Which Name to Use on Legal Documents in USA

[KHPerfectMatch 1]

When my SO arrives in the US, will he have any opportunity to pick how many of his 3 part last name he wants to use for legal documents? Maybe I should explain better...

Without giving his REAL last name he has a name similar to Alaa El Din which Americans have turned into Alladin... only his name would be MUCH too long if merged all of the names together.. On all the documents I filed for him I used all 3 as seperate names. Wondering if we could just use El Din or Eldin as his name for drivers license, etc. here in the US.

Does someone decide this when he arrives? OR???? Do they take it out of his passport? Does he get to chime in and say, "how about we just use the last 2 names???"

Has anyone gone through this and been able to PICK which name(s) to use?

Thanks!!!

Karmella (who's hoping for a relatively easy last name for HERSELF since he seems bound and determined to make me change mine to HIS at some point... )

[*Maureen* 0]

when we went to the DMV to transfer his license, they were kindly enough to "choose" which names were going to appear on his license.

[LRA 0]

I would say use however it is in his passport or on the actual visa.

[*Maureen* 0]

I would say use however it is in his passport or on the actual visa.

i love that picture lulu!!!!

[Nothing1234 2]

My husband had the same issue as in Egypt they have the three names....on his passport the last name of the three was picked for him from Egypt as his "surname" so he had to go with this.

[Aymsgirl 0]

My husband has 5 names on his passport and records. They picked the first two and then the last one as his last name. Unfortunately, his last name is his grandfather's name not his family name in Egypt. His family name in Egypt was not on any of his legal documents. Strange but it ended up being this way.

[KHPerfectMatch 1]

As I recall you are allowed to change your name (without going through the legal "name change" process) when you get married. I think I will check with my attorney and see if BOTH of us can change it to ELDIN (instead of the 3 part name it shows on the documents). My problem is not that he has too many generations of relatives on his documents (He just has his first name and his father's name) it's the 3 part FAMILY name that is too difficult to deal with either in 3 parts or combined into one.

Since there are so man hispanic names that have El Something... maybe it will make sense to them that we just want to use the Eldin part.. and maybe their will assume the other part of the name is one of the middle names..

After having really difficult middle eastern names (to say AND spell) for the last 24 years I'm ready for something easy! I just can't believe he wants me to change my name to HIS last name... Totally unIslamic and not part of Egyptian culture either.. I think he wants me to get rid of my ex-husband's last name which I have kept all these years so I could have the same last name as my son... and because I'm self-employed as a consultant my name is my trade.. but now my son is grown and my client base is firm, so I'll agree to use his family name... However when we're in Egypt they will probably think I'm his cousin!!! hahahahahahahahahahahaha

I've always wanted to change my first and middle names so I might do that too. He asked me what middle name I would use and I asked him if he wanted me to use his name and he said, "NO they will think you are my daugther!!!!)hehehehehehehehehehehehehe I might use my father's name (traditional), or I might use my arabic name.. but somehow I'm getting some mileage out of this marriage in the name change department.. Hoping it's my LAST chance at it...

The things we go through to marry these guys...

[esmatsgirl 1]

My husband's passport was translated by a Jordanian who made it - into english....and they did not properly spell his name the first time around. He did nothing about this and just accepted it thinking maybe all this time he has been incorrectly spelling his name in english or just going with the flow....but every time he spelled his name himself in english it was not as how it is on the passport...then I started seeing the name spelled in english from some relatives and they all spell it the same in english ....and it was not spelled like this on my husband's passport or...as a result...on our marriage agreement.

I asked him to go back and get a new passport with the correct spelling of our last name. He did and they changed it for him with no problem. They realize that they don't always translate perfectly or as it should be pronounced in the US. I am so happy about this because I did not want our last name to be butchered every time someone here used it.

My husband also had to go get a new marriage certificate with the new name because our original marriage agreement has the old spelling from the old passport. I have been waiting for the new marriage certificate so that I can change my name here...which I have waited to do until the name was fixed.

