Unsuccessful Changes of Address

[Fitzy 2]

Hello,

I apologize in advance for the lengthy description, but thank you for any help you can provide! We will file the I-751 soon, but there is a problem. We have moved twice in the last few years and filed the proper Change of Address paperwork both times within the 10-day time limit. USCIS successfully received my paperwork (the petitioner), but did not receive my husband's (the beneficiary's) Change of Address paperwork. We have now made THREE attempts to successfully submit his Change of Address, but USCIS has never processed it.

We found out, a week ago, that USCIS has an old address on record for my husband. He received a reminder letter from USCIS to file the I-751, and the letter was sent to an old address. Apparently, the post office bounced the letter back to USCIS and notified them that we had moved. USCIS then sent us a nasty letter at our current address saying "USCIS received notification that your address has changed...every person who is not a citizen of the United States...must complete a Form AR-11 within 10 days of an address change..."

USCIS included, with this letter, a form AR-11 for us to submit. So, we RESUBMITTED the AR-11 for my husband to the address indicated on the form. Here's the really fun part...turns out, USCIS sent us a form that expired in 2008, the address was not recognized by USPS (it was a London, Kentucky address), and the AR-11 was returned to us.

We have now submitted an AR-11 for my husband THREE TIMES, and USCIS still does not have his current address. We have his I-751 packet ready and would like to mail this as soon as possible, but we are nervous about the address situation. His green card expires in mid-March.

Should we assure that the AR-11 (Change of Address) gets successfully processed before sending the I-751, or should we just send the I-751 packet and include some explanation of all our attempts to submit the AR-11?

Thank you so much for your help!

-Fitzy

[markiweiss49 4]

on your 1-751 form, put your current address.

also, make copies of all your ar-11 that you had already filled out and keep them just in case if they ask you why you didn't filled out your ar-11. i don't think there will be no problem as long as you put your current address on the 1-751 application.

[juliava 80]

When you say "we filed the proper change of address paperwork"...what does it mean exactly?AR-11 should have been done ONLINE from the very beginning, NOT mailed out. Once it's completed online, USCIS sends you a confirmation in the mail within approximately 7 business days. It's that simple.

[milimelo 4,481]

USCIS will only send confirmation letter for I-865. AR-11 never gets a response.

OP, you have to have a pending case to get a proper confirmation - since you did not, you wouldn't have gotten anything. Just file I-751 with the current address and you'll be fine.

[Martyshk 137]

When you say "we filed the proper change of address paperwork"...what does it mean exactly?AR-11 should have been done ONLINE from the very beginning, NOT mailed out. Once it's completed online, USCIS sends you a confirmation in the mail within approximately 7 business days. It's that simple.

We never received any confirmation from USCIS about change of address, so no, they don't always send it out and definitely not within ~ 7 business days

USCIS will only send confirmation letter for I-865.

We never got confirmation for I-865 either.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Hello,

I apologize in advance for the lengthy description, but thank you for any help you can provide! We will file the I-751 soon, but there is a problem. We have moved twice in the last few years and filed the proper Change of Address paperwork both times within the 10-day time limit. USCIS successfully received my paperwork (the petitioner), but did not receive my husband's (the beneficiary's) Change of Address paperwork. We have now made THREE attempts to successfully submit his Change of Address, but USCIS has never processed it.

We found out, a week ago, that USCIS has an old address on record for my husband. He received a reminder letter from USCIS to file the I-751, and the letter was sent to an old address. Apparently, the post office bounced the letter back to USCIS and notified them that we had moved. USCIS then sent us a nasty letter at our current address saying "USCIS received notification that your address has changed...every person who is not a citizen of the United States...must complete a Form AR-11 within 10 days of an address change..."

USCIS included, with this letter, a form AR-11 for us to submit. So, we RESUBMITTED the AR-11 for my husband to the address indicated on the form. Here's the really fun part...turns out, USCIS sent us a form that expired in 2008, the address was not recognized by USPS (it was a London, Kentucky address), and the AR-11 was returned to us.

We have now submitted an AR-11 for my husband THREE TIMES, and USCIS still does not have his current address. We have his I-751 packet ready and would like to mail this as soon as possible, but we are nervous about the address situation. His green card expires in mid-March.

Should we assure that the AR-11 (Change of Address) gets successfully processed before sending the I-751, or should we just send the I-751 packet and include some explanation of all our attempts to submit the AR-11?

Thank you so much for your help!

-Fitzy

I filled the AR-11 on-line and printed out a copy of the confirmation page to keep for my records. For the I-865 the USC sponsor for the AOS must file, I received a confirmation that my address change was accepted. File the I-751 with your new address as all correspondences will go to the address on the application. You can include copies of the completed AR-11 and the I-865 if you want to show that you complied or not.

Good luck,

Dave

[bigdog 376]

I agree just file your I751.

