Different name on Tax return/transcript and I-130 petition

[Justin and Masako 0]

Hi all,

Ok, heres the situation. In early December I went to try to get a joint account for myself and my wife at my bank but they said she either needed a SSN or an ITIN. We had to wait to file for an ITIN until I could file our joint return as required by the W-7 ITIN form. When we were filling out the form I called the IRS to ask about the name as her passport only has her original family name (which will remain her legal name in Japan) and since the passport is the supporting evidence for the W-7 they said we have to use the name on the passport.

Now on the I-130 I used her legal name in the US which is her family name as her middle name and she took my family name as her last name. So my question is, will this be an issue when I send in the affidavit of support?

I am pretty sure that if they just ask us to bring those documents to the interview I can easily explain the situation to the satisfaction of the interviewer but what if they ask for us to send them before the interview? Our marriage certificate shows both of her names so its easy to prove that she is who she is, but do you think it will cause an issue?

Also, does anyone have experience with the W-7 application? Does it really take up to two months to be processed?

Thanks for any responses!

[Justin and Masako 0]

Just in case anyone wonders this was not an issue and was not even asked about during the interview.

[NicoleX08 1]

Hi all,

Ok, heres the situation. In early December I went to try to get a joint account for myself and my wife at my bank but they said she either needed a SSN or an ITIN. We had to wait to file for an ITIN until I could file our joint return as required by the W-7 ITIN form. When we were filling out the form I called the IRS to ask about the name as her passport only has her original family name (which will remain her legal name in Japan) and since the passport is the supporting evidence for the W-7 they said we have to use the name on the passport.

Now on the I-130 I used her legal name in the US which is her family name as her middle name and she took my family name as her last name. So my question is, will this be an issue when I send in the affidavit of support?

I am pretty sure that if they just ask us to bring those documents to the interview I can easily explain the situation to the satisfaction of the interviewer but what if they ask for us to send them before the interview? Our marriage certificate shows both of her names so its easy to prove that she is who she is, but do you think it will cause an issue?

Also, does anyone have experience with the W-7 application? Does it really take up to two months to be processed?

Thanks for any responses!

I filed it for my husband to get him an ITIN to file our taxes together. It took about 90 days for my tax return to be processed (This was in February this year). I also work at a bank and know for a fact that you can open an account without any ID, all you have to fill out is a W-8 form. And at my bank, a passport is a legal document and an ITIN or SSN is not required...

[Brian&Mel 0]

You don't need a SSN to open an account. My husband just added my name to his account so that I can have access to his account.

On another note, believe it or not, we just received my ITIN after 8 months. There were some processing error and we have to go to the IRS office 3 times to solve the issue. The best thing to do is to contact your local IRS office for an update.

I don't think the name change will bring any problem. Just bring all the necessary documents to support the name change.

Good luck!

[Justin and Masako 0]

Thanks for your responses. Our bank required the SSN or the ITIN to open an account or even to add a name to an account. They said it was because of IRS rules but they might have meant the Wisconsin Dept. of Treasury as it could have been a state law instead of a federal. At any rate it wasn't a problem and, as I mentioned above, was not even mentioned at our interview.

Thanks again,

[Todd-Leah 0]

We ran into the same and were worried, but it turned out to be a non issue.

The consulate just told me they would issue the visa in my maiden name (which is on the passport) and suggested that I only started using my married name in America.

Leah