Sponsor’s Notice of Change of Address
[I-865, Sponsor’s Notice of Change of Address]
IMPORTANT: Information on this site may be outdated. For up-to-date instructions and filing fees check always with the USCIS site:
http://www.uscis.gov/forms
Purpose of Form :
To report a sponsor’s new address and/or residence, as required by 8 U.S.C. 1183a(d)
Number of Pages :
5
Edition Date :
11/28/06. Prior versions acceptable.
Where to File :
Mail this form to the Service Center with jurisdiction over your new state of residence.
Filing Fee :
$0.00
Special Instructions :
Please see the related link “Where Do I File” for information on the specific Service Center you should mail your form.
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
OMB No. 1615-0076; Expires 07/31/07
I-865, Sponsor’s Notice of Change of Address
Instructions
Please read these instructions carefully to properly complete this form. If you need more space to complete an answer, use a separate sheet(s) of paper. Write your name and Alien Registration Number (A#), if any, at the top of each sheet and indicate the number of the item that refers to your answer. Include the Part and letter or number of the item on the form relating to the additional information you are providing (example: Part 2, Z). NOTE: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS is comprised of offices of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
- Use Form I-865, Sponsor’s Notice of Change of Address, to report a sponsor’s new address.
- You will need to give us a completed and signed Form I-865.
- To file this notice see Step 2 for specific instructions.
When Should I Use Form I-865?
If at any time in the past you completed a Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, to sponsor an immigrant, you are required to report your change of address within 30 days of the change if the sponsorship agreement is still in force.
The sponsorship agreement remains in force until the sponsored immigrant:
- Becomes a U.S. citizen;
- Can be credited with 40 quarters of work;
- Departs the United States permanently and either formally abandons lawful permanent resident status (by filing Form I-407) or is formally held in a removal proceeding to have abandoned that status;
- In a removal proceeding, loses the lawful permanent resident status that the sponsored immigrant obtained based on your Form I-864; or
- Dies.
How Do I File Form I-865?
A separate Form I-865 must be submitted for each person who is filing a notice of address change. Follow the steps below to complete the form:
- Step 1 – Fill Out fhe Form I-865.
- Step 2 – Submit Your Notice.
If you give us false documents, misrepresent facts or otherwise engage in fraud, USCIS will take appropriate action. This means you may lose current and future immigration benefits. You may also face penalties, including criminal and/or civil prosecution leading to fines and/or imprisonment.
Step 1. Fill Out Form I-865.
Use black ink. Type or print clearly using capital letters. If an item does not apply to you, write “N/A”. If the answer is none, write “NONE”.
This form is divided into Parts 1 through 4. The following information should help you fill out the form.
Part 1 – Information about you, the sponsor.
- Family Name (Last name) – Give your legal name. If you have two last names, include both and use a hyphen (-) between the names, if appropriate.
- Date of Birth – Use eight numbers to show your date of birth (example: May 1, 1979, should be written 05/01/1979).
- Place of Birth – Give the name of the country where you were born. Include also the city and state or province.
- A # – This is your USCIS (or former INS) file number. If you do not have an Alien Registration Number (A#) or do not know it, leave this blank or write “None”.
- U.S. Social Security # – This is your U.S. Social Security number. If you do not have a U.S. Social Security number, leave this blank.
- U.S. Citizen – Check the appropriate box if you are a U.S. citizen and provide proof of your citizenship if you became a U.S. citizen following the filing of your Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, or submission of a prior Form I-865 address change.
- Lawful Permanent Resident – Check the appropriate box if you are a permanent resident.
- New Home Address – Give your new physical street address. This must include a street number and name or a rural route number. Do not put a post office box (P.O. Box) number here.
- New Mailing Address – Give your mailing address, if different from your home address.
- Telephone Number – Give a telephone number with area code where you can be reached during the day.
Part 2 – Information on sponsored immigrant(s).
Give the requested information about the sponsored immigrant(s). If there is more than one immigrant, use a separate sheet(s) of paper to provide complete information.
Part 3 – Signature.
You, the sponsor, must sign and date the notice. If you do not sign the form, the notice will be returned as incomplete.
