How To Complete Your Address History on a DACA Application

What Address History Is Required on a DACA Application?

Form I-821D asks for every address you have physically lived at since you came to the United States. For first-time Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applicants, this includes your current address and all previous addresses you’ve held in the United States. It does not include mailing addresses, so if your mailing address is separate from your physical address, make sure to only report the physical address on your forms.

For DACA renewal applications, only report new addresses since your last approval. You’ll need to remember the dates when you lived and left each address. You should never leave a date question blank. If you don’t know the exact dates, provide approximate dates. To the best of your ability, leave no gaps in your address history. You should list your address history in order of most recent to least recent. If you provide any approximate dates, you should explain why on your forms. 

Remember that you must have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present to qualify for DACA. You must also have been in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time you make your request for DACA status. Form I-821D will ask you to report any of your absences from the United States.

For more information, see the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) filing guide for Form I-821D. You can also learn more about the application process in our article on how to apply for DACA.

How Can I Find My Old Address Information To Complete My DACA Application?

If you’re struggling to remember old addresses, here are a few ideas to help you with your address history search. You should first locate any old housing documents or mailings. For example, you can look for lease agreements, eviction records, and address change confirmations. You should also look for old physical mailings.

Credit Report

You may also check your free credit report online to review your addresses by credit accounts. AnnualCreditReport.com is a useful tool that provides credit reports from three different credit bureaus. But note that these reports don’t provide date ranges. Another option is to search for old purchase receipts. You can use the contact information on these receipts to determine any change of address.

You can also try looking for old medical records, school files, financial statements, and work contracts.

Gaps in Your Address History

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t leave any address history gaps. Suppose you left an address on January 1 and moved to a new address on January 3. You must still account for your whereabouts on January 2. You must also have no overlaps in the dates you provide. Multiple addresses can’t list the same dates. If you moved into a new home before your last lease ended, you should explain the gap on your forms.

You might have a longer address history gap if you temporarily resided abroad. Perhaps you traveled outside of the U.S. to visit family. You might not have held a U.S. address during your visit. In this case, you must include the foreign address you stayed at in your address history.

What Happens if I Can't Provide Complete Address History Information?

You should complete your address history to the best of your ability. Instead of leaving any gaps, you should always try to search for your old address history. If you still can’t locate these records, make sure to explain your gaps to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If you can’t provide complete information, you can expect one of the following outcomes: 

1. USCIS may deny your application.

2. USCIS may accept your address history without question.

3. USCIS may send you a Request for Evidence (RFE) to update your address history.

What Evidence Can I Provide To Support My Address History?

In addition to entering your address information on your forms, you’ll need to prove your address history with supporting documents. Your supporting documents should confirm that you’ve lived in the United States since June 15, 2007. Supporting documents should also confirm that you were in the United States on June 15, 2012.

Make sure that all information on your supporting documents is consistent with your Form I-821D. For DACA renewal applications, you won’t need to resubmit documents you already included on previous applications.

You can submit lease agreements, credit card bills, order receipts, or other old documents to confirm your address history. You should submit document copies instead of original documents. USCIS may not immediately return your supporting documents.