USCIS Change of Address on H-1B or H-4: The AR-11 in 10 Days and Updating Every Pending Case

Your online AR-11 covers your own duty to report a move. It never touches your employer's H-1B petition, and remote work from a new city can need a new LCA and an amended petition first.

Part of our guide to the H-4 EAD.

The change of address form USCIS online filers use is the change-of-address tool in a USCIS online account: sign in, open it from the My Account menu, enter your new address, and add the receipt number of every pending case you want updated. H-1B and H-4 workers must report a move within 10 days, and that online update stands in for the paper AR-11. It does not change your employer's H-1B petition. If your move also changes where you actually work, your employer may owe an LCA notice or an amended petition before you start working from the new place.

Status as of November 1, 2026. In effect, unchanged: the 10-day address duty (INA 265, 8 CFR 265.1) and Form AR-11 edition 11/02/22, fee $0. Scheduled for November 9, 2026: the switch to the 09/09/26 I-129 edition and the end of the postmark grace for USCIS's old filing addresses. Both concern where filings go, not where you live (November 9 checklist).

Change of address form USCIS online: the short answer

The online equivalent of Form AR-11 is the Enterprise Change of Address (E-COA) tool in your USCIS online account. Using it within 10 days of moving meets the legal reporting duty on H-1B or H-4, and it updates the pending cases whose receipt numbers you enter (almost all form types qualify). Your employer's petition and worksite duties are separate.

USCIS's How to Change Your Address page (updated 2026-08-04) says: "Using an online account to update your address in a timely way meets the legal requirement to notify us that you have moved."

Do H-1B workers have to file an AR-11 when they move?

Yes. USCIS states that "all aliens in the United States must report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving," and that the requirement "does not apply to A and G visa holders and visa waiver visitors." The basis is INA 265 (8 U.S.C. 1305) and 8 CFR 265.1.

If you came from F-1, this is new: under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(17) a student meets the duty by telling the DSO (see our F-1 guide to address changes, SEVIS and pending cases). On H-1B there is no DSO, and HR is not DHS. You report to USCIS directly, counting calendar days from the move.

H-4 spouses and children report separately

The AR-11 has room for one person ("Information About You") and one signature, and each online account belongs to one person, so our reading is that each family member reports separately. Your H-4 spouse files their own update with their own receipt numbers, typically the H-4 I-539 and the (c)(26) I-765. For children, 8 U.S.C. 1306(b) holds "any parent or legal guardian" responsible, so a parent reports for each child.

The H-4 stakes are real. Under the final rule in effect since 2026-10-14 (challenged; court relief so far covers seven plaintiffs only), H-4 EAD renewals filed on or after 2025-10-30 get no automatic extension, so a (c)(26) card stops authorizing work at its end date while the renewal is pending (91 FR 65306). A renewal card mailed to an old apartment stretches that gap. The (c)(26) I-765 is not among the options on USCIS's online filing page, so it is a paper case whose receipt number you add by hand.

How to change your address with USCIS online, step by step

1. Collect the receipt number of every pending case where you are the applicant (I-539, I-765, I-485, I-131) from its I-797C receipt notice.
2. Format the address with the USPS Look Up a ZIP Code tool, which USCIS recommends for "the standard abbreviations and formatting recognized by USPS."
3. Sign in to your USCIS online account, or create one. It works for mailed cases; our guide to linking a paper-filed case to your USCIS online account covers the access code.
4. Open the change-of-address tool from the My Account menu.
5. Enter your physical address (the AR-11 says "No PO Boxes"), a mailing address only if mail goes elsewhere, and each pending receipt number. Save a dated screenshot.
6. Repeat for your H-4 spouse in their own account, and report for each child as the parent (check the USCIS address page for how to do this for a minor).
7. Send the new address to HR and your employer's immigration attorney the same day.
8. Call the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833) if the tool will not take a receipt number. Call early: the Contact Center says agents escalate an address change only "if requested before biometrics have been scheduled."

USPS forwarding is no substitute: USCIS says a Postal Service change "will not change your address with USCIS and USPS will not forward your mail from USCIS."

Does the online AR-11 update my pending cases?

