Approved interview but I have questions re: drivers license, etc

[MJhawk 0]

Hi, I am a Canadian citizen that got married to an US citizen we had our adjustment of status interview a few weeks ago and we were approved My questions are: do I have to give up my Canadian drivers license? Do I just have to go to the passport office in Ontario to change my maiden name to my married last name? Do you have any other suugestions?? I'm going back home to Canada in July so that will be the time for me to change everything. Thanks

[JlovesA 109]

I don't know about the driver's license but you have to reapply for your passport anytime you want to change your name on it. Annoying but true.

[JlovesA 109]

Here are some useful links...

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/support/faq.aspx?lang=eng&id=04411 "Can I apply for a passport in my married surname?"

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/support/faq.aspx?lang=eng&id=04413 "Can I add my married surname to my passport?"

[OBX 51]

Hi, I am a Canadian citizen that got married to an US citizen we had our adjustment of status interview a few weeks ago and we were approved My questions are: do I have to give up my Canadian drivers license? Do I just have to go to the passport office in Ontario to change my maiden name to my married last name? Do you have any other suugestions?? I'm going back home to Canada in July so that will be the time for me to change everything. Thanks

Not sure how you can keep a Canadian license with a US address but I suppose if you don't give them a change of address.... Keep in mind that some states will take your Canadian license once you are issued your US one. In NJ they didn't take mine so I just let it expire.

You will need to apply for a new passport to have the name changed and you will need ID in your new name to do that.

[FireKari 4]

You should also note that in some states it is ILLEGAL to have DUAL licenses.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You should also check into your State's requirements about Driver's Licenses. Some require you to obtain a State DL within 30 days of residency if you intend to drive in the State. If your state is one of these and you are stopped while driving on your Canadian license but have a US address you may find yourself with a bit of a problem.

Edited June 11, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Flames9_RN 358]

Yep, check with your state, as they all differ!! Virginia took my NS DL. Some will simply hand over a new DL for that State, While others will make you write a test and some will make you write a test AND take an actual in car drivers test!

[trailmix 77]

So no, don't surrender your license when you go to Ontario (if you still have it at that point).

[SaraDee 9]

I believe that most states require that you have their driver's license and a Canadian one will not be acceptable to them. As others have stated, I don't think it's possible to have both(at least legal). I have a friend that married an American and had 2 licenses. When he went to renew his Canadian one his wife was with him and when the lady asked if he had any other licenses he said, "No." But, then his wife said, "Yes you do, you have your California license." The women promptly took his Canadian license and that was the end of that. So, I suggest getting an American license and if you want to keep your Canadian one, make sure not to tell them you have two.

Hope that helps.

[Peachey 10]

I got to keep my Ontario one, but they punched a hole in it.

[Kimbear 53]

I was able to keep my ontario one as well. no hole or anything they let me keep it completely intact. However it was just renewed and i have to send it back if i want my 50$ back lol.

[warlord 73]

I was able to keep my ontario one as well. no hole or anything they let me keep it completely intact. However it was just renewed and i have to send it back if i want my 50$ back lol.

I think they kept mine and punched holes in it. Of course this was a long time ago when I got my licence from the little booth they had in the center of the local shopping mall. Oh how things used to be so easy that every mall had small DMV kiosks that there was no line ups for and getting a licence was as simple as handing over your old one, them giving you a simple eye test and then you showing something that had your name and current address on it like a bill statement and 10 mins later, your new licence...

Edited June 30, 2010 by warlord

[antda 13]

Hi MJHawk,

Congrats again on your Green Card approval (lol...it looks like the visitor to aos thing does work after all....)!

I posted this before on other VJ threads, but I thought it can help you here too...

As for moving, from Canada to the USA (I've been here in the USA since 2006), I did the following:

I notified:

-Revenue Canada and Elections Canada (with the "final tax return" in 2007, to prevent tax fraud and to officially notify the Canadian government that I'm not living in Canada anymore, and had to cancel and return those GST cheques I'm not entitled to and would be in trouble for keeping such)

-Passport Canada (when they added a married name notation to my maiden name passport in 2007, they don't do that anymore)

-Passport Canada again (when I applied for a new passport recently in my married name in 2009) (Note: To have a passport in your new married name, you have to apply all over again for a new passport...Lol...another $100 to spend....)

-I closed my Canadian bank account in Canada (2007)

-I let someone in Canada collect my personal mail for me, and then notified those people by mail that I moved (2006-Present)

-Family, friends, and other acquaintances that I keep in contact with (2006-Present)

-The Office of the Attorney General (optional...but this was after I received the forwarded jury duty notice in 2009....I had no choice there but to tell them that I moved and that I couldn't serve on a Canadian jury)

I didn't notify:

-Social Insurance (Human Resources Canada, I think) as I wouldn't be working in Canada anymore and wouldn't need a new card.

-OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance) as my card already expired and I can't use it here, so I never renewed it.

-MTO (Ministry of Transportation Ontario) as my license was automatically transfered, surrendered, and destroyed here by the DMV in NYS. Note: You cannot have 2 driver's licenses at the same time (at least that's the way it is here in NYS), so you would either have to pick between the American one or the Canadian one to keep.

Anyone else in Canada I need to notify, I can't think of, and haven't done such.

As well, last year I moved within the USA, between my 10yr green card stage and Citizenship stage, and filed the following with the USCIS...

-AR-11: Alien change of address form

-I-865: Sponsor change of address form (which my husband filed)

Hope this helps. Happy Travels back to Canada! Good luck on the rest of your immigration journey too.

Ant