Just make sure that he has the correct name as last name on his passport and that is what should be used for his US last name. I emailed the embassy and asked them about the passport name change...I wanted to make sure it would not hinder the immigration process if he shows up to the interview with a passport with his name spelled differently and they said it would not be a problem.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Deb

[Aymsgirl 0]

As I recall you are allowed to change your name (without going through the legal "name change" process) when you get married. I think I will check with my attorney and see if BOTH of us can change it to ELDIN (instead of the 3 part name it shows on the documents). My problem is not that he has too many generations of relatives on his documents (He just has his first name and his father's name) it's the 3 part FAMILY name that is too difficult to deal with either in 3 parts or combined into one.

Since there are so man hispanic names that have El Something... maybe it will make sense to them that we just want to use the Eldin part.. and maybe their will assume the other part of the name is one of the middle names..

After having really difficult middle eastern names (to say AND spell) for the last 24 years I'm ready for something easy! I just can't believe he wants me to change my name to HIS last name... Totally unIslamic and not part of Egyptian culture either.. I think he wants me to get rid of my ex-husband's last name which I have kept all these years so I could have the same last name as my son... and because I'm self-employed as a consultant my name is my trade.. but now my son is grown and my client base is firm, so I'll agree to use his family name... However when we're in Egypt they will probably think I'm his cousin!!! hahahahahahahahahahahaha

I've always wanted to change my first and middle names so I might do that too. He asked me what middle name I would use and I asked him if he wanted me to use his name and he said, "NO they will think you are my daugther!!!!)hehehehehehehehehehehehehe I might use my father's name (traditional), or I might use my arabic name.. but somehow I'm getting some mileage out of this marriage in the name change department.. Hoping it's my LAST chance at it...

The things we go through to marry these guys...

When we discussed the name change it was either take his or go back to my maiden name but he wanted my ex's off of my documents. So, for the sake of my son and how most people here have the same family name I took his last name. Good luck on everything!!

[KHPerfectMatch 1]

To be honest I"m not sure what is on his passport, but I seem to recall that it is already in his passport in English.

What I know for sure is:

1) I don't want their spelling (whatever it is...) because it most likely isn't going to be easy or phonetically correct...

2) I don't want all 3 parts of the family name Nour El Din (just made that up, for an example)

3) I don't want it all jammed together Noureldin

4) I just want Eldin

So no matter what I'll find a way to get it...

My name now is Palestinian and we spelled it in correct ARABIC phonetics and I've had to spell it 10,000,000,000 times over the past 23 years. When my ex got his citizenship he changed it to the easy English spelling and how he has an EASY last name and my son and I still have difficult one with a "deh" on the end... D as in David, E as in Edward H as in Henry nearly rolls off my tongue EVERY time I say it...

I wish it was like the good old days at Ellis Island where they just let you CHOSE what last name you wanted when you got off the boat...

Thanks for your help!

K

My husband's passport was translated by a Jordanian who made it - into english....and they did not properly spell his name the first time around. He did nothing about this and just accepted it thinking maybe all this time he has been incorrectly spelling his name in english or just going with the flow....but every time he spelled his name himself in english it was not as how it is on the passport...then I started seeing the name spelled in english from some relatives and they all spell it the same in english ....and it was not spelled like this on my husband's passport or...as a result...on our marriage agreement.

I asked him to go back and get a new passport with the correct spelling of our last name. He did and they changed it for him with no problem. They realize that they don't always translate perfectly or as it should be pronounced in the US. I am so happy about this because I did not want our last name to be butchered every time someone here used it.

My husband also had to go get a new marriage certificate with the new name because our original marriage agreement has the old spelling from the old passport. I have been waiting for the new marriage certificate so that I can change my name here...which I have waited to do until the name was fixed.

