To report a green card address change, file Form AR-11 with USCIS within 10 days of moving. The fastest way is the free Enterprise Change of Address (E-COA) tool inside your USCIS online account; you can also mail a paper AR-11 to the agency’s Harrisonburg, Virginia address.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Change Your Address There is no filing fee either way.
The 10-Day Deadline Applies to Every Green Card Holder
Federal law gives you 10 days from the date of your move to notify USCIS.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1305 – Notices of Change of Address It doesn’t matter whether you hold a conditional two-year card or a standard ten-year card, and it doesn’t matter whether you currently have any application pending. If you move, you file.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Chapter 10 – Changes of Address
The requirement also covers most other noncitizens in the United States, including people on work and student visas. The only narrow exemptions are diplomats and international organization staff on A or G visas and travelers admitted under the Visa Waiver Program.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card For a green card holder under 14, a parent or legal guardian files on the child’s behalf.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1305 – Notices of Change of Address
What You Need Before You File
The online tool and the paper form ask for the same information. Have these ready:
- Your full legal name as it appears on your green card
- Your date of birth
- Your Alien Registration Number (A-Number), the seven-, eight-, or nine-digit number assigned by the Department of Homeland Security5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. A-Number/Alien Registration Number/Alien Number
- Your previous residential address
- Your new residential address, which must be a physical street address rather than a P.O. Box6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form AR-11 – Alien’s Change of Address Card
- Receipt numbers for any pending USCIS applications or petitions
On green cards issued after May 2010, the A-Number appears on the front of the card labeled “USCIS#.”7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Number Older cards may label the same number “Alien Registration Number.”
Filing Online Through E-COA
The Enterprise Change of Address (E-COA) self-service tool sits inside your USCIS online account.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Change Your Address If you don’t already have an account, create one at uscis.gov first.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Launches New Online Change of Address Tool
Once you’re logged in, you enter your last name, date of birth, and your new physical and mailing addresses. The tool updates your address across pending applications, petitions, and requests at the same time, whether those cases were originally filed online or on paper.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Launches New Online Change of Address Tool Enter the receipt numbers for any pending cases so they’re refreshed along with your general record.
You’ll see a confirmation immediately after submitting. Save or screenshot it. That confirmation is your proof of timely filing if USCIS ever asks whether you complied, and it’s worth keeping for years, since a naturalization application will ask you to show you followed the rules while you were a permanent resident.
Filing by Mail on Paper AR-11
If you prefer paper, download Form AR-11 from uscis.gov, complete it in black ink, sign and date it, and mail it to:6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form AR-11 – Alien’s Change of Address Card
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Citizenship and Immigration Services
Attn: Change of Address
1344 Pleasants Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
Don’t include other forms or fee payments in the same envelope.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card Keep a photocopy of the completed form and send it certified mail with a return receipt so you have proof of the mailing date.
One important limitation of the paper route: mailing an AR-11 does not automatically update your address on pending cases the way E-COA does. USCIS encourages the online tool for that reason.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card If you file on paper and have applications in progress, also update the address through your online account or by contacting the USCIS Contact Center so those case files reflect the new address.
A USPS Forwarding Order Doesn’t Count
Filing a change of address with the U.S. Postal Service does not satisfy the USCIS reporting requirement. USPS will not forward mail sent by USCIS, even if you’ve set up general mail forwarding.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Change Your Address USPS itself notes that its change-of-address service covers postal delivery only and does not notify government agencies.9United States Postal Service. Standard Forward Mail and Change of Address Update USCIS and USPS separately.
What Happens If You Don’t Report
Failing to report a change of address is a federal misdemeanor. A conviction can bring a fine of up to $200, up to 30 days in jail, or both. The dollar figures are modest; the immigration consequences aren’t. Whether or not you’re ever charged criminally, USCIS can place you in removal proceedings for the failure, and avoiding removal at that stage requires convincing an immigration judge that the lapse was reasonably excusable or not willful.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1306 – Penalties
There’s a practical risk even without any enforcement action. If USCIS sends a Request for Evidence on a pending case and it goes to your old address, you won’t know to respond. The agency can then deny the case as abandoned, and reopening it means filing a motion, proving you weren’t at fault, and losing months to the delay.
If You Also Sponsored Someone’s Green Card
If you signed an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) as a financial sponsor, you have a separate obligation. You must file Form I-865, Sponsor’s Notice of Change of Address, within 30 days of moving.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Sponsor’s Notice of Change of Address – Form I-865 That’s a different form and a different deadline from AR-11, and one filing doesn’t cover the other. If you’re a green card holder who is also a sponsor, file both.
Penalties for skipping I-865 are steeper. Civil fines run from $250 to $2,000, or from $2,000 to $5,000 if the sponsored immigrant has received means-tested public benefits.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1183a – Requirements for Sponsor’s Affidavit of Support
If You Have a VAWA, T, or U Visa Case
Do not use the standard E-COA tool or the Harrisonburg mailing address if you have a pending or approved case under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), T nonimmigrant status, or U nonimmigrant status. Those cases involve safety concerns, and USCIS handles the address on file as a protected “safe address” through separate channels, including the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY: 800-767-1833), a secure message through your online account, or a mailed request sent directly to the service center handling your case.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Change of Address Procedures for VAWA/T/U Cases and Form I-751 Abuse Waivers Request the change separately for each pending form.