Only the cases you name. The USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part A, Chapter 10 (current as of 2026-10-27) says "The E-COA tool automates address changes for almost all form types," and that requestors "should include the receipt numbers for all cases" they want updated. For H-1B families that usually means an H-4 I-539 and I-765, or an employment-based I-485 with its I-765 and I-131. USCIS "does not update the requestor's address outside of a specific request," so a new address on a later filing does not move older cases.

When the online tool cannot do it

Some groups, such as protected persons under 8 U.S.C. 1367, cannot use E-COA; the USCIS address page sets out special procedures, including for VAWA, T and U cases. If the tool rejects a receipt number, the Policy Manual treats the Contact Center as the other near-immediate channel, within the biometrics limit above. If you are in immigration court proceedings, the AR-11 warns that filing it "does not update your address with the Immigration Court"; talk to a licensed immigration attorney.

The paper AR-11

The Form AR-11 page lists edition 11/02/22 (08/31/21 also accepted), and fee schedule G-1055 (edition 10/26/26) lists it at $0. Mail only that form to the address printed on it. It meets the legal requirement but "does not provide for an automated update to your address in USCIS systems," so with a case pending, repeat the change online.

Who updates the address on my employer-filed H-1B petition?

Your employer does. The I-129 is the employer's petition, and USCIS's instruction is addressed to the petitioner: "If you filed a petition for a beneficiary, and the beneficiary moves, contact the USCIS Contact Center or the office that has jurisdiction over your case." Usually its immigration attorney (on Form G-28) handles it; the same goes for an employer-filed I-140. Your AR-11 changes where USCIS mails your cases; it amends neither the petition nor its LCA, which turn on your worksite, not your home.

Does moving to a new city require an H-1B amendment?

Moving your home does not, on its own, if you keep working at the same office. What matters is your place of employment, "the worksite or physical location where the work actually is performed" (20 CFR 655.715). For a remote worker, our reading is that the home office is that worksite, so the home move is also a worksite move; your employer's attorney makes that call.

8 CFR 214.2(h)(2)(i)(E) treats as material "Any change in the place of employment to a geographical area that requires a corresponding labor condition application," and says it "requires an amended or new petition to be filed with USCIS before the H-1B worker may begin work at the new place of employment." Filing is the minimum. The same paragraph says the worker "is not authorized to work under the materially changed terms and conditions of employment until the new or amended H-1B petition is approved and takes effect, unless the beneficiary is eligible for H-1B portability." Whether you can start on filing or must wait for approval is for your employer's immigration attorney to assess.

The line is the area of intended employment, "the area within normal commuting distance of the place (address) of employment." The same DOL rule sets no fixed mileage; any place in the same Metropolitan Statistical Area is deemed within it.

• New worksite in the same area. 8 CFR 214.2(h)(2)(i)(E) says this needs no new petition, absent other material changes. DOL still requires notice at the new worksite "on or before the date any H-1B nonimmigrant begins work" (20 CFR 655.734), posted in two conspicuous places for 10 days or given electronically (DOL Fact Sheet #62M).
• Short stays elsewhere. DOL's short-term placement option covers a site not on an existing LCA for up to 30 workdays a year, or 60 with ties such as "a dedicated workstation at the permanent worksite" (DOL Fact Sheet #62K). It is for trips, not relocations.

Two fee worries that usually do not apply. The $4,000 9-11 fee (in effect for covered employers on petitions postmarked 2026-09-09 through 2027-09-30) exempts an amended petition that requests no extension. And USCIS said (2026-09-21) that amendments it grants inside the US were never covered by the $100,000 payment, whose collection courts have blocked as of 2026-11-01. For the employer side, see how internal team and office moves are analysed for an H-1B amendment, the LCA checklist for moving to a new state with the same employer, and what an amendment means for your H-4 family.

Your move, your duty, your employer's duty (as of 2026-11)

A worked example: one move, three duties, real dates

Arjun holds an approved H-1B with a New Jersey employer; Meera is on H-4 with a standalone H-4 EAD renewal pending on paper. They move to Austin, Texas, and Arjun's manager approves remote work from there starting Monday, November 30, 2026.

