USCIS Updates Form I-485 Filing Locations and Tells Applicants to Check Instructions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated Form I-485 filing locations on October 7, 2026. People mailing adjustment applications must match the destination to their reason for filing, rather than assume one address applies to every case.

The agency will accept applications sent to an earlier location if they are postmarked by November 9, 2026. The transition applies to mailed applications; some applicants and representatives can file online.

The agency says the correct mailing address depends on the applicant’s filing basis. A wrong destination may delay processing.

The transition date and the postmark cutoff are separate

The change began on October 7. The separate postmark window gives filers a limited transition period for applications sent to prior locations. After the cutoff, applicants should follow the updated instructions for their category.

The date October 31, 2026, appears as a key date, but its significance is not identified. It is not established as the change date or the last day to use a prior address.

Applicants should not treat the address transition as an extension for using an older form edition. That requirement has its own date and no grace period.

The update covers some categories, not every adjustment case

The address changes are part of a broader update for certain non-family-based forms. The listed forms include I-131, I-360, I-485 and I-765, with the relevant instructions set out on category pages. The agency has not identified every adjustment category that uses the updated chart.

Family-based, employment-based, asylum and refugee filings have distinct routing instructions. Applicants should not assume that every address in those categories changed, or that all applicants in a category use the same destination.

Other category-specific instructions include cases involving T and U nonimmigrants, special programs based on certain public laws, investor filings connected to Form I-526 or I-526E, and certain special immigrant cases directed to the Phoenix Lockbox. Check the instructions for the particular basis of adjustment.

Online filing is available to certain applicants and representatives. Those who qualify use an online account rather than choose a mailing address.

Choose the address by filing basis and delivery carrier

Start with the agency’s direct filing-address page and find the instructions for the filing category. The agency directs applicants to choose where to send the application “based on your reason for filing.”

For categories that use the non-family-based chart, the listed destination depends on the applicant’s residence and the delivery carrier. The chart names the Dallas, Phoenix and Chicago Lockbox destinations. Each has separate delivery instructions for the U.S. Postal Service and private carriers, so check the applicable line before addressing the package. The lockbox chart provides those carrier-specific details.

Some filings follow another route. Applicants submitting the adjustment application at the same time as Form I-140 must send the package, including Form I-907 when applicable, to the address in the Form I-140 filing instructions. Category-specific instructions also apply to other cases.

The older category page and the updated lockbox chart do not provide a basis for treating every listed address as interchangeable. Use the instructions that match the filing basis, and do not transfer an address from another category. Incorrect filing locations may slow processing.

Check the edition and medical packet separately

Before submitting, verify the form version and any required medical documentation. The checks are separate from choosing a mailing address:

1. Use the edition dated 09/18/26. The agency rejects the 01/20/25 and 09/04/26 editions for submissions postmarked or electronically filed on or after September 18, 2026. There is no edition grace period.
2. If printing the form, check that every page shows its edition date and page number, and that all pages come from the same edition.
3. If a medical examination form is required, mail Form I-693 in the civil surgeon’s original sealed envelope. Applicants filing online upload the completed form and keep the original and envelope.
4. Confirm whether online filing is available for the applicant’s case, then follow the online instructions if eligible.

Before mailing, check the category-specific address and the carrier instructions on the agency’s filing page. Use the current edition and make sure the destination matches the basis for adjustment.