Please help! I am running out of time. F1 student with mailing address issue.

[phantom647 0]

I had applied for OPT on December 19 and I got a confirmation on December 23rd. They sent me the form I 797 to my mailing address. When I checked the status online, it said the postal service returned the document back as they couldn't find the address.

 

I decided to use my friends address to receive future documents. I contacted the customer care and they suggested writing a letter to the service center where my form is processed. I sent a letter to Phoenix processing center and it's been a week and there hasn't been any response from them. I contacted the customer care again and they suggested to send the letter to potomac processing center.  I searched online and I could only find an email address to contact Potomac service center. I stay in California, does anyone know the mailing address of the nearest potomac processing center. Please help me out as I am at the verge of my 60 days grace period.

[DrEllaNJ 288]

can you use the online form? https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/displayCOAForm.do

[phantom647 0]

@DrEllaNJ : Thanks for the reply. I had visited this site before. I haven't changed my address. I am just using my friends address to obtain future documents. Should I still fill this form just to update the mailing address. Also how long does USCIS generally take to send the document to my friend's address?

[DrEllaNJ 288]

Did you use your friend's address from the start? If not, I don't know how else USCIS will know your friend's address. I wouldn't assume that documents sent to the processing center get filed correctly. Also, make sure you include the name of your friend as the "in care of" addressee, otherwise USCIS won't even deliver it.

OPT can take up to 3 months to process. So really you should have started the application at least two months before graduating, which is generally what offices for international students recommend.

[phantom647 0]

I graduted in December and I applied for OPT with OPT start date as February 9. My friends who applied for OPT have already recieved I-797. I have only recieved the email confirmation.. I used my address and the document was returned back. So I have decided to use my friends address instead. I have mentioned "in care of" when I sent the letter requesting address change. I had sent the letter to Phoenix processing center. Now when I called them again they said they have intiated a service request on January 13 and I can expect a reply before February 13. They also recommended  to send the letter to Potomac Center. I couldn't find the address online. 

[phantom647 0]

I contacted them again today. They said I have raised service request. The address will be in the service request. I just don't want to wait any longer. Does anyone know the address for potomac center? It would help me lot.

[randomstairs 303]

It's extremely difficult to get fed government mail redirected or mailing address changed to another recipient if your case is pending. Best you can do is to change your address by filing AR-11 AND change the address for the case (https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange). Once you receive your EAD card you can change your address back by AR-11. Or, to be 100% by the book, you can temporarily move in with your friend and wait for the card. (Other documents can be replaced later - the EAD is all you need for OPT). 

 

Is your current mailing address so unreliable? Your EAD has not been mailed yet - are you really sure that changing the mailing address without moving is the only option. You can also ask your local USPS to hold your mail (but that's tricky if you don't live in a single household). 

 

As for Potomac, that sounds like a wrong direction. I would call again and ask for higher level IO. 

 

  

[phantom647 0]

@randomstairs : Thank you for your reply. I called them again. During the call he(customer representative) said they cannot escalate the call since there was high volume of customer calls. Instead they raised callback request from a higher customer representative. He added that I can expect a call from  a higher representative within 3-5 business days. I have already requested for a mailing address change, do you recommend I change my current address(the address where I stay) as well? I am not sure if it will cause further complications.

 

 

All I can say is how terrible this process is just to change the mailing address. It's been nearly 15 days.

[randomstairs 303]

As I said, changing of the mailing address is tricky and risky when it comes to USCIS. Did you file AR-11? I think you'll be fine with that if so. Technically AR-11 should be filed if you're moving (physically), I think. 

 

Best time to call USCIS is early morning. They will call you back on the same day (in my case it takes 2-3 hours to hear back). If you call in the afternoon they'll give you several days to wait. 

[phantom647 0]

@randomstairs: No, I haven't filled AR-11. I have not moved from my current location. My friends who applied for opt with me, recieved the form I-797 and I did not. So, I decided to use their address as the mailing address for all future documents. 

 

I searched online and found this address:

Potomac Service Center 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
2200 Potomac Center Dr Stop 2425 
Arlington VA 20598-2425 

I am not sure if it is the location where I have to send a letter requesting change of mailing address. 

 

This whole process is so frustrating. I paid $480 to they take weeks(if not months) to make a small correction.

[phantom647 0]

I had applied for OPT in December. Since I had issues with my current address, I had used my friend's(I'll call him A) address as a mailing address. USCIS had sent a confirmation document and was returned back since they couldn't find the address. I decided to change my mailing address to another friend(I'll call him B) address.

 

   As per customer representative's suggestion, I sent a written letter to change the mailing address. It has been 1 month and there has been no updates. I called customer care and raised a  service request, but to no avail.

   Its already 60 days since I applied and I am hoping that my EAD card will be processed soon and sent to the same address(Friend A).

 

   Since changing mailing address did not work, Do you guys recommend that I temporarily change my house address to Friend B's address? Changing house address online is faster than just changing the mailing address?

 

P.S: I had posted a similar query couple of weeks ago and I  couldn't find solution. I am hoping someone will help me this time.

 

Thanks for reading this.

[Ontarkie 14,227]

~~Continuation thread merged. Please keep related question within the same thread.~~

[sam1985cs 0]

So, I had a conversation with my Attorney friend and he said changing the house address temporarily would be a better option. But he said he wasn't sure whether USCIS would receive the updated address on time.

Does anybody know how long does it take for USCIS to receive the updated address if I change my house address? @randomstairs

[DrEllaNJ 288]

file online today: https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/displayCOAForm.do

 

give them a call on Monday to verify it went through

 

[sam1985cs 0]

@DrEllaNJ : Thanks for your reply. Can I assume that it takes a day to update my house address? My OPT is currently under USCIS's review.