Travel with green card and Visa in Maiden name

[spud 0]

I am married to a Thai lady we reside in the USA.

she came here on a K-1 visa we were married she now has a green card a ss# all in her new married name the last name the same as mine all her paperwork is in order.

Her Thai passport is still in her maiden name.

I am trying to change her passport and the nearest consulate is about a 24 hour drive away and most everything is in Thai and she does not read Thai nor do I.

Can we travel back to Thailand with a her current Passport a Marriage cert and her green card.

Then try to change her passport in Thailand? Does it need to be changed?

Has anyone had any problems with this same situation or success.

I fear making travel arrangements only to have problems.

Her passport is still good untill 2012

Her green card is current.

Her Thai Id is current

She has a Id from the state we reside in

Thanks for any help

[Anh map 2,098]

The name on her passport has to be the same as the name on the plane ticket. So your thought of changing the passport on a trip to Thailand MAY cause you a problem on the return trip.

If your wife doesn't read Thai, does she speak the language? If so, she can call the embassy. Or use the "contact us" feature on the embassy website.

It also appears on the Thai Embassy website that the Thai embassy does a mobile service around the US. No more dates shown for this year.

Edited September 14, 2010 by Anh map

[thongd4me 69]

No need to change her name on the Thai passport.

You get the ticket in her Thai name and she will use the GC for re-entry to the US;

good to have a copy of the marriage certificate with you showing the name change.

I am not suggesting my Thai wife ever change her name in Thailand, even

if she gets US citizenship with her married (my family) last name.

She will be in for a world of inconvenience in Thailand.

What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand & what happens in the US stays in the US.

My wife went to Thailand on AP with the AP document and her Thai passport, no name change.

The AP document had her married name & she had the marriage certificate in case they

asked for that. She now has the green card and when she has to renew her Thai passport

it will stay with her Thai name.

She owns real estate in Thailand and they raise lots of eyebrows when a Thai changes

their name to a foreign one. They don't have to know about her green card status; when

she is in Thailand she is a Thai citizen and that's all they care about.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

. . . . when she is in Thailand she is a Thai citizen and that's all they care about.

I like it.

Now tell me, when she checks in in Thailand at the airport, and they check her passport for the required authorization to enter the US of A, does she pull out a Green Card with a different name on it?

[rsn 135]

Now tell me, when she checks in in Thailand at the airport, and they check her passport for the required authorization to enter the US of A, does she pull out a Green Card with a different name on it?

yes. It's not a problem. Carrying a marriage certificate is probably good insurance along w/ the GC.

Edited September 15, 2010 by rsn

[VanessaTony 3,567]

The name on her passport has to be the same as the name on the plane ticket.

WRONG! and a common misconception, one I believed until recently. The name on the ticket must match ANY government-issued photo I.D (I used my greencard). Proof of this can be found in several sources, including the state.gov website, and also I emailed TSA to confirm it and received an email from them confirming any GOVERNMENT issued I.D is sufficient. They also stated a marriage certificate would also suffice to show proof of name change (I posted a link of their email here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/183541-land-downunder-aussie-aussie-aussie-oi-oi-oi/page__view__findpost__p__4135806 .

I flew to Australia 2 weeks ago. My passport is in my maiden name. My tickets were in my married name. When I checked in I simply showed my GC as proof of my name. Not ONE issue, no sideways looks, nothing. Not through security or anything either. Arriving in Australia the same thing, no issues.

When I return my passport should be changed so no issue there.

OP your wife will be fine. She doesn't HAVE to change her passport but I personally am (and it's relatively easy in Australia), because I don't want ID's in multiple names and to have to think about it... that's my personal view though, she can do what she wants

Edited September 15, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[thongd4me 69]

I like it.

Now tell me, when she checks in in Thailand at the airport, and they check her passport for the required authorization to enter the US of A, does she pull out a Green Card with a different name on it?

On the return trip to the US, yes she does (along with her marriage

certificate showing the name change).

She had no problem returning to the US on AP as I said.

The AP document has her married name; all the AOS documents

were done in her married name (with maiden name indicated where asked for).

[thongd4me 69]

WRONG! and a common misconception, one I believed until recently. The name on the ticket must match ANY government-issued photo I.D (I used my greencard). Proof of this can be found in several sources, including the state.gov website, and also I emailed TSA to confirm it and received an email from them confirming any GOVERNMENT issued I.D is sufficient. They also stated a marriage certificate would also suffice to show proof of name change (I posted a link of their email here: http://www.visajourn...ost__p__4135806 .

