Summary: OPT/ STEM OPT applicants can complete the Change Your Address online form to report the new address to USCIS and not miss any important updates on their applications.
Finally, USCIS launched the online “change your address” form which OPT and STEM OPT students can take advantage of. Completing the “change your address” form online will be the easiest and fastest way to update the international students’ addresses.
Students who have pending applications, petitions, or requests can complete the form and update the address in a single place, eliminating the need to update the address in multiple places.
Before the form, OPT/STEM OPT applicants had to fill out a paper Form AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card, call the Contact Center, or visit a USCIS Field Office. USCIS stated that Form AR-11 will be discontinued in the future, so make sure to utilize the new Change of Address form.
Note that the new Change of Address tool is available in English only and can be accessed through the USCIS online account even if the petitioner filed a paper case.
Given that many international students are not sure where they are going to move to after graduation, an online address update form by USCIS is going to be an essential tool for thousands of international students. Before the online form, students had a hard time changing the address and receiving the EAD card to their new addresses.
In this post, the USCIS update on the “Change Your Address” form as well as the step-by-step guide to complete the form will be introduced.
Contents
- What is the Change Your Address online form?
- A step-by-step guide to complete the Change Your Address form
What is the Change Your Address online form?
For OPT and STEM OPT students, timely updates ensure that applicants receive all official correspondence and benefits from USCIS including I-797 notices and EAD cards. Additionally, noncitizens (excluding certain visa holders) MUST report address changes to USCIS within 10 days of moving.
Even though students utilize the US Postal Service (USPS) to forward any mail, there is no guarantee that OPT applicants will receive USCIS mail to the new mailing address as updates on the US Postal Service do not automatically update your USCIS records.
USCIS recommends nonimmigrants to update USPS and USCIS with their new addresses separately.
A step-by-step guide to complete the Change Your Address form
- Log into MyUSCIS: https://my.uscis.gov/accounts/onboarding and click the “Change your address” box.
Related blog post: Step-by-step guide to create the USCIS account for the OPT online application
- Read through important notes and click the “Change my address” button.
NOTE: As you can see, students must complete the online form in ONE session. Information is not saved if you navigate away from the page.
- Type your legal name and date of birth as you provided to your OPT/STEM OPT application. Then click the “Next” button.
- Provide your new physical address.
- (Optional) If the mailing address is different, then provide the mailing address as well.
- Provide the A- number and Receipt number. A number can be found on the EAD card under the USCIS #. Similarly, the receipt number for your OPT/STEM OPT applications can be found in the I-797 Notice of Action.
- Review the information and click the “submit” button.
As you can see, updating the address with the new USCIS online form is easy peasy! Hope all international students who have filed OPT/STEM OPT applications can take advantage of this new online form.
Please note that the online address update form is primarily for USCIS petitioners whose applications are pending including international students whose OPT and STEM OPT applications are pending.
That being said, USCIS applicants who do not have any pending applications, petitions, or requests can also use the tool to meet the requirement of notifying USCIS of a change of address if they move.
However, people in specific situations (e.g., victims of domestic violence, civil surgeons) have different address change procedures. If any of the listed cases apply to you, DO NOT use the standard address change process.
To learn more about the OPT wait time, please check out the following posts:
Related blog post 1: Is OPT, STEM OPT premium processing for you?
Related blog post 2: What to do when your EAD card says the wrong OPT start date
Related blog post 3: Biometrics requests for OPT/STEM OPT?
