Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the formal name for U.S. immigration laws, requires any alien in the U.S. to report his or her address to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) within ten (10) days of the change of address. As an F1 or J1 student or exchange visitor. You may meet this obligation by reporting your addresses to the schools or program sponsors. This FAQ will help you understand your responsibilities in this regard and how to meet them.

What exactly is the rule about address reporting?

INA Section 265(a) reads: "Each alien required to be registered under this title who is within the United States shall notify the Attorney General in writing of each change of address and new address within ten days from the date of such change and furnish with such notice such additional information as the Attorney General may require by regulation."

If you are an alien, a person who is not a citizen or national of the United States, and if you are physically present within the U.S., then you are required to be registered (e.g. to have an I-94 card or similar document confirming status). As an alien, you are required to make address reports as specified in the law and directed by DHS within 10 days of any more or change of address.

DHS has set different address reporting rules for different visa classes and for citizens or nationals of certain countries.

F1 and J1 students and scholars meet the address reporting obligation by reporting to the school or program in a manner specified by the school or program. F1 and J1 students must meet the 10 day reporting deadline, but the report is made to the school instead of DHS.

Persons identified for Special Registration make address reports in the manner specified by DHS in the Special Registration instructions. The 10 day reporting deadline applies to Special Registration.

I know that I have filled in my address on lots of forms. How is this different? Is this same as filing a change of address with the U.S. Post Office? Why do I have to follow another procedure?

U.S. federal (national) law specifically requires aliens to report their addresses to a particular location in a particular way. This law has been "on the books" for a very long time. Other address reporting is for other purposes. For example, you might complete a change of address form at the U.S. Post Office to make sure you get your mail delivered properly. This is an action that a U.S. citizen might take as well. It is useful, but not mandatory. Address reporting to the DHS in a particular way is mandatory.

How do I report my address? Where do I send it?

There are different ways to report your address depending on your non-immigrant status in the U.S., your home country, and a few other factors.

If you are a student in F1 or J1 status and if Drury issued your I-20 or DS-2019, you must report your address through the Drury Registrar's office.

If you are an exchange visitor in J1 status in a category other than student, you must report your address in writing to the International Support Services Office.

If you hold any other non-immigrant status such as B, H, O, and so on, you must report your address on form AR-11. It loads in Adobe as a fillable form, so you may fill it out online, print it, and mail it to the DHS address indicated on the form.

If you have been identified for Special Registration, you must report your address per the instructions given to you by DHS. In general you will need to use form AR-11SR. Note that the form gives you the proper address to which it must be mailed.

If you are required to submit the AR-11 or AR-11SR to DHS, after you complete your address report, please make a copy and send it to the International Support Office. (FSC 113). This will help us keep your address current here as well.

I do not like the idea of reporting my address to DHS. What happens if I just refuse to do it?

INA Section 266(b) states: "Any alien or any parent or legal guardian in the United States of any alien who fails to give written notice to the Attorney General, as required by section 265 of this title, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not to exceed $200 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. Irrespective of whether an alien is convicted and punished as herein provided, any alien who fails to give written notice to the Attorney General, as required by section 265, shall be taken into custody and removed in the manner provided by chapter 4 of this title, unless such alien establishes to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that such failure was reasonably excusable or was not willful."

In short, if you make a choice or decision not to report, a willful act, then DHS has the authority to charge you with a crime, fine you $200, imprison you for 30 days, and then deport you. In practice DHS has not used this violation alone to deport someone, but DHS can add this to a list of violations such as overstay or unauthorized work, when they are building a case for deportation.

What if I did not know about this rule and have not reported my address, or if I forget and report late? What will DHS do?

The DHS, through the office of the Attorney General, has the authority to forgive such failures provided the failure to report "was reasonably excusable or was not willful." Drury does not have the authority to forgive late reporting; only DHS can do that.

You need to report properly and promptly, but DHS will generally not take an action against you just because you missed a deadline or didn’t know you needed to report, provided that you act in good faith and send the report once you know you have to report or realize you have missed the deadline.

I may be moving around a lot. My box number is the most accurate address to reach me. Why does DHS want to know every time I move?

Members of Congress, DHS, and other government agencies have indicated to schools that they want to know where aliens live, including students and scholars, so that they can find them if necessary. You must report a residential address

The only exception is campus residence halls and similar locations where the U.S. Postal Service is unable to deliver mail. In such cases a student is permitted to use a campus PO Box number. At Drury, for students who live on campus, Drury will report the local address as your campus address.

If you live at any location where U.S. mail can be delivered (regardless of whether mail is actually delivered there), you must notify Drury of your residence address so that DSO can make the necessary reports to DHS.

There could be many reasons. The most common, of course have to do with events, such as terrorist or criminal acts by others, that cause the government to launch investigations.

Drury, and many other colleges and universities across the U.S. are doing all they can to protect students’ rights in these very tense times with a very active Congress working to change the immigration laws.

Everyone in the U.S. and under its jurisdiction has certain rights, but aliens do not have the same rights as citizens. For more information on the Constitutional rights of aliens see "Constitutional Rights".

Contact International Support Services by calling 873-7885 or e-mailing jswann@drury.edu.

Thanks to Duke University for these FAQs.