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Change Of Address Requirement

Information about Change Of Address Requirement

All visitors who come to the United States of America are required to report any changes in residential and communicational address. These visitors need to report the change to USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) if they are planning to stay in the US for more than 30 days. The change of address requirement is applicable particularly to international students coming over to the US, as they need to stay more than 30 days to complete their courses. There are different processes which people need to follow as per their visa status.

How to Comply With the Change of Address Requirement

A US VISA holder who is staying in the US, and who has recently changed his/her address, needs to fill-in form AR-11 or AR-11SR (Special Registration) and submit it to USCIS. Both these forms can be obtained from the homepage of USCIS. Form AR-11 can be filled in and mailed to the USCIS address, or it can be uploaded online at the USCIS web portal. This is a convenient option and it can be done from any place across the globe. On the other hand, form AR-11SR can only be mailed; it cannot be filed online.

Different Change of Address Requirement for F-1 & J-1 VISA

Individuals with F–1 and J-1 status need to notify their visa sponsor of the new address. The visa sponsor is the office which had originally issued the Form I-20 and DS-2019 to the VISA holder. The subsequent submission by the visa sponsor to SEVIS satisfies the requirement for the change of address. The important fact to remember here is that the visa sponsor must be notified within 10 days of the change. Colleges and universities will also need the students to keep them informed about any address change, irrespective of whether the college is the visa sponsor or not.

Things to Remember

There are few important things to remember before submitting Form AR11 & form AR-11SR. Submission of these forms by direct mail simply inform the USCIS of the address change. Nevertheless, the district office and the processing center may still not be aware of the change of address requirement. On the other hand, updating form AR-11 online accomplishes both the requirements. It is important to keep the educational institution and/or visa sponsor informed whenever the change of address request is submitted. One important field where people usually get confused is, “I am in the United States as…” The J-1, non-student should mark it as “visitor”, while J-1, F-1 or M-1 individual should mark it as “Student.” All other visa holders can check it as “other.”

The change of address requirement becomes a difficult process for some as USCIS has not come up with exhaustive details on the completion of form AR-11. People had complaints about some questions being confusing, and no further clarifications have yet to be received from USCIS. It is also recommended to take a photocopy of the updated form before submitting it to the USCIS. This is required to keep proof of the information submitted. The address for sending the direct mail is available on the homepage of the USCIS, and it is different for both AR-11 and AR-11SR.