Address Listing Guidance for Form I-485

Detailed guidance for listing your past five-year physical address history, including travel periods

Key Highlights

Chronological Listing: List every residence where you physically stayed in the past five years with clear, sequential dates.
Travel and Overlap Protocol: Clarify travel periods and overlapping residencies separately, avoiding confusion by listing exact dates.
Consistency in Documentation: Ensure that the addresses provided reconcile with both your employment and immigration records to avoid delays.

Understanding and Compiling Your Address History

When filling out Form I-485, it is essential to provide a complete and accurate history of your physical residences for the past five years. This timeline should account for all periods where you were residing somewhere—even if these periods involve travel or temporary overlaps. In your case, considering the multiple addresses, travel routes, and varying durations of stay, preparing a clear, comprehensive list of addresses is necessary to support your application.

Chronological Address Listing

The basic premise for listing addresses on Form I-485 is that you must chronologically record all the addresses at which you have been physically present. For each address included on the form, you need to specify:

The exact street address.
The city, state, and ZIP code (if applicable).
The specific dates during which you lived at that address.

Current Residence

Start with your current address where you presently reside. According to your details, your current residence is:

6815 Steamer Dr SE, Lacey, Washington - This should be listed as your current address with the start date as soon as you began your residence here (for example, March 13, 2025, if that is when you moved in) up to "present".

Previous Residences in NYC: 7 Monroe Street

You mentioned living at 7 Monroe Street in New York City, and you currently have two separate periods listed for this address:

First Period: March 1, 2023 – December 31, 2024
Second Period: January 12, 2025 – March 13, 2025

Even if there are short periods or overlaps with other travel addresses, list each period with its precise start and end dates.

Travel Period and Separate Addresses

During your travel period, the rules are similar. In your case, you were on a road trip that involved traveling from Savannah to Long Beach, California. The process involves:

Listing a Road Trip Segment: For the dates when you were en route (December 31, 2024 – January 5, 2025), you may either mention the general area of travel or specify the addresses at which you stayed overnight along the route if you have those details.
California Stay: You indicated a stay in California from January 5, 2025 to January 12, 2025. It is advisable to list the specific address(s) in California where you resided. If you stayed at one address for this duration, use that specific California address.

If you do not have detailed addresses for every minor stop during a multi-day road trip, you can clarify in an additional remarks section explaining that these stops were part of travel and that your permanent residences are those where you stayed for extended periods.

Handling Overlapping Dates and Short-term Residences

The challenge arises when your living situations overlap, such as when you spent a week in California while simultaneously having a home in NYC. Here’s what you need to know:

Address Overlap During Travel

If you temporarily returned to NYC for a short period within the overall travel period or immediately after an event like your marriage, you should list each instance distinctly. For instance:

NYC Residence: During the period surrounding your marriage, if you spent 10 days or more at your NYC address and this was a principal residence, it should be listed with the exact dates of your stay at 7 Monroe Street.
California Stay: If you stayed in California for a week and this residence was separate and not an extension of the NYC residence, it should be listed separately. There is no need to combine the dates using an ampersand (“&”), but rather list them as two distinct entries.

The primary focus is ensuring clarity about where you were physically present during each period. Additionally, if there is any confusion caused by overlapping dates, use the additional information section on the form. This is an excellent place to provide further clarification, such as: “I resided at 7 Monroe Street for the majority of this period, but due to travel circumstances, I temporarily stayed at a provided California address.”

Address Documentation Example Table

To ensure you have all details properly arranged, you can organize your addresses into a comprehensive table. This approach not only helps in keeping the timeline clear but also acts as a reference during the application review.

Address	City, State	Period of Residence	Notes
6815 Steamer Dr SE	Lacey, WA	From March 13, 2025 – Present	Current residence
7 Monroe Street	New York, NY	March 1, 2023 – December 31, 2024	First NYC stay
7 Monroe Street	New York, NY	January 12, 2025 – March 13, 2025	Post-travel NYC return
Various addresses (if available) or general indication of travel	Route: Savannah to Long Beach, CA	December 31, 2024 – January 5, 2025	Road trip period (interim stops)
California Residential Address	Long Beach, CA (or specific city/town)	January 5, 2025 – January 12, 2025	Staying in California

Here is how these dates and addresses translate into a clear timeline:

List your current residence first with the exact move-in date up to “Present.”
Followed by listing your previous addresses in chronological order.
Clearly separate any travel-related stays from your permanent residences.
Highlight any overlapping or transitional periods by providing separate entries; do not merge dates using symbols. Instead, use a note or an additional comments section.

Special Considerations for Your Situation

Marriage and Joint Living Arrangements

You mentioned that you were married to a U.S. military citizen and were supposed to live together after your marriage. If you and your spouse have planned a joint residence, this should reflect in the address history where you intend to list your joint living arrangements. In your case:

If you resided together at 7 Monroe Street in NYC, ensure that each period where you were together is distinctly recorded. For example, if you only lived together for 10 days at that address following your marriage, you can denote this period as a separate entry or mention it in the additional information to clarify that the majority of your address history comes from longer-term stays.
The overlapping address responses should be clearly distinguished. Do not combine overlapping dates with an ampersand (“&”); rather, list the dates consecutively and separately identify the travel and residential periods.

