Forgot to update address

[usc85 6]

Hi all,

Quick question that has me a little worried. My wife came 9/2014, and we used my parents address on all the initial forms. After arriving, we quickly got our own apartment, but never did the change of address thing online with USCIS. We're actually moving back in with my parents soon and will be there when doing the ROC. I just want to know if anyone has been in this situation before (I imagine it must actually be quite common). We will of course give all truthful answers on the forms, but I just didn't want to run into any problems when they see our "previous address" wasn't ever given to them through the online address updater. Thanks for any help or comments!

Edited December 31, 2015 by usc85

[foxy05 23]

We are having the same issue. We moved from another state but we changed our address to my inlaws place. We thought that was the best idea at that time since we were staying in a relocation housing and had not yet find an apartment. We found an apartment but didn't change it since we were not planning to stay there for a very long time. My husband was assigned to work out of the country and we had to go with him. After that, we got back and now we are living with my in-laws place. So all immigration letters that we received from the time we moved from place to place were addressed to my in-laws. And now we are collecting stuff to submit next month.

Edited December 31, 2015 by foxy05

[JayJayH 546]

Legally, every permanent resident is required to notify a change of address within 10 days of moving. How strictly enforced it is, is another question.

They may ask about it, but it's not a deal breaker. It's not a deportable offense that will have your petition denied.

The major problem a lot of people face when not reporting a change of address is that they never receive mail from USCIS. That's a big deal if USCIS i.e. issues an RFE with a 90 day response window.

[usc85 6]

Legally, every permanent resident is required to notify a change of address within 10 days of moving. How strictly enforced it is, is another question.

They may ask about it, but it's not a deal breaker. It's not a deportable offense that will have your petition denied.

The major problem a lot of people face when not reporting a change of address is that they never receive mail from USCIS. That's a big deal if USCIS i.e. issues an RFE with a 90 day response window.

Thanks for this. Yes, I saw that it is punishable by fine, but didn't read anywhere that it was a dealbreaker (an official source on this might be nice to see, though). Anyway, I agree that it likely isn't strictly enforced. I think people on these boards would be making a bigger deal about this issue if it did in fact have serious ramifications (you would hear of the cases where this had a negative impact on someone's case, which I personally haven't heard of). You're right that the primary reason for this seems to be for correspondence purposes.

[usc85 6]

We are having the same issue. We moved from another state but we changed our address to my inlaws place. We thought that was the best idea at that time since we were staying in a relocation housing and had not yet find an apartment. We found an apartment but didn't change it since we were not planning to stay there for a very long time. My husband was assigned to work out of the country and we had to go with him. After that, we got back and now we are living with my in-laws place. So all immigration letters that we received from the time we moved from place to place were addressed to my in-laws. And now we are collecting stuff to submit next month.

Interesting. Yes, it certainly can be hard to follow the rules so precisely in every situation. My advice would just list your true residences and dates accurately on the I-751, as any fibbing there is sure to be viewed more seriously than merely forgetting to update your address. You didn't do anything wrong, just had a complicated situation for a little while. Anyway, I'd love to hear how things go for you -- I'm sure they'll be fine. Post back with an update later. Best of luck!