Just make sure that he has the correct name as last name on his passport and that is what should be used for his US last name. I emailed the embassy and asked them about the passport name change...I wanted to make sure it would not hinder the immigration process if he shows up to the interview with a passport with his name spelled differently and they said it would not be a problem.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Deb

[Nothing1234 2]

He can get a new passport and have the spelling corrected if there is an issue so that its phonetically spelled for you. Take a look at it if you can and then have him go back to have it corrected. If he doesnt already have one of the new passports, now is the time for a new passport.

Thats exactly what my husband did. However, you can not change the order of the names on his passport and the last of the three names should/would be his Surname. My husband wants to use his "Middle Name" which is his fathers name, as our last name, however its not possible until citizenship. For now, we stick w/ his great grandfathers name as our last. I just read that again and confused myself!

To be honest I"m not sure what is on his passport, but I seem to recall that it is already in his passport in English.

What I know for sure is:

1) I don't want their spelling (whatever it is...) because it most likely isn't going to be easy or phonetically correct...

2) I don't want all 3 parts of the family name Nour El Din (just made that up, for an example)

3) I don't want it all jammed together Noureldin

4) I just want Eldin

So no matter what I'll find a way to get it...

My name now is Palestinian and we spelled it in correct ARABIC phonetics and I've had to spell it 10,000,000,000 times over the past 23 years. When my ex got his citizenship he changed it to the easy English spelling and how he has an EASY last name and my son and I still have difficult one with a "deh" on the end... D as in David, E as in Edward H as in Henry nearly rolls off my tongue EVERY time I say it...

I wish it was like the good old days at Ellis Island where they just let you CHOSE what last name you wanted when you got off the boat...

Thanks for your help!

K

My husband's passport was translated by a Jordanian who made it - into english....and they did not properly spell his name the first time around. He did nothing about this and just accepted it thinking maybe all this time he has been incorrectly spelling his name in english or just going with the flow....but every time he spelled his name himself in english it was not as how it is on the passport...then I started seeing the name spelled in english from some relatives and they all spell it the same in english ....and it was not spelled like this on my husband's passport or...as a result...on our marriage agreement.

I asked him to go back and get a new passport with the correct spelling of our last name. He did and they changed it for him with no problem. They realize that they don't always translate perfectly or as it should be pronounced in the US. I am so happy about this because I did not want our last name to be butchered every time someone here used it.

My husband also had to go get a new marriage certificate with the new name because our original marriage agreement has the old spelling from the old passport. I have been waiting for the new marriage certificate so that I can change my name here...which I have waited to do until the name was fixed.

Just make sure that he has the correct name as last name on his passport and that is what should be used for his US last name. I emailed the embassy and asked them about the passport name change...I wanted to make sure it would not hinder the immigration process if he shows up to the interview with a passport with his name spelled differently and they said it would not be a problem.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Deb

[KHPerfectMatch 1]

No time for a new passport, he flies on October 6th, I think considering Egyptian Bureaucracy it might take longer than our Visa did to get a new passport with a different name.. .....

Besides, wouldn't the USCIS be looking at THEIR OWN documents when he enters? I guess that I don't know when it's determined what name he is using here... Is it taken from his Egyptian passport? His the name listed on his Visa? The temporary EAD we hope he gets at JFK? And when he goes to get the Social Security number what do they look at for the name on his social security card????

I guess no one has really addressed any of these questions (which is where I started with this)...

I don't want to change the order of his names... He only has his first name, his father's name, and a 3 part last name... I just want to use 2 of the 3 parts of his last name merged together into one last name... Eldin.

Not Nour El Din

Not Noureldin

I'm calling the lawyer, bet he won't know either... UGH... But at least he can tell me how is the easiest way to change it as SOON AS POSSIBLE...

K Eldin... hahahahahahaha (One can hope)

He can get a new passport and have the spelling corrected if there is an issue so that its phonetically spelled for you. Take a look at it if you can and then have him go back to have it corrected. If he doesnt already have one of the new passports, now is the time for a new passport.

