After being released from detention they give you an address — is that a place you must actually live, or is the address only for receiving documents and mail? I’m preparing for a green card interview and can’t figure out how critical it is that your actual residence matches the address recorded at release.
Basically it’s an address for the paperwork - so USCIS knows where to send mail, not a requirement to actually live there. On the DS-5535 I put the same registered address everywhere, the one where my mail goes, even though I was actually living in another city. At the interview they asked separately about my actual place of residence; they didn’t check the paperwork when they released me.
6 Likes
Thanks, I feel a bit relieved. And at the interview, when they asked about your actual place of residence, did you have to provide anything to prove you live there, or was saying it enough?
6 Likes
I had a similar mess with addresses — I lived without permanent registration, only in hotels and Airbnb; over three years I ended up with about 25 different addresses in various cities. I’ve heard from several people who’ve been through something similar that at the interview they didn’t ask for a rental agreement or utility bills — they just ask where you live and write it down. Documentary proof of address is a whole other story if it even gets that far.
6 Likes
The registered address is nominal - on these forms the actual place of residence is indicated separately
6 Likes
The address from detention is sent to EOIR, not to USCIS — theyre different databases.
6 Likes
On the I-907 there are literally two separate fields — mailing address and physical address. USCIS itself built that separation into the forms, so mismatching addresses have long been the norm for them, not a red flag. The address upon release is just where to send things, nothing more.
6 Likes
Nobody mentioned AR-11 — it’s the USCIS change-of-address form; you have 10 days to file after moving. When I moved several times while studying and didn’t notify, I had to update everything at once before filing Form I-485 through my.uscis.gov. At the interview, if the address in the system doesn’t match the one you give, it’s best to explain that you filed an AR-11 when you moved — officers are usually fine with that.
6 Likes
By the way, you can also send an AR-11 by regular mail if your account on the website isn’t set up.
6 Likes
For EOIR, a change of address is the EOIR-33 — a separate form, not the AR-11.
6 Likes
At my Form N-400 interview in DC I just gave the address — the officer wrote it down and we moved on; no one cross-checked anything with my previous documents. It’s the same principle for Form I-485 in this regard. The main thing with AR-11 is that if the address changed, that shows up in the system immediately.
6 Likes