The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a nationwide alert to immigrants, urging them to update their home address within 10 days of relocating or risk missing critical immigration-related mail.
The agency noted that many migrants wrongly assume that changing their address with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) automatically updates it with USCIS.
Clarifying the misunderstanding, USCIS said it operates independently from USPS and does not receive address changes from the postal service.
“Changing your address with the @USPS will not change your address with USCIS,” the agency posted on X.
“USPS will not forward your mail from USCIS. You must notify USCIS within 10 days if you have a new address.”
The agency added that failure to update an address can result in missed interview notices, Requests for Evidence (RFEs), or case decisions, potentially affecting immigration status.
All non-U.S. citizens living in the U.S., except A and G visa holders and Visa Waiver Programme visitor were legally required to update their address with USCIS.
To do so, migrants were advised to use their USCIS online account by visiting uscis.gov, navigating to the “My Account” section, and selecting “Change of Address.” Those without an account can create one on the site.
Migrants with pending or approved cases were also advised to input the receipt numbers for each application to ensure the change is applied across all relevant files.
This allows USCIS to continue sending timely correspondence and benefits.
USCIS emphasised that while a paper form (Form AR-11) is available for address changes, it may result in delays and does not guarantee updates across all pending cases.
The online method is strongly recommended for faster processing and better tracking.
For more information or to update an address, immigrants are encouraged to visit: uscis.gov/addresschange.
