USCIS Sponsor Obligations: What Petitioners Must Do

If you have filed an immigration benefit request with USCIS, you are legally required to notify the agency of any change of your own address as soon as possible, and all aliens in the United States must report a change of address within 10 days of moving. Petitioners also carry obligations around beneficiary address updates, keeping contact information current, and responding to requests for evidence. This page sets out what the USCIS rules actually require of sponsors and petitioners, and where the official sources draw the line between what you must do and what you should check with the agency directly.

The Core Obligation: Reporting a Change of Address

The single clearest obligation on anyone who has filed a benefit request with USCIS is the duty to notify the agency of an address change. USCIS states that if you have filed an immigration benefit request, you must notify USCIS of any changes of address as soon as possible to ensure you receive all correspondence and benefits without delay. Separately, all aliens in the United States must report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving. This reporting requirement does not apply to A and G visa holders and visa waiver visitors.

USCIS strongly encourages you to submit your change of address through a USCIS online account as soon as you move. The online route is the fastest: it allows USCIS to process your change of address almost immediately and eliminates the need to file a paper Form AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card, by mail. Most people can use the USCIS Enterprise Change of Address (E-COA) self-service tool, found in their USCIS Online Account under the My Account dropdown menu.

One point that catches many petitioners out: changing your address with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will not change your address with USCIS, and USPS will not forward your mail from USCIS. You must update your information with both USCIS and USPS. USCIS recommends you use the USPS Look Up a ZIP Code tool to ensure you give USCIS your full address using the standard abbreviations and formatting recognised by USPS.

What Happens If You File by Mail Instead

You may also file a paper Form AR-11 by mail to change your address, and this meets the legal requirement to notify USCIS. However, USCIS warns that filing a paper-based Form AR-11 does not provide for an automated update to your address in USCIS systems. For that reason, USCIS strongly encourages requestors to use the self-service change of address tool in their USCIS online account when reporting a change of address. The practical effect is that paper filing is slower and more error-prone, so the online route is the safer choice for anyone who wants their case to keep moving without interruption.

Using Your Online Account: Receipt Numbers Are Essential

If you use your USCIS online account to change your address, you must enter the receipt numbers for each pending benefit request to apply the address change. Providing receipt numbers helps ensure USCIS updates your address where needed and that you continue to receive important correspondence and benefits related to those cases without delay. If you have a pending, approved, or previously filed case with USCIS, you may change your address using your USCIS online account even if you initially filed your benefit request by mail.

Sponsor Obligations for Beneficiaries Who Move

If you filed a petition for a beneficiary and the beneficiary moves, the obligation falls on you to contact the USCIS Contact Center or the office that has jurisdiction over your case. This is a distinct duty from updating your own address. The beneficiary does not automatically update your petition; you must take the step of notifying USCIS about the beneficiary’s new location.

Similarly, if you are a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawful permanent resident and submitted an affidavit of support, the official guidance indicates that additional procedures may apply. The USCIS page on changing your address begins to address this but the relevant text is cut off in the official guidance. What is clear is that USCIS treats beneficiary address changes as a matter you must actively report, not something that happens automatically.

Special Procedures for Certain Petitioners

USCIS sets out specific change-of-address procedures for certain populations, and a petitioner may fall into one of these categories without realising it. The most relevant for sponsors are the adoption-related procedures. If you are a U.S. citizen with a pending or approved orphan or Hague adoption application or petition, a change of address is considered a significant change in your household. You must visit the Updated Home Studies and Significant Changes page for information on how to update your address if you have any of these adoption-related forms pending or approved:

• Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition
• Form I-600A/I-600 Supplement 3, Request for Action on Approved Form I-600A/I-600
• Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative
• Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country
• Form I-800A Supplement 3, Request for Action on Approved Form I-800A
• Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative

USCIS warns that if you do not promptly report significant changes, this could delay or negatively affect the completion of your adoption process. You should also visit the Duty of Disclosure page for information about when you are required to report a significant change during your adoption process.

