Which USCIS office will handle our case (I-130/485)? Beneficiary and petitioner living in different states

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mmbtr

New Member
I am a petitioner filing an I-130 for my wife, concurrently with I-485. I live in California, while she's on F-1 visa and has to keep her official residence in Georgia due to school requirements, although she has spent considerable time with me in CA. We intend to use my CA address as her "mailing address" on both forms, but her physical address must be put as in GA.

I have two questions:

1. To which lockbox should we mail the package? Should it be sent to the one corresponding to beneficiary's physical address in Georgia (as I understand from the instruction), or can we use my address's lockbox in California? A lawyer told us that since we put here mailing address in CA, we can send it to CA's lockbox, but I'm not sure. Would sending it to the California lockbox cause any issues?

2. A more general question is what USCIS office will handle adjudication over our case? Specifically related to Item 61 on Form I-130, which asks, "The beneficiary will apply for adjustment of status at the USCIS office in:" Should we put California or Georgia for this item? I'd prefer that the USCIS in CA handles our case (since my wife has unofficially lived with me in CA and eventually intends to move here, I feel that the case might proceed more smoothly), but do we even have a choice here?

Has anybody had a similar experience? Thanks for your help in advance! :)
 
mmbtr said:
I am a petitioner filing an I-130 for my wife, concurrently with I-485. I live in California, while she's on F-1 visa and has to keep her official residence in Georgia due to school requirements, although she has spent considerable time with me in CA. We intend to use my CA address as her "mailing address" on both forms, but her physical address must be put as in GA.

I have two questions:

1. To which lockbox should we mail the package? Should it be sent to the one corresponding to beneficiary's physical address in Georgia (as I understand from the instruction), or can we use my address's lockbox in California? A lawyer told us that since we put here mailing address in CA, we can send it to CA's lockbox, but I'm not sure. Would sending it to the California lockbox cause any issues?

2. A more general question is what USCIS office will handle adjudication over our case? Specifically related to Item 61 on Form I-130, which asks, "The beneficiary will apply for adjustment of status at the USCIS office in:" Should we put California or Georgia for this item? I'd prefer that the USCIS in CA handles our case (since my wife has unofficially lived with me in CA and eventually intends to move here, I feel that the case might proceed more smoothly), but do we even have a choice here?

Has anybody had a similar experience? Thanks for your help in advance! :)
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For the Lockbox, honestly, trust the lawyer on this one. If you’re using your CA address as the official mailing address for the I-485, send it to the California lockbox. USCIS uses the mailing address to route the file, and sending it to GA while claiming you "live" in CA just confuses the mailroom.
As for Item 61, put the California field office. If you're using a CA mailing address, that’s where the file is going anyway. Just a heads-up: when the interview comes, they will grill you on why she’s in GA. Make sure you have a mountain of evidence—flight tickets, FaceTime logs, and joint accounts—to prove it's a real marriage, not just a paperwork hack. It's totally doable, just stay organized. Good luck, you'll need it for the CA wait times!
 
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