Moving states after filing I485

[Phil & Han 28]

Does anyone have any experience of moving states during the process of waiting for a green card approval?

 

I filed in Phoenix in May 2018 and will be moving to Texas in November.

 

Will this trigger the case to be moved from Phoenix to the relevant USCIS office in Texas or will it stay in Phoenix?

 

Will this have any effect on the processing time?

 

Thanks in advance all

[Crazy Cat 39,258]

https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/moving-to-a-different-state-and-pending-aos-based--3120757.html

[emekus94 1,125]

11 minutes ago, Phil & Han said:

Does anyone have any experience of moving states during the process of waiting for a green card approval?

 

I filed in Phoenix in May 2018 and will be moving to Texas in November.

 

Will this trigger the case to be moved from Phoenix to the relevant USCIS office in Texas or will it stay in Phoenix?

 

Will this have any effect on the processing time?

 

Thanks in advance all

 

It all depends on where ur case is in the process-

If Phoenix already has ur case files, then YES. U will run into massive delays because transferring cases from one office to the next is a pain

If it's at NBC (Original place u filed AOS) and Phoenix never requested it, then you got no problems

 

NBC will forward it to your local office in Texas when they're ready for it

 

I'll suggest you look into how fast Phoenix is. May-November is about 6 months and some offices are quite fast. If phoenix is one of them, then you might be looking at some delays
 

[Phil & Han 28]

I've had my biometrics so i assume Phoenix has my records.

 

What sort of delay is the move likely to incur. Do I go to the bottom of the pile in Texas and lose the 6 months i've been in line or does it move forward at a similar pace with some minor delay?

 

 

[TM92 527]

5 minutes ago, Phil & Han said:

I've had my biometrics so i assume Phoenix has my records.

Where biometrics were submitted is irrelevant. What do the case trackers currently say: https://myaccount.uscis.dhs.gov/ and https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do

[Crazy Cat 39,258]

10 minutes ago, Phil & Han said:

I've had my biometrics so i assume Phoenix has my records.

 

What sort of delay is the move likely to incur. Do I go to the bottom of the pile in Texas and lose the 6 months i've been in line or does it move forward at a similar pace with some minor delay?

 

 

Good question....however, you MUST report your move within the required time regardless.

Edited October 24, 2018 by missileman

[Phil & Han 28]

11 minutes ago, TM92 said:

Where biometrics were submitted is irrelevant. What do the case trackers currently say: https://myaccount.uscis.dhs.gov/ and https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do

It says that in June my fingerprint review was completed ... at our National Benefits Center. So presumably it's a straight redirect to Texas without having to incur the delays of sending it to Phoenix then on to Texas (which would take months presumably) 

[Phil & Han 28]

11 minutes ago, missileman said:

Good question....however, you MUST report your move within the required time regardless.

Fully aware of the requirement to inform USCIS of the move. I have NO INTENTIONS of ignoring federal law or immigration regulations. 

 

I'm primarily interested in finding out what peoples experiences of a move with a pending I485 are.

[Jaquelly 1,647]

I was curious about this, as well.

 

We are moving from Texas to Indianapolis next year. We thought we would be transferred and that he would likely have his GC interview AFTER we move because Texas is so backed up.

 

I need more info.  ugh

[Chloe1981 9]

So here's my story....moved to Florida in Sept 2017 to my then fiance's parents house. We then moved to an apartment, still in Florida, I filed a change of address and received mail to both his parents and our new address.so I called about this  and they said there must have been a delay in the process of receiving the change of address. I did this all online like they tell you to do. 

Since then I've moved to Tennessee with my now husband (it was job related for him) I filed another change of address. I can't see what the problem.would be if you do it like they ask you to. I'm now waiting for my notice to let me know when my AOS interview might be. Had my biometrics in March. Hope this helps. If in doubt give them a call as soon as you move so they have correct details on file. You must do the changes of address within 10 days of moving. 

I can't tell u if this will delay the process as mine just seems slow anyway! 

[Phil & Han 28]

After spending 20 minutes on the phone with a very patient lady from USCIS she informed me that cases at the NBC are provisionally assigned to a field office but are only sent to a field office when that office signals capacity to interview.

 

If I move before the case is transferred to the field office then it will be provisionally assigned to the new office (in my case San Antonio) and will be sent to that new office when they signal capacity to schedule an interview. I.e. there is no real delay in switching offices when it is done before your case status changed to "Ready to schedule interview".

 

In this case it works out well, current phoenix processing times are anywhere from 16-21 months whereas San Antonio is 10-15 months. I'd be a little less upbeat if the situation where reversed!

[Chloe1981 9]

45 minutes ago, Phil & Han said:

After spending 20 minutes on the phone with a very patient lady from USCIS she informed me that cases at the NBC are provisionally assigned to a field office but are only sent to a field office when that office signals capacity to interview.

 

If I move before the case is transferred to the field office then it will be provisionally assigned to the new office (in my case San Antonio) and will be sent to that new office when they signal capacity to schedule an interview. I.e. there is no real delay in switching offices when it is done before your case status changed to "Ready to schedule interview".

 

In this case it works out well, current phoenix processing times are anywhere from 16-21 months whereas San Antonio is 10-15 months. I'd be a little less upbeat if the situation where reversed!

That's brilliant 😊 so hopefully mines been sent to TN. I'll have a look at the processing time for it on the USCIS site. Glad u she'd some light on it for your own piece of mind 👍

[IslandQueen 45]

 

I filed in NY in March 2016 and moved to FL in June 2016. I Spent 3 months outside the country (with approved AP) and returned September 2016. People, who applied in and around the same time I did, at my NY USCIS office were being approved in October which made me worry that my case would be delayed due to the move. I interviewed in mid-Nov in Florida and was approved on spot.

 

 

[Scandi 3,970]

Not sure it does much to the processing time of your case, however, many people have been denied after moving.

 

USCIS is THE WORST when it comes to address changing. Many address changes never go through, which means they send potential RFEs and interview letters to the old address. That means people miss the deadlines and get denied. 

 

I would never take a chance on something this important myself. But if you have to move, you have to. Hopefully you know the person moving into your old address so they can let you know if something shows up in your name from USCIS.

[usmsbow 795]

Wife filed for AOS, and a few months later I got a new job across the country. I filed address change with USCIS about a week before she was approved for green card (interview waived). Where did USCIS send the GC? Old address. Thankfully it arrived literally the day before we left. I filed address change before the move because I knew our new address in advance, and wanted to ensure GC went to our new address. I had too much faith in USCIS obviously.

 

Anyway, point being USCIS might send your GC to the wrong address. Be prepared for that scenario :). 

 

Edited to add: USPS does have a mail forwarding system, BUT it does not forward official gov't mail, including anything from USCIS.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2018 by usmsbow