How can I move if I am on federal supervision (like federal probation, federal supervised release, or federal parole)?

If you are currently incarcerated and preparing for your release:

You may be able to request a transfer to another district. The request must be submitted to your Case Manager with the Bureau of Prisons since you will not yet have a Probation Officer.

If you are formerly incarcerated and already release and living in the community:

The process depends on whether you are asking to move to a new residence within the same district OR to a new residence in a different district. Because federal supervision is based on districts, it is not a question of whether you are asking to move across state lines but, instead, whether you are asking to move into a different district. The Interstate Compact on Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS) does not apply to federal supervision. In a nutshell, it’s easier to move within the same district than to move to a new one. The steps below outline both possibilities:

POSSIBILITY #1: If you are moving to a new residence within your current district, it’s suggested that you follow these steps:

Notify your Probation Officer that you want to change your address, and submit that address and the contact information for anyone else living at that address. You must get permission from your Probation Officer to move within your current U.S. Probation District—even if it’s across the street.Your Probation Officer will investigate the new address—so long as it is located in the same U.S. Probation District. As part of that investigation, your Probation Officer will:

    Make sure the new address actually exists;
    Make sure that other people living at the new address are willing and able to have you in their home;
    Run a background check on everyone living at the new address;
    PLEASE NOTE: Since it is a standard condition for all people on federal supervision to avoid associating with anyone else who has a felony conviction, your request to move/transfer to live with someone who has been convicted of a felony will likely be denied.
    Make sure that everyone at the new address knows about and agrees to the “Search Condition” of your supervision.[935]
    Make sure there are no weapons at the new address.

POSSIBILITY #2: If you are moving to a new residence outside of your current U.S. Probation District, it’s suggested that you follow these steps:

Before you ask for a formal transfer to a new district—which can be a longer, more challenging process—ask your probation officer for what is called “courtesy supervision” by another district.

This technically keeps your case in the original district, but allows you to live in and travel to the district of your choice. Your probation officer AND the probation officer of the other district have to agree. After doing this, it is much easier to transfer to the courtesy district than to just transfer from one district to another without “courtesy supervision” being set up first.

If “courtesy supervision” is denied or doesn’t work out, you can still request a formal transfer.

Tell your Probation Officer that you want to change your address, and submit that address and the contact information for anyone else living at that address. You must get permission from your Probation Officer to move to a new address in a different U.S. Probation District.

Your Probation Officer must submit a “Transfer Investigation” to the new district.

The Transfer Investigation generally takes 30 days or longer, since both your current district and the new district must investigate your new proposed address and approve the transfer. As part of the “Transfer Investigation,” a Probation Officer in the receiving District will:

    Make sure the new address actually exists;
    Make sure that other people living at the new address are willing and able to have you in their home;
    Run a background check on everyone living at the new address;
    PLEASE NOTE: Since it is a standard condition for all people on federal supervision to avoid associating with anyone else who has a felony conviction, your request to move/transfer to live with someone who has been convicted of a felony will likely be denied.
    Make sure that everyone at the new address knows about and agrees to the “Search Condition” of your supervision.
    Make sure there are no weapons at the new address.

The receiving District must approve or deny the transfer after conducting the “Transfer Investigation.”

The receiving district can deny your request to transfer/move for any reason. The sending district where you are currently supervised must wait for a response before it can act to transfer your supervision.[936]

IMPORTANT: Some districts have hard and fast rules about certain offenses—for example, that they won’t accept people with sex offenses, or the receiving district will require a more intense investigation of that person.

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  1. 935

    The Search Condition might read something like “The defendant is prohibited from possessing controlled substances. To ensure that the defendant is in compliance, the defendant will submit to search of his person, home, or vehicle at any time of the day or night by any law enforcement or probation officer without cause.” This means your friends may get searched if at your home (or vice versa). If either of you have any contraband, there is a good chance both of you will be getting in trouble.

  2. 936

    Phone Call with Amy Rizor, Supervisory Probation Officer, U.S. Probation (Oakland, CA office).