When Foreign Workers and Students Change Address

Millennials are known to be a restless generation, always on-the-go.  Technologies have also enabled them to study and work remotely.  They are also likely to move frequently for various reasons.  International students who hold F, J or M visas also tend to move constantly because of school changes or a new job.  So do foreign workers in H-1B, L-1, etc., status. When they move, they must make sure that they report their address change to various government and private organizations.  Correct and timely reporting not only ensures proper delivery of mail, but also avoids status violations.  The following is a checklist of things to do when you move:

Notify your immigration attorney first: It is very important for your lawyer to have your up-to-date contact information, including physical and mailing address, phone number and email, etc., on file. Such information could make a huge difference in applications for immigration benefits. For example, for remote H-1B employees, their home address is also their worksite; any changes must be reported to the government BEFORE it takes effect to avoid a violation. 

Notify Your School:  Report any changes of your U.S. address or overseas permanent address to your Designated School Official (DSO).  Most schools also have a webpage, email address or form for student to update their information. Failure to timely report an address change can be viewed as a status violation.

File the AR-11 form with DHS:  By law, all non-US citizens must file the AR-11 form with the DHS within 10 days of move.  Knowing failure to file the form is a ground for deportation.  Surprisingly, many foreign students are not aware of this legal requirement. 

Notify the U.S. Postal Services:  Failure to notify the U.S. Postal Services about your address change will result in loss or misdelivery of mail and important documents.  The postal office will also be able to forward your mail to the new address for a period of time.

Notify your employer:  For F-1 students who work, they must also report their new address to their employer.  We have seen many payroll statements that show an employee's old address, which could cause problems with their immigration petitions. 

Notify the State DMV:  You are also required to change your address on your driver's license and auto registration when you move. Each state has its own strict deadlines and fees. It is not wise to procrastinate.

Notify your bank and financial institutions:  For obvious reasons, you don't want your bank or credit statements to be sent to a wrong address.  Despite the popularity of paperless statements, certain documents such as a new credit card or legal documents are still sent to your physical address.

Notify your insurance companies:  This includes your auto insurance, life insurance, property, rental, and health insurance 

Notify Social Security Administration: For those who have a social security number and are working, they should also notify the SSA about the address change online at ssa.gov. 

Notify anybody else who may send you physical mail and goods:  This includes your magazine subscriptions, online accounts such as Amazon, friends and family, etc. 

Finally, one must distinguish her physical address and mailing or permanent address.  Even if you are moving to a new address temporarily but keeping your permanent address, you must still notify your school DSO and DHS of the change. The AR-11 form and U.S. Postal Services online portal allow you to report a temporary change of physical address. 

(Immigration laws and policies change regularly.  If you have any questions regarding this article, please visit www.1visa1.com to schedule a legal consultation.)  

Do I Need to File the AR-11 Form?

Extra Steps for Picking Up New Green Card and EAD

In order to more securely send sensitive documents out, USCIS will be switching to a new delivery system on April 30th. The system is called the Signature Confirmation Restricted Delivery service through the United States Postal Service (USPS). These documents include original documents such as Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards) and Employment Authorization Cards (EAD). The transition will first be applied to documents that have been sent back to USCIS. The changes should be completed by late 2019. 

The most notable changes are in having to present proper I.D. to sign for the mail. The applicant must show their I.D. to receive their delivered document. A designated person can also sign and receive the delivery for the applicant through the PS Form 3801. The applicant or the representing attorney would have to go to the office to fill out the form beforehand. If the delivery address is the attorney’s office, only the attorney can show I.D. and sign for the document.  However, the attorney may designate another person to pick up the document at the post office.

Missed deliveries will result in the document being held in the post office for 15 days before being sent back to USCIS. The applicant can go to the USPS website and set a date and time to pick their document up from the post office. USPS also offers a tracking service applicants can sign up for to get notifications. 

Adding these conditions to document pick-up does provide more security. However, it also complicates matters for the applicant. Some do not have proper I.D. such as a driver license. In fact, they are trying to apply for I.D. documents such as an EAD from the Department of Homeland Security.  Hence, the new policy indirectly created a chicken-and-egg-problem which could make it hard for some applicants to receive their document.

Also, many applicants are new immigrants that tend to move around a lot for employment opportunities and other reasons.  When they move, they need to properly change their address with the USCIS and also the USPS.  If the change of address has not been processed timely and correctly, it is very possible that these applicants may miss these important original documents from USCIS. 

Because of this new policy, it is now more important than ever for immigrants to properly report their change of address with Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Postal Service.  In fact, by law, if any non-citizen knowingly failed to change his or her address by filing the AR-11 form, the person could be found deportable from the United States. The intent of this law was to catch the ill-intentioned foreigners such as terrorists.  But it applies to all non-citizens present in the U.S.  However, a lot of new immigrants do not know about this requirement at all.

Understandably, there are worries that this process will be more complicated than it is secure. Applicants for these important immigration documents should pay close attention to the requirements and follow the advice of their attorneys.