Address Update Requirement

Your Address Requirement

All students in F-1 or J-1 status are required by law to report any address change to the Office of International Affairs (OIA) within 10 days of any change. You are required to report addresses changes the entire time you are in F-1 or J-1 status, including any segment of post-completion OPT or AT.  Failure to update your address with OIA will be a violation of your F-1/J-1 status and have a negative immigration impact.

Required Address Formatting Information
Address Update Instructions
Address Format Instructions

Important Address Formatting Information

SEVIS requires the U.S. address to be entered in a specific format. It is crucial to follow the formatting guidelines (listed below) whenever submitting or updating a US address. Please carefully review the instructions below before proceeding. Failure to format the US address correctly may prevent OIA from updating your SEVIS record, which could negatively impact your immigration status.

Address Update Instructions

While You are a Student

While you are a student (before your academic program ends), your university profile and OIA profile are linked. This means most updates made to your address and / or contact information in my.UChicago (or Booth Intranet) will automatically flow into OIA's system. Once we receive the updated information, we then report those changes to SEVIS.

Instructions for All Students (Except BOOTH)

• Log-in to my.UChicago.edu and follow these address update instructions (Booth students see below).

Instructions for Booth Students

• You must update your address on the Booth Intranet by following these instructions. Questions on updating your contact information should be directed to the Booth Academic Services Office.

While on OPT or AT

If you are on Optional Practical Training (OPT) please submit the OPT Update Form or update your SEVP portal (you will likely receive an email once you are on active OPT). J-1 students on Academic Training (AT) after graduation, should report address changes directly to our office via email. Please include your student ID or SEVIS ID number when you reach out. 

Address Formatting Instructions

SEVIS now uses the U.S. Postal Service address standards, which are listed in a very specific format.  Here is an example:

1427 East 60th St
Suite 251
Chicago IL

The USPS listing for the address listed above would be:

1427 E 60TH ST STE 251
CHICAGO IL 60637

Please review the samples below and make sure your address matches the example in the RIGHT column below. If you want to be completely sure that your address meets SEVIS standards, please visit the zip code look-up on the website of the US Postal Service. Along with checking for the zip code the site will also provide the correct address format you need. (SEVIS uses the Postal Service’s system of address verification).  The Zip Code website will give you a nine-digit zip code.  You only need to enter the first five digits of the zip code, as all nine will not fit. 

Please see examples below:

The address format should be the following:

• Line 1: Entire street address, from the USPS zip code look-up website

• Line 2: (leave blank) - DO NOT USE ADDRESS LINE 2

• City:  City only (e.g. 'CHICAGO')

• State: Abbreviation for state (e.g. 'IL')

• Zip code: Five digit zip code (no need to include the last four)

Addresses must contain the following information and only the following information:

• House or building number (e.g. 5512, 630, 1414)

• Direction indicator (S for South, N for North, E for East, and W for West)

• Number or name of street (e.g. 59th, WELLS, MICHIGAN)

• Type of street (ST for Street, AVE for Avenue, DR for Drive, BLVD for Boulevard)

• Apartment or room number (e.g. APT 3B, APT 1142, RM 513)

• City (e.g. CHICAGO, EVANSTON, HAMMOND)

• State (IL for Illinois, IN for Indiana)

• Zip code (e.g. 60637)

• Optional: The Plus 4, the 4 digits following the zip code (e.g. -1750, 2966)

It meets the SEVIS standard and will flow through systems without problems.

You should not add any additional information, such as building or dormitory names, even if it would appear to clarify your location. (Please note, except for International House and Max Palevsky Residential Commons, the addresses used below are fictitious.)

If you have additional questions, please contact your OIA advisor.