[Fitzy 2]

When you say "we filed the proper change of address paperwork"...what does it mean exactly?AR-11 should have been done ONLINE from the very beginning, NOT mailed out. Once it's completed online, USCIS sends you a confirmation in the mail within approximately 7 business days. It's that simple.

Juliava--I filed the online change of address online BOTH times. We never received any confirmation in the mail. I filed online shortly after the second move. Again, no confirmation. I was nervous that USCIS had not received anything from us, so I then mailed a copy of the AR-11. Forgive my diligence. I was nervous.

Yes, I realize that it SHOULD be "that simple," but we encountered a few bumps along the way. USCIS is not infallible.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Juliava--I filed the online change of address online BOTH times. We never received any confirmation in the mail. I filed online shortly after the second move. Again, no confirmation. I was nervous that USCIS had not received anything from us, so I then mailed a copy of the AR-11. Forgive my diligence. I was nervous.

Yes, I realize that it SHOULD be "that simple," but we encountered a few bumps along the way. USCIS is not infallible.

You don't get confirmation. The I-865 will, AR-11 doesn't. You should file it online and then mail it to make sure it's changed it both locations (there are active files and non-active file address locations or something like that).

The ROC reminder letter will ALWAYS go to your address on file when your GC is approved, even if you've moved.

Just file the I-765. Print the address change confirmations and you'll be fine if ever queried.

[juliava 80]

Vanessa- let's not generalize. I filed AR-11 online twice and USCIS mailed me confirmations for my change of address both times. OP- attach the online AR-11 receipts to your paperwork and you should be fine.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Vanessa- let's not generalize. I filed AR-11 online twice and USCIS mailed me confirmations for my change of address both times. OP- attach the online AR-11 receipts to your paperwork and you should be fine.

You're right. Back in September 2010 when I filed AR-11 they did not mail me change of address confirmation. Anyone else i know who moved did not get confirmations. it's not standard, so not getting one means nothing.

Are you sure yours actually said AR-11 in the reason? I actually got 2 for my husbands I-865.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

We have now submitted an AR-11 for my husband THREE TIMES, and USCIS still does not have his current address. We have his I-751 packet ready and would like to mail this as soon as possible, but we are nervous about the address situation. His green card expires in mid-March.

Should we assure that the AR-11 (Change of Address) gets successfully processed before sending the I-751, or should we just send the I-751 packet and include some explanation of all our attempts to submit the AR-11?

Thank you so much for your help!

-Fitzy

Confirming what Vanessa said and what is important to your post--

The reminder notice is ALWAYS mailed to the same address the greencard went to. It never gets an address change. USCIS has your address. You are fine. You don't need to contact them. Happens to everybody who moves after the greencard. Happened to us. I've read your same story 30 times in the last two or so years.

[markiweiss49 4]

i thought that uscis doesn't send out a reminder notice. on the uscis website, they say that they don't send out a reminder notice for the 1-751. anyway, i printed out my wife's ar-11 and one week later, i received the 1-865 confirmation that i had send out.

[Married2009 32]

Hi Fitzy. We had the same problem. This time when we did the AR-11, when I printed it out, it didn't show my husband's A #. We tried to do again, and the site asked if we had moved in the last 45 days. When we answered no, we got a message telling us we would receive a notice within 45 days. We got the notice confirming the change of address about 3 weeks later.

You can also make a infopass appt and take a copy of the AR-11.

Happy New Year.

[Fitzy 2]

USCIS will only send confirmation letter for I-865. AR-11 never gets a response.

OP, you have to have a pending case to get a proper confirmation - since you did not, you wouldn't have gotten anything. Just file I-751 with the current address and you'll be fine.

Thank you, Milimelo!

Hi Fitzy. We had the same problem. This time when we did the AR-11, when I printed it out, it didn't show my husband's A #. We tried to do again, and the site asked if we had moved in the last 45 days. When we answered no, we got a message telling us we would receive a notice within 45 days. We got the notice confirming the change of address about 3 weeks later.

You can also make a infopass appt and take a copy of the AR-11.

Happy New Year.

Thank you so much for the information. Happy New Year to you, too.

Confirming what Vanessa said and what is important to your post--

The reminder notice is ALWAYS mailed to the same address the greencard went to. It never gets an address change. USCIS has your address. You are fine. You don't need to contact them. Happens to everybody who moves after the greencard. Happened to us. I've read your same story 30 times in the last two or so years.

Wow! That is very reassuring! Thank you for the reply, Nich-Nick.

You don't get confirmation. The I-865 will, AR-11 doesn't. You should file it online and then mail it to make sure it's changed it both locations (there are active files and non-active file address locations or something like that).

The ROC reminder letter will ALWAYS go to your address on file when your GC is approved, even if you've moved.

Just file the I-765. Print the address change confirmations and you'll be fine if ever queried.

Thank you, Vanessa & Tony!