I flew to Australia 2 weeks ago. My passport is in my maiden name. My tickets were in my married name. When I checked in I simply showed my GC as proof of my name. Not ONE issue, no sideways looks, nothing. Not through security or anything either. Arriving in Australia the same thing, no issues.

When I return my passport should be changed so no issue there.

OP your wife will be fine. She doesn't HAVE to change her passport but I personally am (and it's relatively easy in Australia), because I don't want ID's in multiple names and to have to think about it... that's my personal view though, she can do what she wants

Generally it is the passport, but as you pointed out the GC has the weight of a passport.

Thanks

[Anh map 2,098]

WRONG! and a common misconception, one I believed until recently. The name on the ticket must match ANY government-issued photo I.D (I used my greencard). Proof of this can be found in several sources, including the state.gov website, and also I emailed TSA to confirm it and received an email from them confirming any GOVERNMENT issued I.D is sufficient. They also stated a marriage certificate would also suffice to show proof of name change (I posted a link of their email here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/183541-land-downunder-aussie-aussie-aussie-oi-oi-oi/page__view__findpost__p__4135806 .

I flew to Australia 2 weeks ago. My passport is in my maiden name. My tickets were in my married name. When I checked in I simply showed my GC as proof of my name. Not ONE issue, no sideways looks, nothing. Not through security or anything either. Arriving in Australia the same thing, no issues.

When I return my passport should be changed so no issue there.

OP your wife will be fine. She doesn't HAVE to change her passport but I personally am (and it's relatively easy in Australia), because I don't want ID's in multiple names and to have to think about it... that's my personal view though, she can do what she wants

THANKS for the update. It does make SENSE that the GREEN CARD would be ACCEPTED as well. (I figured that you would want to see caps used somewhere)

[Bobby+Umit 161]

WRONG! and a common misconception, one I believed until recently. The name on the ticket must match ANY government-issued photo I.D (I used my greencard). Proof of this can be found in several sources, including the state.gov website, and also I emailed TSA to confirm it and received an email from them confirming any GOVERNMENT issued I.D is sufficient. They also stated a marriage certificate would also suffice to show proof of name change (I posted a link of their email here: http://www.visajourn...ost__p__4135806 .

I flew to Australia 2 weeks ago. My passport is in my maiden name. My tickets were in my married name. When I checked in I simply showed my GC as proof of my name. Not ONE issue, no sideways looks, nothing. Not through security or anything either. Arriving in Australia the same thing, no issues.

When I return my passport should be changed so no issue there.

OP your wife will be fine. She doesn't HAVE to change her passport but I personally am (and it's relatively easy in Australia), because I don't want ID's in multiple names and to have to think about it... that's my personal view though, she can do what she wants

I believe AnhMap was referring to the RETURN trip, where as the other countries can care less about USA TSA rules. (notice all your references are centered in the US - and leaving/entering the US)

Airlines in other countries can give a nitpick because of the name differences on plane tickets/passports. I have encountered this issue myself.

Also - several members of various travel forums I frequent have encountered issues like this and have been delayed on their travels. (by the airlines and foreign government checkpoints)

By and large, a good rule of thumb is to have all your ID's, regardless of where they are issued, to match, to avoid any imperial entanglements.

[spud 0]

When you book your flight am I correct that you used your green card. I have not booked a flight yet but I do remember they wanted passport # Are you using your green card and Number.

[thongd4me 69]

When you book your flight am I correct that you used your green card. I have not booked a flight yet but I do remember they wanted passport # Are you using your green card and Number.

My wife booked her flight with her Thai name (she had an AP document in her married name).

Generally the green card is for getting her back to the US; the Thai passport is for travel.

A Green Card may not be universally honored as a travel document so you have to be careful.

I wouldn't suggest booking a flight on a green card name if it different from the passport,

even though another member apparently did that with success on a trip to Australia.

The safest thing to do is ask the airline if it's OK to book with a GC name;

if they honor that it's no problem. If you buy the ticket online from a 3rd party

travel site you still have to call the airline to verify their policy.

For the (unasked) issue of citizenship, a Thai spouse of a USC should be able to

get US citizenship and have both US and Thai passports with different names.

For travel in that situation (confirm with VJ members who have done that), I would

think you could get the ticket in either name because both are valid.

Booking the flight on the GC card name won't necessarily give you any additional points

to help in clearing immigration on the US return flight. The GC itself clears the permanent

resident for re-entry to the US and when he/she has landed the name on the ticket is moot.

US immigration won't demand that travel was done with the GC name.

[spud 0]

Thank you for the time you spent on that reply.