If the filing or that confirmation slips, the start date moves, not the rule. A move within the same metro would have needed only a notice posting. With a PERM in progress, raise it in that first email too.

What is the penalty for not reporting an address change?

Form AR-11 states: "Failure to report a change of address is punishable by fine or imprisonment and/or removal from the United States." Its privacy notice adds that failure "could also jeopardize your ability to obtain a future visa or other immigration benefits." Under 8 U.S.C. 1306(b) it is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $200, up to 30 days in jail, or both, and removal is possible unless the failure was reasonably excusable or not willful.

The likelier cost is a biometrics notice, an RFE or an EAD card sent to an address you no longer control. On our reading of INA 265, missing the 10 days does not end the duty to give notice. If the lapse was long, or a petition or green card case is pending, talk to a licensed immigration attorney about how to handle it.

Common mistakes

• Relying on USPS forwarding. USCIS says USPS will not forward its mail.
• Updating your profile without receipt numbers. The address reaches only the cases you name.
• Assuming your update changes the I-129, or covers your H-4 family. Separate duties, separate people.
• Starting remote work from a new metro before the employer files. The regulation requires the filing first, and approval too unless H-1B portability applies.
• Using a PO box as your physical address, or mailing other forms or fees to the AR-11 address.
• Forgetting state payroll. A move to a new state can change withholding; ask payroll, and a tax professional who handles visa-holder returns.

Frequently asked questions

Do H-1B workers have to file an AR-11 when they move?

Yes. INA 265 and 8 CFR 265.1 require noncitizens in the US to report a new address within 10 days of moving; USCIS says the rule does not apply to A and G visa holders or visa waiver visitors (as of 2026-11-01). H-1B workers have no DSO route, so you report to USCIS yourself, online or on the free paper Form AR-11.

Does the online AR-11 update my pending cases?

Only the cases whose receipt numbers you enter. USCIS's online tool handles almost all form types, including paper-filed cases, but it reaches a pending I-539, I-765 or I-485 only when you add that receipt number. A paper AR-11 meets the legal duty but does not update USCIS systems automatically.

Who updates the address on my employer-filed H-1B petition?

Your employer. The I-129 is the employer's petition, and USCIS tells a petitioner whose beneficiary moves to contact the USCIS Contact Center (800-375-5283) or the office with jurisdiction over the case. Your own update covers only your personal duty, so send the new address to HR and your employer's immigration attorney the same day.

Does moving to a new city require an H-1B amendment?

Not if you keep working at the same office. If your place of employment moves to an area needing a new LCA, including remote work from a home in another metro, 8 CFR 214.2(h)(2)(i)(E) requires an amended or new petition filed before you start there, and approval too unless H-1B portability applies (your employer's attorney assesses this). A new worksite in the same area needs only an LCA notice, absent other changes.

What is the penalty for not reporting an address change?

Form AR-11 (edition 11/02/22) states that failure to report is punishable by fine or imprisonment and/or removal from the United States. Under 8 U.S.C. 1306(b) it is a misdemeanor (a fine of up to $200, up to 30 days in jail, or both), and removal is possible unless the failure was reasonably excusable or not willful. The everyday cost is missed notices and cards.

Sources

• USCIS, How to Change Your Address; Form AR-11 and its PDF, edition 11/02/22
• USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part A, Chapter 10
• USCIS, G-1055 fee schedule, Contact Center, Form I-129, filing-locations update
• 8 CFR 265.1, 8 CFR 214.2, 8 U.S.C. 1306, 20 CFR 655.715, 20 CFR 655.734
• DOL WHD Fact Sheet #62M and Fact Sheet #62K
• Federal Register, 91 FR 65306 (2026-10-14)

How we checked this: we read the USCIS address, AR-11, Policy Manual, G-1055, Contact Center, online-filing, filing-location and I-129 pages, the AR-11 form text, the cited regulations, the DOL fact sheets and the Federal Register rule on 2026-11-01.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your own notices and your employer's immigration attorney govern your case.

If your move is part of a bigger change, such as a new city or a new sponsor, F1Jobs helps international professionals run a focused search for H-1B sponsoring employers.