Part 4 – Signature of person preparing form, if other than the sponsor.
If you, the sponsor, did not fill out the Form I-865, the preparer must also sign, date and give his or her address.
Step 2. Submit Your Notice.
You must include the following items:
- Your signed and completed Form I-865.
- Filing Fee. There is no filing fee for Form I-865.
Retain a copy of your completed form. You should retain in your records (1) a copy of the completed Form I-865, and (2) evidence that you sent the original Form I-865 to the correct USCIS office and the USCIS received the original Form I-865.
USCIS will accept this documentation as proof that you compiled with the requirement to file Form I-865. For example, if you send Form I-865 using the U.S. Postal Service, you should keep with your file copy of Form I-865, the U.S. Postal Service certified mail receipt or Express Mail shipping label along with a return receipt, both bearing postmarks and the address where you mailed Form I-865.
If you send Form I-865 by a commercial delivery service, you should keep with your file copy of Form I-865 a photocopy of the shipping label and signature proof of delivery.
Submit your Form I-865. Where the notice should be sent depends on where you now live. See below to determine where to mail your notice.
If your new address is in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia or the U.S. Virgin Islands, mail the notice to:
USCIS – Vermont Service Center
75 Lower Weldon Street
St. Albans, VT 05479-0001
If your new address is in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee or Texas, mail the notice to:
USCIS – Texas Service Center
P.O. Box 851804
Mesquite, TX. 75185-1804
If your new address is in Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii or Nevada, mail the notice to:
USCIS – California Service Center
P.O. Box 10485
Laguna Niguel, CA 92607-0485
If you live anywhere else in the United States, mail the notice to:
USCIS – Nebraska Service Center
P.O. Box 87485
Lincoln, NE 68501-7485
Processing Information.
If the sponsor fails to give notice of a change in his or her address, as required in 8 U.S.C. 1183a(d) and 8 CFR 213a.3, the sponsor may be liable for the civil penalty established by 8 U.S.C. 1183a(d). The amount of the civil penalty will depend on whether the sponsor failed to give this notice knowing that the sponsored immigrant(s) has received means-tested public benefits.
NOTE: If the sponsor is a permanent resident, he or she must file a Form AR-11, Alien Change of Address Card, to comply with the change of address requirement in 8 CFR 265.1, as well as filing this Form I-865.
USCIS Forms and Information. To request USCIS forms, call our toll-free forms line at 1-800-870-3676. You may also get USCIS forms and information about immigration laws and regulations by calling our National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 or visiting our internet website at www.uscis.gov.
Use InfoPass for Appointments. As an alternative to waiting in line for assistance at your local USCIS office, you can now schedule an appointment through our internet-based system, InfoPass. To access the system, visit our website at www.uscis.gov. Use the InfoPass appointment scheduler and follow the screen prompts to set up your appointment. InfoPass generates an electronic appointment notice that appears on the screen. Print the notice and take it with you to your appointment. The notice gives the time and date of your appointment, along with the address of the USCIS office.
Privacy Act Notice. As a sponsor, you are required by statute to provide us with your change of address. The information requested on the form will be used principally by the USCIS to verify your compliance with the change of address requirement, and to notify agencies that furnish means-tested public benefits of your address change, if requested.
The information may also, as a matter of routine use, be disclosed to other Federal, State and local agencies providing means-tested public benefits for use in civil action against you for breach of contract. It may also be disclosed as a matter of routine use to other Federal, State, local or foreign law enforcement and regulatory agencies to enable these entities to carry out their law enforcement responsibilities. Failure to provide the information may result in the imposition of the penalty established in 8 U.S.C. 1183a(d).
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. You are not required to respond to this form unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
We try to create forms and instructions that are accurate, can be easily understood and impose the least possible burden on you to provide us with information. Often this is difficult because some immigration laws are very complex.
The estimated average time to complete and file this notice is 15 minutes.
If you have comments regarding the accuracy of this estimate, or suggestions for making this form simpler, you may write to: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Regulatory Management Division, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.,3rd floor, Suite 3008, Washington, DC 20529. Do not mail your completed notice to this address.