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Shift & tell: what immigrants to US must know
January 30, 2006
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires all non-immigrant visa holders and immigrants or green card holders to notify, within 10 days, any change of address.
The AR-11 form, which is for aliens' change of address registration, often appears to be a small thing and could tend to be ignored by Indian immigrants in the US. But with US immigration laws turning more stringent, the onus of maintaining status has shifted to the immigrant rather than the sponsor or the government authorities. And the AR-11 form, which immigrants have to fill up every time they change residences and mail to the US CIS office, has become an important compliance issue.
The US Immigration and Nationality Act requires all non-US citizens over 14 years old and remaining in the US for more than 30 days to report a change of address within the US by filing form AR-11 within 10 days of such change. Compliance on this issue had not been encouraged until 2002. Of late, there has been increasing pressure on all aliens to notify any change of address within 10 days of the change. Though the law has existed for years, CIS had not earlier placed a high priority on enforcing it.
The AR-11 forms need to be filed by certified mail and copies of the filed form and proof of mailing need to be retained. Immigrants who are subject to special registration must complete AR-11 SR, a version of form AR-11.In extreme cases, failure to file form AR-11 can result in a jail term of up to 30 days and/or a fine of up to $200. Failure to file can also result in an individual being taken into custody and removed from the US.
Filing of form AR-11, however, does not inform adjudication centres of address changes. Hence, those who have an application pending at a local or regional adjudication centre, must also inform that office separately of change of address.
Form AR-11 requires aliens to report name, immigration status (visitor, permanent resident, student, other), country of citizenship, date of birth, present and previous address, name and address of employer or school, port of entry into the US, date of entry into the US, and the date stay in the US expires. Each member of your family should file the form separately upon relocation within the US.
"The AR-11 was introduced in the Fifties, and came into spotlight after 9/11," says Rami Fakhouri, a leading immigration attorney in Detroit, Michigan. "For the first few months, the Immigration and Naturalization Services did not know where to even store the forms, though they mandated that all immigrants file this form immediately or face action."
The AR-11 form is a simple tracking element that was designed to fulfill current information needs of the alien immigrant during his or her stay within the US. "When you change your bank accounts, call up the telephone company, and stop the newspapers during your shift, it is as important to remember to file your AR-11 form," advises Roxie Bacon, of Littler Global, a global immigration practise firm, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. "If you have ignored filing it so far, at least make a attempt by writing down all your previous residence addresses during your stay in the US, and file it with your current AR-11 form."
Umesh Vaidyamath, founder and CEO of INSZoom, feels that with every country tightening immigration procedures and putting out stricter compliance norms, it is advisable to keep small details like the AR-11 in mind. INSZoom is in the process of automating complex immigration processes of various countries around the world.
Significantly, most Indian software firms with temporary workers in the US are passing on the onus of maintaining the AR-11 compliance to the employee. While this is the correct procedure, the issue becomes a problem when there are queries from the Department of Homeland Security. The much-ignored AR-11 then becomes a critical point of reference. Erring employees will be deported, the company loses precious billing talent, and the DHS is wary of the company's track record .
Experts feel that companies leveraging the various visa programmes to bring in low-cost talent to the US should ensure that their employees maintain compliance. "With employment-related frauds increasing, it will only become increasingly relevant to be compliant, and ensure that employees are compliant too," says a leading analyst from the immigration sector.
Agrees Mini Khanna Chaudhuri, sr manager-CMS and international HR Patni Computer Systems: "Though the onus of filling an AR-11 lies with the employee it is important for the company also to track the employee place of residence while they are with the organization. A lot of this depends currently on the company culture and the discipline that may be prevalent in the organization."
Bacon feels, "For something that is a very simple procedure, sheer lack of awareness or foresight could lead to numerous unwanted problems. Every temporary worker in the US should follow the three simple steps to file the AR-11." Vic Goel, another leading immigration attorney in Washington, DC, agrees. "Why jeopardize your entire stay in the US by being careless about your location information? It is just not worth it."
INSZoom has developed an AR-11 forms library to ensuring that the latest changes in the US immigration rules are reflected in new forms that are released within 48 hours of the changes coming into effect.
(The writer practices US immigration and nationality law and is a legal consultant to INSZoom.com, Inc )
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