How to Document Short-term and Overlapping Residences

Let’s break down your timeline more specifically with regards to your query:

7 Monroe Street in NYC: You lived there from March 1, 2023, until December 31, 2024; then after your travel and marriage procedures, you returned and resided again from January 12, 2025, to March 13, 2025. These should remain as two separate entries.
Road Trip and California Stay: You were traveling and residing en route from December 31, 2024, to January 5, 2025, and then specifically at a California address from January 5, 2025, until January 12, 2025. If you do not have multiple addresses for your road trip stops, you can state it as the “travel segment” with a note clarifying that these were temporary stays during a road trip.
Overlapping periods: The two-month period you mentioned after your marriage in NYC should be clearly noted separately. Even if there is an overlap with the travel timeline from California, ensure that each entry includes non-overlapping, distinct dates. There is no need to combine these dates with an ampersand; listing them as distinct, consecutive periods is preferred.

It is essential to be as precise as possible. When listing these addresses, if you encounter any complexity – such as overlapping dates or short-term stays – consider adding a clarifying note in the “Additional Information” or “Remarks” section within the form. This explanation might state: “During my travel period, I temporarily resided in California and subsequently returned to my permanent residence at 7 Monroe Street in NYC. Each address has its exact time frame listed above.”

Verification and Consistency

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) places significant emphasis on consistency between the address history provided in the Form I-485 and any supporting documents that might include employment history, immigration records, or travel logs. Therefore, it is critical that:

All the dates and addresses match your records as closely as possible to avoid discrepancies.
Whenever there is a short gap or overlap, an explanatory note is included to preempt any clarification requests from USCIS.
You maintain copies of confirmations or documentation (such as lease agreements, travel itineraries, or other official records) that support your listed addresses.

For parallel consistency, ensure that the employment and immigration history sections of your filing also reflect these same dates and locations. Remember, inconsistency can trigger requests for additional evidence or even delay your application processing.

Tips for Completing Your I-485 Address History

Precise Entry Examples for Your Immigration Form

To solidify the concept, here are example entries based on your timeline:

Entry 1:
Address: 7 Monroe Street, New York, NY
Period: March 1, 2023 – December 31, 2024
Note: Primary residence during this period.
Entry 2:
Address: Road Trip/Travel (Savannah to Long Beach, CA region)
Period: December 31, 2024 – January 5, 2025
Note: Temporary travel stops.
Entry 3:
Address: [Specific California address if available, or general area in Long Beach, CA]
Period: January 5, 2025 – January 12, 2025
Note: California stay during travel.
Entry 4:
Address: 7 Monroe Street, New York, NY
Period: January 12, 2025 – March 13, 2025
Note: Temporary return to NYC post-travel.
Entry 5:
Address: 6815 Steamer Dr SE, Lacey, WA
Period: From March 13, 2025 – Present
Note: Current residence.

Always double-check that the sum of these periods covers the entire five-year window without any gaps. Should there be any minor periods or travels not captured through these entries, add clarification in your form’s supplemental sections.

Additional Guidelines and Best Practices

Here are some additional recommendations to ensure your addresses are listed accurately:

Exact Dates: Where exact dates are unclear, provide the best available approximations. It is generally acceptable to provide an estimated date if you include a statement clarifying that the dates are approximate.
Clear Explanations: Use the additional information section on Form I-485 to explain any abnormal circumstances, such as having multiple residences due to travel or overlapping periods because of transitional arrangements following your marriage.
Supporting Documentation: Always attach or be ready to provide supplementary documents that verify your timeline. This could include housing contracts, travel itineraries, or affidavits confirming your travel itineraries.
Consistency with Official Records: Ensure that the address history provided on Form I-485 corresponds with other records you have submitted to USCIS. Any discrepancies might prolong processing or require a re-submission.

Given that you are transitioning from a J1 to an F1 visa and that there are complexities due to marital circumstances and travel schedules, clarity is paramount. Listing exact dates and addressing all periods where you had substantive physical addresses prevents misunderstandings. Do not merge overlapping dates with symbols like “&”—instead, list each period separately and provide additional context as required.

Summary Table of Your Address History

Address	City, State	Period of Residence	Additional Notes
7 Monroe Street	New York, NY	March 1, 2023 – December 31, 2024	Primary NYC residence
Road Trip/Interim Stops	Savannah to Long Beach, CA	December 31, 2024 – January 5, 2025	Temporary stops on road trip
California Residence (Long Beach area)	California	January 5, 2025 – January 12, 2025	Designated travel stay
7 Monroe Street	New York, NY	January 12, 2025 – March 13, 2025	Returned to NYC post-travel
6815 Steamer Dr SE	Lacey, WA	From March 13, 2025 – Present	Current residence

Use the above table as a reference when filling out your Form I-485. It encapsulates the various periods of residence and travel, ensuring that USCIS can easily review your physical address history without confusion.