Attorneys and Accredited Representatives

If you are represented by an attorney or accredited representative, their address obligations are separate from yours. An attorney or accredited representative who needs to change their address on file with USCIS can update it through their USCIS Online Account. They will also need to submit a new Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, for each previously filed case. For cases linked to their online account, they submit the new Form G-28 online. For cases not linked to their online account, they may update their address through a written request or by submitting a paper Form G-28 for every pending case.

As a petitioner, you should be aware that your representative’s address change does not automatically update your case. You still need to ensure your own address is current, and if your representative changes, a new Form G-28 will be needed.

Petitions Sent to the Department of State

A specific obligation arises if your approval notice says USCIS forwarded your petition to the U.S. Department of State’s National Visa Center for consular processing. In that situation, you must see the Department of State’s National Visa Center Contact Information webpage for information on contacting the Department of State, in addition to changing your address with USCIS. This means that a sponsor whose petition has moved to consular processing has two separate notification duties: one to USCIS and one to the Department of State.

Contacting USCIS About Your Case

USCIS makes clear that if you want to ask a question about a specific case using self-service tools, you should be the applicant or petitioner, an attorney or accredited representative of record on behalf of the applicant or petitioner, or a parent or legal guardian on behalf of your minor child. The case status web page gives you the same information you would get by speaking to a representative, and it is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you need to talk to a representative for another reason and you are in the United States or a U.S. territory, you can call the USCIS Contact Center. Representatives are available and respond to live calls and chats Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern, except on federal holidays. If your inquiry is escalated, the Contact Center may call customers back between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

For case-specific questions, USCIS advises you to use the online tools first. If you have tried the tools and still need help, you may submit an online case inquiry or call the USCIS Contact Center. Depending on what information USCIS needs to respond, they may forward a service request to the office processing your case.

FOIA and Privacy Act Requests: A Sponsor’s Right to Records

Sponsors and petitioners sometimes need records from USCIS, whether their own or someone else’s with written permission. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act (PA), you can request your own immigration records, someone else’s immigration records if you have their written permission, and agency policies, data, communications, and other records.

A critical change took effect on January 22, 2026: all FOIA and Privacy requests for USCIS records should now be submitted online. To ensure timely processing, you must make your FOIA request online at first.uscis.gov after creating a USCIS account. Online submission is generally the only acceptable method for submitting a request.

USCIS advises you to request only the specific documents you need, because they can process requests for precise records much faster than requests for an entire file. If you are requesting immigration records for multiple people, even if they are related, you must submit a separate request for each person’s record. USCIS will reject single requests that cover multiple people and notify you that you need to resubmit the requests separately.

If you need an A-File as soon as possible because you have a scheduled hearing with an immigration judge, USCIS will prioritise your request to deliver it faster. You must include with your request a copy of one of these documents, sent to you by the Department of Homeland Security or Department of Justice: Form I-862, Notice to Appear; Form I-122, Order to Show Cause; Form I-863, Notice of Referral to Immigration Judge; or a written notice of continuation of a future scheduled hearing before the immigration judge.

What to Do Next and What to Verify

If you are a petitioner or sponsor, your immediate obligations are straightforward. First, ensure your own address is current with USCIS using the online E-COA tool, and enter the receipt numbers for every pending case. Second, if your beneficiary has moved, contact the USCIS Contact Center or the office with jurisdiction over your case. Third, if your petition has been forwarded to the National Visa Center, check the Department of State’s National Visa Center Contact Information page for the separate notification procedure.

Before you rely on any fee, processing time, or filing requirement, verify it on the official USCIS page for your specific form. The filing fee for Form I-730, for example, is not stated on the form page itself; you must visit the USCIS Fee Schedule page. Similarly, the specific procedures for adoption-related address changes and the Duty of Disclosure requirements are set out on separate USCIS pages. The official pages are the only reliable source for these details, and they change. Check them before you act.