Overview
- USCIS issued a public reminder Saturday that changing an address with the U.S. Postal Service does not update federal immigration records and that people must notify USCIS directly of a move.
- Federal law requires most noncitizens to report an address change to USCIS within 10 days of moving and failure to comply can lead to missed notices, delays in processing, or other legal consequences.
- USCIS strongly prefers its Enterprise Change of Address (E‑COA) online tool because it updates records quickly and requires case receipt numbers to link pending applications to the new address.
- USPS will generally not forward envelopes containing immigration credentials or time‑sensitive USCIS notices, so reliance on postal forwarding risks documents being marked undeliverable and returned to the agency.
- Certain confidential groups such as VAWA, T and U applicants must use protected channels rather than the public online tool, and filing a paper Form AR‑11 still meets the law but is slower and not automated.