Thats exactly what my husband did. However, you can not change the order of the names on his passport and the last of the three names should/would be his Surname. My husband wants to use his "Middle Name" which is his fathers name, as our last name, however its not possible until citizenship. For now, we stick w/ his great grandfathers name as our last. I just read that again and confused myself!

To be honest I"m not sure what is on his passport, but I seem to recall that it is already in his passport in English.

What I know for sure is:

1) I don't want their spelling (whatever it is...) because it most likely isn't going to be easy or phonetically correct...

2) I don't want all 3 parts of the family name Nour El Din (just made that up, for an example)

3) I don't want it all jammed together Noureldin

4) I just want Eldin

So no matter what I'll find a way to get it...

My name now is Palestinian and we spelled it in correct ARABIC phonetics and I've had to spell it 10,000,000,000 times over the past 23 years. When my ex got his citizenship he changed it to the easy English spelling and how he has an EASY last name and my son and I still have difficult one with a "deh" on the end... D as in David, E as in Edward H as in Henry nearly rolls off my tongue EVERY time I say it...

I wish it was like the good old days at Ellis Island where they just let you CHOSE what last name you wanted when you got off the boat...

Thanks for your help!

K

My husband's passport was translated by a Jordanian who made it - into english....and they did not properly spell his name the first time around. He did nothing about this and just accepted it thinking maybe all this time he has been incorrectly spelling his name in english or just going with the flow....but every time he spelled his name himself in english it was not as how it is on the passport...then I started seeing the name spelled in english from some relatives and they all spell it the same in english ....and it was not spelled like this on my husband's passport or...as a result...on our marriage agreement.

I asked him to go back and get a new passport with the correct spelling of our last name. He did and they changed it for him with no problem. They realize that they don't always translate perfectly or as it should be pronounced in the US. I am so happy about this because I did not want our last name to be butchered every time someone here used it.

My husband also had to go get a new marriage certificate with the new name because our original marriage agreement has the old spelling from the old passport. I have been waiting for the new marriage certificate so that I can change my name here...which I have waited to do until the name was fixed.

Just make sure that he has the correct name as last name on his passport and that is what should be used for his US last name. I emailed the embassy and asked them about the passport name change...I wanted to make sure it would not hinder the immigration process if he shows up to the interview with a passport with his name spelled differently and they said it would not be a problem.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Deb

[Nothing1234 2]

It's taken from the I-94 (which he fills out) from his egyptian passport..which has the surname. check it out.

No time for a new passport, he flies on October 6th, I think considering Egyptian Bureaucracy it might take longer than our Visa did to get a new passport with a different name.. .....

Besides, wouldn't the USCIS be looking at THEIR OWN documents when he enters? I guess that I don't know when it's determined what name he is using here... Is it taken from his Egyptian passport? His the name listed on his Visa? The temporary EAD we hope he gets at JFK? And when he goes to get the Social Security number what do they look at for the name on his social security card????

I guess no one has really addressed any of these questions (which is where I started with this)...

I don't want to change the order of his names... He only has his first name, his father's name, and a 3 part last name... I just want to use 2 of the 3 parts of his last name merged together into one last name... Eldin.

Not Nour El Din

Not Noureldin

I'm calling the lawyer, bet he won't know either... UGH... But at least he can tell me how is the easiest way to change it as SOON AS POSSIBLE...

K Eldin... hahahahahahaha (One can hope)

He can get a new passport and have the spelling corrected if there is an issue so that its phonetically spelled for you. Take a look at it if you can and then have him go back to have it corrected. If he doesnt already have one of the new passports, now is the time for a new passport.

Thats exactly what my husband did. However, you can not change the order of the names on his passport and the last of the three names should/would be his Surname. My husband wants to use his "Middle Name" which is his fathers name, as our last name, however its not possible until citizenship. For now, we stick w/ his great grandfathers name as our last. I just read that again and confused myself!

To be honest I"m not sure what is on his passport, but I seem to recall that it is already in his passport in English.

What I know for sure is:

1) I don't want their spelling (whatever it is...) because it most likely isn't going to be easy or phonetically correct...

