Mailing Address vs Physical Address

[zyzzx 2]

Hi - I'm wondering if anyone has had firsthand experience with this:

We will be sending the I-751 and packet of paperwork this Monday (3/16/15) Yay!

I travel for work and will be on the road 75% of the time for the next 6 months. My husband is in the middle of searching for a new job, and a couple of the positions he is interviewing for would require us to move to a different part of the state, or out of state completely in the next 2-3 months if he is offered the job(s). Obviously if this happens, our physical address will change from what we'll put on the I-751.

Because of our work situations, rather than using our Physical Address in CA, we have been using my parents' home address in CO as our mailing address for any important paperwork, just to be safe since they are always home and can easily scan or fedex important mail to us. (it's the address we used for the DS-230 and it's where my husband's I-751 reminder letter was sent.)

I'm wondering if it is OK to enter our current physical address on lines 16.b- 16.f, then use my parents' address in CO as "Mailing Address (if different than physical address)" lines 17.b- 17.f. On line 17.a "In Care of Name" is it ok to put one of my parents' names, since it is legitimately in care of them? (I did not change my last name, so my parents' last names are the same as mine.)

Using my parents' address as a mailing address would NOT change the service center, since both CA & CO fall under the CA service center.

If anyone has firsthand experience with this, your input is much appreciated. I just don't want to mess anything up - I don't see why there would be an issue, but it says nothing about physical vs mailing address on the I-751 instructions. I have been having a moment of panic that filling it out that way it might hang things up!

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

Different addresses cause a lot of troubles, RFE is at least. You can try to explain it on your cover letter but that is the best you can do. By laws, you need to change your address once you move but USCIS reminder was still sent to your parents' address, so that is not right.

[Cheezees 1,514]

While filing the change of address form in your case will get annoying fast, remember you MUST notify USCIS of any change of address - that means physical ones too. You are NOT allowed to only report your non-changing mailing address while actually physically moving.

I would include a letter explaining the need to frequently move and then update your location every time you move. It may lead to an interview since it is a strange circumstance. However, if it is found out that you knowingly failed to report address changes because it "just wasn't convenient", I suspect worst inconveniences will follow.

Having different physical vs mailing addresses is not an issue at all. Especially since you've used the mailing address before.

Good luck!

[zyzzx 2]

Thanks. I've gone onto the USCIS website and updated our address now. Hopefully this causes no issues. I'll change our I-751 and leave off the "mailing address." hopefully there will be no issues with us receiving the NOA-1 here. That sounds safer.

I"m wondering if I should mention in our cover letter that we forgot to change our address with the USCIS, since I'm submitting as evidence of a bona fide relationship, our lease that was signed in Oct 2013, as well as joint 2013 & 2014 tax returns showing our current address.

[Cheezees 1,514]

Yes, you should mention (and apologize for!) not changing your address on time. Many people do. In light of your upcoming circumstance, it would be prudent of you to mention the error and follow it up with prompt address changes.

[zyzzx 2]

Cheezees - just saw your response. I really did forget to change our address with the USCIS - mainly because we just hadn't been using our physical address for important mail since we moved here, knowing we would likely have a work-related move within a year or two. To be honest, it wasn't until I saw these posts that I realized we'd messed up. Not that the USCIS will know that we really did just forget.. I'm ok with an interview.. I'm sure they would see we're legit at that point

Edited March 15, 2015 by zyzzx

[zyzzx 2]

Thanks all - this is really helpful!! What would I do without visa journey?!! This is the 2nd time info from this community has been invaluable. The first time it saved us was when we were doing our initial CR-1 filing, and didn't get confirmation from the NVC that they'd received our paperwork within what I knew from similar timelines should have been an reasonable timeframe. I was able to rectify things quickly, based on info here, as hopefully I will once more. thanks again!