Ramification of regularly moving cities and states for K1 AOS and Biometrics?

[simonschus 58]

Hi all,

My partner and I will be maintaining a main address (her family home) which is where all our bank accounts will be registered, etc. However, my USC partner has a placement-based job and will be moving cities and states every 3 to 6 months for the next year which is exactly when we'll be filing an AOS from a K1. I'll be going with her throughout as the resident alien As such, we'll be going through a few different residential addresses during the AOS process.

I'm aware that I'm obliged to report any changes of address to the USCIS within 10 days and that I can do this online easily with Form AR-11. As such, I'll update USCIS with the new residential addresses whenever we move but we'll keep the mailing address as our legal address (her family home) so that we don't lose anything in the post and can easily keep track of everything. Somebody lives there so will be able to open the post and photograph it for us so we can read it.

However, does all this moving between cities and states have any implications for where our biometrics and AOS interview will take place? Will it matter that we'll likely be living in one state for our biometrics but another state for our AOS interview? I presume the biometrics and AOS interviews will be in the state that we are physically living at that time rather than the state within which our main, mailing address is located.

Is there anything else you think that I should be aware of with regards to all this?

Simon.

Edited February 27, 2016 by simonschus

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

It can work. The problem is, the USCIS can screw up address changes and your biometric or interview appointment can end up across country from where you are. So you could easily get delayed trying to straighten out appointments. Rescheduling can feel like your request fell into a black hole. It won't necessarily be straightforward or speedy. So then you are in this slight panic that the scheduled appointment is approaching, but you have had no response on whether USCIS cancelled it and just hasn't told you the new date; or if you should try to go attend the original appointment.

On the good news side--

With a biometric letter in hand, you can probably go to a nearby center as a walk-in, explain the situation, and they will gladly process you then and there despite your assignment to a different center on a different date. You need the barcoded letter, not a photo of it. Most ASCs (Application Support Centers) are pretty informal as well as flexible. Other people have had success this way, so might as well try it before falling in the reschedule abyss.

You may not have to interview. Many K1s don't. Problem solved. (A walk-in for an interview doesn't work. Your physical file needs to be there.)

As a tip, I would try to create some paper evidence that she and you are together in each location. That will make it easier at an interview or when you remove conditions that you do share a life and live together. Get on the lease of wherever you stay. Get library cards, or take turns signing for gasoline at the same station. (That's crazy. Does anybody sign a paper receipt or use a library these days? But you get the thought process behind it.)

Way down the road if you apply for citizenship, there are residency requirements and a minimum amount of time in a federal judicial diatrict to qualify. You could move within the district, but not to another district or you would start over establishing your time in the new jurisdiction. It's not by state lines either. Dallas and Houston are in different districts. But some districts might include two states. Something to worry about in a few years if you're still nomads.