Pros and cons of wife keeping surname after marriage?

[mofope 0]

since this is a subject in name chage, i wanted to find out how it affects you if u filed the AOS in your maiden name..

I'd like to use my husband's surname later on...

i was told that it would be easier if i filed with my maiden name then change it upon receiving my green card

or when i go for the interview, i should ask for the card to be produced in my husband's surname...

how true is this? i already filed the AOS in maiden name since i knew it would have been a problem for me to change it to my husband's surname since my legal paperwork expired a month before i filed.. (I'm not considered out of status until 90days after my paperwork expire, F-1)

thanks for your help...

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

I just learned that actor Bruce Willis is going to change his name to Bruce Moore, and his ex-wife, Demi Moore, is going to change her name to Demi Willis.

When asked by a reporter why doing this nonsense name changing, they replied that they wanted to show their support to the commoners by doing something stupid as well. Bruce, however, rejected the notion that he felt less of a manly man when his wife didn't change her name when they got married.

[sachinky 465]

I kept my name too for various reasons. One, there's already far too much paperwork to care of, I can't be bothered with anything else at the moment. Second, my Indian first name with my husband's last name just sounds...odd? Both our last names are long so hyphenating it isn't really feasible. Thirdly, my college transcripts, certificates, scholarships letters are in my name. It would feel weird for me adopt a new name and look at old school records. I can't explain it, it's personal. We had no problems opening a joint bank account in NY after we were engaged.

My cousin, on the other hand, is quite traditional. She kept poking me during the registration ceremony to sign the marriage certificate with his name. It was kind of funny, but annoying too.

[chinese_mutt 11]

I changed my surname to my husband's.

I got a very western sounding first and middle name and a chinese surname from parents. I figured once I get here, it would be less hassle for me to just change it. Also, my personal belief (no statistics to back up, maybe it's just my own paranoia) is that western sounding name gets more job interviews than a minority sounding name.

But that's just me. Hehe. Plus, I like being called by my husband's surname. I personally get a kick out of knowing I belong to my husband! hehe.

[evemonte 0]

Hey everyone. My wife entered on a K-1 (fiancee) visa two years ago. We have filed for the removal of conditions (I-751) are just in the process of waiting right now.

When we got married, my wife chose to keep her surname. Where she is from (China), her family members and relatives seem to keep their surnames after marriage or do any of the name change options (such as adding her surname to mine, or changing her surname to a middle name, etc). I respected her decision, but I was worried that it would have some disadvantages down the road. Thus, I have been rethinking again, and at this stage, it is already pass the point where she can change her surname in an easy fashion. I believe it would be much harder to get her name changed legally after citizenship. I forgot to mention that we are both young (she is 21 and I am 23), and we have decided that our future children's surnames would be named after mine.

So, I was wondering what would be the pros and cons of the wife either keeping or changing her surname? I was worried that it would have an effect on us such as joint filing, our future children, or something else. She has chose to keep her name as is. Any advice or suggestions?

Thanks!

hello! from what i know, for chinese they actually don't change their names when they marry. that is the tradition. this was explained to me by a chinese friend in singapore. for me, i just hyphenated my husband's last name to my maiden name to avoid any confusion with the name i carry on my passport. i have yet to register my marriage to the philippine consulate so i cannot change my name on the passport yet. works fine. this was also the name i used to apply for AOS.

[chinese_mutt 11]

Hey everyone. My wife entered on a K-1 (fiancee) visa two years ago. We have filed for the removal of conditions (I-751) are just in the process of waiting right now.

When we got married, my wife chose to keep her surname. Where she is from (China), her family members and relatives seem to keep their surnames after marriage or do any of the name change options (such as adding her surname to mine, or changing her surname to a middle name, etc). I respected her decision, but I was worried that it would have some disadvantages down the road. Thus, I have been rethinking again, and at this stage, it is already pass the point where she can change her surname in an easy fashion. I believe it would be much harder to get her name changed legally after citizenship. I forgot to mention that we are both young (she is 21 and I am 23), and we have decided that our future children's surnames would be named after mine.

So, I was wondering what would be the pros and cons of the wife either keeping or changing her surname? I was worried that it would have an effect on us such as joint filing, our future children, or something else. She has chose to keep her name as is. Any advice or suggestions?

Thanks!

hello! from what i know, for chinese they actually don't change their names when they marry. that is the tradition. this was explained to me by a chinese friend in singapore. for me, i just hyphenated my husband's last name to my maiden name to avoid any confusion with the name i carry on my passport. i have yet to register my marriage to the philippine consulate so i cannot change my name on the passport yet. works fine. this was also the name i used to apply for AOS.

Huh? Yes they do. I'm a chinese I should know. You basically carry your husband's name coz you are considered to be married out of your family and joining a new one. Maybe it's different in Singapore.

Edited December 13, 2009 by chinese_mutt

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Luckily, people, you are in the United States of America now, so you can do as you please.

That said, I just got a call from California's Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger. After reading the posts here on VJ, he said he's now considering changing his last name to that of his wife, Maria Shriever, while Maria is going to change hers to Schwarzenegger.

Why make things easy, if it's so easy to complicate things? That's especially true for a Chinese national, where China does not allow dual citizenship. So why trying to ease travel by having the same name on the Chinese and the US passport, if life can be so much more exciting and adrenaline pumping when one has a Chinese passport with one name, and a US passport with another name, but no visa for China?