Moving in a month...Change of Address nightmare??

[SpiritAlight 1]

Do I trust that on-line change of address will "stick"?

Do I forward mail and "pray"?

Hmmmmm.....

Edited February 11, 2008 by SpiritAlight

[Lili 3]

You are required by law to give your change of address form USCIS within 10 days, i believe.

Do the change of address online and do the forwarding, just in case.

[Earmuffs 1]

I did one..

so far so good.. Got my NOA for transfer to CSC and Ill find out if the EAD worked anyday now.. since the card was ordered..

you do the ar-11 then it will ask if you have any pending cases and if you do, you do one by one entering the case numbers..

[Reba 2]

You also have to do the I-865 for the sponsoring spouse's address change notice.

[catrocks 0]

We're moving at the weekend, and I was planning on changing my address using the online tool, and forwarding our mail for 3 months or so. Just to be safe!

[Earmuffs 1]

from what Ive heard the post office will not forward some mail such as USCIS..

Thats just what I have read so Im not 100%

[catrocks 0]

That's cr@p. I will try anyway, I've just heard stories about how people inform USCIS of their change of address and then months later get a letter saying they missed their interview because somehow the interview letter was not delivered to the new address. Thanks for the info though, I'll be sure to ask at the post office about that.

[Ngoc-Anh 1]

that is true. The post will NOT forward mail from USCIS.

(I think it is because on the envelope of USCIS it says that return to sender)

We filed AR-11 online and also by mail. As well as I-865.

[Earmuffs 1]

if you have email notifications on then you will know (most of the time) when something has been sent out and you will either get it at your new address or you will not.. just follow their online steps, you only hear about the horror stories on here but there are alot of people you have had no problems.. like me. I even moved outta state.

[SpiritAlight 1]

Thank you all for your help.

:star:

As far as I know about government mail being forwarded, in Canada, they would not forward to outside of the country.

Here, in the U.S., I don't know.

[LaL 418]

Perhaps I am a bit overzealous, but here is what I did:

There are two fold issues when dealing with a move. #1 having your file transferred (for pending/open cases), and changing your address.

I did the following: submitted AR-11 for him online, I-865 for me, wrote a letter to my previous local office advising them to transfer my pending file to my new location, wrote a letter to my new location advising them to request my file from my previous local office. I attached a copy of the AOS NOA to the requests. I also wrote to the local congressperson asking for assistance to ensure this is transferred. As far as mailing, I only did change of address. I should get on doing mail forwarding as well.

One great change was the ability to do the AR-11 online which takes you directly to a screen regarding open files. This is probably where the stumbling block was previously as people would submit the AR-11 and assume that's all that was needed.

Below is some information by Meauxna that helped me:

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There are a number of things you can do to help this succeed. Getting your landlady on board is good, and you can talk to your letter carrier and let her know. SOME mail does get fwd'd by USCIS/USPS--all of our important stuff was forwarded.

Also be sure your names are inside your new mailbox.

To successfully change your mailing address, from the Dept of Overkill:

-file AR-11 as required by law. This does not change your *mailing* address, but it informs USCIS where you might have been, at one time. Just do it, it's the law.

In the past, our predecessor, the INS, required every alien in the United States to report his or her address annually, in January. This requirement was eliminated in 1980 and annual reporting is no longer required. However, if you are not a U.S. citizen, the law still requires that you report any change of address change within 10 days of the change.

How Do I Report a Change of Address to the USCIS?

AR-11 does not generally generate a NOA receipt. Send by trackable mail.

-Copy of AR-11 to any LOCAL or district office where you might have a file. Include a letter saying: change my mailing address

-copy of AR-11 to any Service Center where you might have a file. Include a letter saying: change my mailing address

-Phone call to 1-800 MisInformation line with the request: please change my mailing address

-file I-865 for USC Sponsor as required by law. You *may* get a NOA for this one and it *might* change the Sponsor's mailing address. Or not.

Sponsor's Notice of Change of Address

-file Change of Address and Mail Forwarding with the USPS. Your USCIS mail *might* get forwarded to your new addy. Or returned to USCIS, you never know. Unfortunate side effect: the PO sells your new address to bulk mailers and you are now back on every junk mailing list under the sun.

Do-it-yourself: Stop junk mail, email and phone calls

http://www.obviously.com/junkmail/

30 days later

-Follow up phone call to 1-800 to see if address change is captured.

-Cross fingers and keep an eye on processing times and when you expect to be contacted. Don't let it go for ages and then say 'dude, where's my case?'.©

[LaL 418]

that is true. The post will NOT forward mail from USCIS.

(I think it is because on the envelope of USCIS it says that return to sender)

We filed AR-11 online and also by mail. As well as I-865.

Supposedly this has changed. I haven't looked it up yet, but might be as easy as looking at some recent mail from USCIS to see if the notation is removed yet.

Here is the quote from the 2007 Ombudsman report:

The Ombudsman is pleased to report the agency's plans to adopt the essence of the 2006 Annual Report's recommendation (AR 2006 -- 08). For verification of green card delivery, USCIS reported in its 2006 Annual Report Response (at p. 16):

In FY 07, as we complete the transition to new postage meters, we plan to transition to new standards for mail delivery to allow mail forwarding with notification from the US Postal Service through its address service. As part of the proposed new fee structure, we further plan to move to 2-day delivery of cards with delivery confirmation. This will reduce delivery times, give customers tracking numbers so they can track mail delivery, while also providing for more secure delivery.

USCIS reported in its recent fee proposal, now final, that it was partnering with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to develop a way for USCIS "to track delivery of each document and to respond to queries from applicants regarding the status of document delivery."69 The proposed process change will apply to green cards and all USCIS secure documents (i.e., EADs and travel documents). USCIS and USPS foresee secure documents delivered via priority mail, a higher class of service than first class, with delivery confirmation.70 The Ombudsman will monitor the situation as the process is introduced.

[john_and_marlene 162]

Do I trust that on-line change of address will "stick"?

Do I forward mail and "pray"?

Hmmmmm.....

Have you already filed your AOS? If not, wait until after the move and use your new address.

If you have already filed, changing the address online/or submitting the AR-11 and I-865 will not suffice. You must also correct the address with the Field Office or Service Center that is handling your pending application.

[rebeccajo 14]

For the record, USCIS recommends filing AR-11 online.

[Earmuffs 1]

after you file ar-11 online it asks you if you have pending cases... if you do select yes and follow from there... I changed mine and never mailed anything in.. except the 865 for my wife...