move and priority date

[Mrowka]

What is the name of your state? NY

My friend has a family based I-485 pending in NY (filed in NYC). He is planning on moving to Pennsylvania in a couple of weeks. I assume that when he notifies the USCIS about his move, his paperwork will be transferred to the local office that has jurisdiction over the place where he will live (probably Philadelphia).

1) will his priority date stay the same?
2) since in Philly they are about one year ahead of NY with processing of the applications, will his case be scheduled earlier or will the move dump him at the end of the waiting line?
3) what are the chances of his papers getting lost during transfer

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

He needs to notify the office of the move and request the transfer but then he must diligently follow up with both offices to make sure the transfer has been made because it often is not done so, or not done so in a timely manner, or is transferred to a completely different USCIS office without any reason. Also, the procedure at most local offices is to place the transferred files in queue based on the initial filing date with the original office, but this is also not always done, so it is really critical for your friend to be watchful of the USCIS throughout and to make sure things move in a smooth manner and that his case is not jeopardized because someone at the USCIS has not done their job properly.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or if I may be of further assistance to you in this matter.