Form AR-11, USCIS Records Regarding Address Changes

Question:

When I filed Form I-130 for my spouses and minor children several years ago, I was U.S. permanent residents. About 6 months ago, I naturalized to U.S. citizenship and relocated to another state. But for near one year, I never got any message from USCIS, for my pending I-130 case. Do you know what is wrong? and what should I do?

Answer:

For family-based immigration, the Family 2A category is for spouses and minor children of U.S. permanent residents. The immigration visa number's waiting time could be long for this category - sometimes waiting for several years. Thus it is difficult for USCIS or DOS to communicate with petitioning relatives who have since relocated. Also, for some cases, USCIS may issue Request For Evidence (RFE) notice for cases that have not been approved.

When so much time has elapsed since the Form I-130 petition was initially filed, USCIS' mails may go to addresses that are long-since out of date. Many Form I-130 petitioners frequently are unaware of the need to update USCIS records when they change addresses. This is often the case for some petitioner who have forgot to file Form AR-11 to notify the USCIS for address change.

This is particularly so for U.S. citizens who are no longer subject to Form AR-11change-of-address requirements, since many I-130 petitioners filed as permanent residents, but naturalized to U.S. citizenship after filing. Therefore, USCIS always wishes to remind petitioners of the need to update the USCIS records regarding address changes.