2) I don't want all 3 parts of the family name Nour El Din (just made that up, for an example)

3) I don't want it all jammed together Noureldin

4) I just want Eldin

So no matter what I'll find a way to get it...

My name now is Palestinian and we spelled it in correct ARABIC phonetics and I've had to spell it 10,000,000,000 times over the past 23 years. When my ex got his citizenship he changed it to the easy English spelling and how he has an EASY last name and my son and I still have difficult one with a "deh" on the end... D as in David, E as in Edward H as in Henry nearly rolls off my tongue EVERY time I say it...

I wish it was like the good old days at Ellis Island where they just let you CHOSE what last name you wanted when you got off the boat...

Thanks for your help!

K

My husband's passport was translated by a Jordanian who made it - into english....and they did not properly spell his name the first time around. He did nothing about this and just accepted it thinking maybe all this time he has been incorrectly spelling his name in english or just going with the flow....but every time he spelled his name himself in english it was not as how it is on the passport...then I started seeing the name spelled in english from some relatives and they all spell it the same in english ....and it was not spelled like this on my husband's passport or...as a result...on our marriage agreement.

I asked him to go back and get a new passport with the correct spelling of our last name. He did and they changed it for him with no problem. They realize that they don't always translate perfectly or as it should be pronounced in the US. I am so happy about this because I did not want our last name to be butchered every time someone here used it.

My husband also had to go get a new marriage certificate with the new name because our original marriage agreement has the old spelling from the old passport. I have been waiting for the new marriage certificate so that I can change my name here...which I have waited to do until the name was fixed.

Just make sure that he has the correct name as last name on his passport and that is what should be used for his US last name. I emailed the embassy and asked them about the passport name change...I wanted to make sure it would not hinder the immigration process if he shows up to the interview with a passport with his name spelled differently and they said it would not be a problem.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Deb

[KHPerfectMatch 1]

It's taken from the I-94 (which he fills out) from his egyptian passport..which has the surname. check it out.

Thanks for that tip, that seems hopeful... I went to the website Customs and Border Patrol website and looked at the I-94 info and it says it's not for Immigrants but I didn't see a form FOR immigrants... figures.... maybe it's the I-94 W? W for WHO KNOWS!!!

I called my attorney and she whined that she didn't know and then said she didn't have to provide an answer for me because I'm not married to him yet so he is not a "valid member" on my legal plan... UGH, how helpful.

She also told me we can't change our names when we marry unless we chose a name we've had before, can't be a new one... so that's out too.

[Y's_habibitk 2]

My husband's passport was translated by a Jordanian who made it - into english....and they did not properly spell his name the first time around. He did nothing about this and just accepted it thinking maybe all this time he has been incorrectly spelling his name in english or just going with the flow....but every time he spelled his name himself in english it was not as how it is on the passport...then I started seeing the name spelled in english from some relatives and they all spell it the same in english ....and it was not spelled like this on my husband's passport or...as a result...on our marriage agreement.

I asked him to go back and get a new passport with the correct spelling of our last name. He did and they changed it for him with no problem. They realize that they don't always translate perfectly or as it should be pronounced in the US. I am so happy about this because I did not want our last name to be butchered every time someone here used it.

My husband also had to go get a new marriage certificate with the new name because our original marriage agreement has the old spelling from the old passport. I have been waiting for the new marriage certificate so that I can change my name here...which I have waited to do until the name was fixed.

Just make sure that he has the correct name as last name on his passport and that is what should be used for his US last name. I emailed the embassy and asked them about the passport name change...I wanted to make sure it would not hinder the immigration process if he shows up to the interview with a passport with his name spelled differently and they said it would not be a problem.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Deb

The same thing happened to my husband. But, we used the spelling from the assport on all the USCIS forms. I assumed this would be what we were "stuck" with. Thanks for sharing, its good to know that a change didnt effect the interview or anything!

I just know that the name will be mispronouced here with the current spelling.

Thanks!

Lisa