U.S. Government has substantially tightened immigration and visa requirements, and has sought to interpret the immigration laws in a very narrow and restrictive way. What may come as a surprise, however, is that the government has started actively enforcing even some of the little known and seemingly inconsequential immigration law provisions that have existed for a long time but have previously gone unnoticed. A good example is the requirement to notify the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) when moving to a new address. By law, most temporary visa holders and even lawful permanent residents are required to inform USCIS when they change their residential address. The address change notification must be sent to USCIS within 10 days of moving.

How serious is this? Failure to notify the government of an address change could make a foreign national removable, i.e. subject to deportation. It sounds pretty harsh and somewhat improbable that someone could be deported over something as minor as this. Unfortunately, the current USCIS “zero tolerance” policy makes this not only probable but also highly likely.

Who is required to notify USCIS when changing address?

The following individuals are required to notify USCIS when they change their address:

Temporary visa holders (nonimmigrants): Most visa holders are required to notify USCIS in 10 days of moving within the United States or its territories. There are a few exceptions, however. The following temporary visa classifications are exempt from the notification requirement:

  • Diplomats (A visa holders)
  • Official government representatives working at international organizations (G visa holders)
  • Visitors traveling on visa-waiver, i.e. visitors who do not possess visas and who are admitted in the United States for up to 30 days

Permanent residents: All permanent residents (green card holders), whether they have conditional two-year cards, regular ten-year cards, or some of the older green cards of indefinite duration, are required to update their addresses with USCIS.

U.S. citizens: U.S. citizens are only required to update their addresses with USCIS  if they have submitted Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for a foreign national. In that case, they are required to notify USCIS within thirty days of moving.

Do I need to update my address with USCIS if I just submitted an immigration case, listing my new address on the application forms?

Yes. You must still notify USCIS of the address change even if you just submitted some type of an immigration application or petition that actually shows your new address. This is because the address change records are apparently kept in a separate database, which is not automatically synchronizing with the USCIS “benefits adjudication” divisions.

What if I filed an immigration case with USCIS some time ago and now I need to move?

You must update your address both for your pending immigration case and also to comply with the address change requirement. If you process the address update online, as explained below, both address updates could be done simultaneously within the USCIS online system.

What happens if I forgot to update my address with USCIS?

Failure to update your address within the requisite 10 day period could make you removable (deportable) unless you could convince USCIS that you had a reasonable excuse or did not willfully fail to update your address. At first glance, it may appear straightforward to claim reasonable excuse by arguing that you forgot, never knew about the requirement, etc. However, note that the burden of convincing USCIS falls on you. All they need to show is that you failed to update your address and this makes you deportable. You then need to show you had reasonable excuse or did not act in a willful manner.

What is “reasonable excuse”? This term is not defined anywhere in the immigration laws. Or how do you show that you did not “willfully” fail to update your address? In light of today’s hostile immigration environment, it is highly likely that USCIS will give these terms narrow and restrictive meanings. Simply telling the government that you did not know about the address change requirement or just forgot may not be enough.

I am a permanent resident and have lived in the United States for many years. I have never updated my address with USCIS and now I want to apply for my citizenship. Should I be worried?

The address update requirements applies to permanent residents (green card holders). In practice, the U.S. Government likely does not have the resources to proactively track whether every single non-U.S. citizen in the United States regularly updates her address. Especially since until recently, the only way to update one’s address was by mailing a paper form via USPS to an immigration storage facility.

However, times are changing. Permanent residents who are about to apply for U.S. citizenship should be aware that this may come up during naturalization interviews. The citizenship application is the final gauntlet that USCIS has traditionally used to screen permanent residents. Now more than ever, with the current USCIS “zero tolerance” policy, permanent residents applying for naturalization to become U.S. citizens may be put in removal/deportation proceedings. This is even for seemingly minor violations, as long as they trigger deportability.

How do I update my address with USCIS?

You may update your address online at the USCIS website at the following link:

https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange

The system will prompt you to enter the necessary information and will generate a final change of address confirmation. Make sure you print this confirmation page and save a copy for your records. If you have a pending case with USCIS, the online system will also give you the option to update your address for all pending applications or petitions.

This sounds awful. What can I do to protect myself?

You must update your address with USCIS within 10 days of moving. Print the final address change confirmation page and keep it for your records, at least until you naturalize and become a U.S. citizen. If you forgot or did not know you had to update your address, make sure you discuss your situation with an immigration attorney to evaluate if you are exposed, and if so, what can be done to mitigate risks.