Full Name Change at Marriage - Is it possible?

[CQ & CS 2]

Hi VJ Members, I have a similar case but a little bit complicated, I think. So I need you guys experience and wisdom on this.

My fiance and I are getting married in Las Vegas in two weeks. However, the Clark County will not change the bride's madian name to married name on neither marriage licence nor marriage certificate. We are residence of Los Angeles county. I know we should get married in LA instead until after we filled out the Application for Marriage License at Clark Conty online. In LA, the bride may change her madian name to her husband's last name when they get married, but not the first name.

Here's my situation: I was neutalized in Canada under my Chinese birth name, say, Pik Kay, Chan (I make this up). However, I always go by "Peggy Chan or Peggy Pik Kay Chan" at school, at work, at bank etc. I just never did a legal name change in Canada so my passport states "Pik Kay, Chan" as my name.

Now I want to change my name to Peggy Chan Goodfellow as my married name (I make that up too. So Peggy is my first name, Chan becomes my middle name and Goodfellow is my husband's last name) and I'm thinking the best approach to it. I should have no problem to change my last name if we get married in LA. However, they won't change my first name unless I petition with court. So I think where I get married is not a concern coz I want to change my madian name and my first name at the same time. Correct me if I'm wrong.

So let's say I need to file a Name Change petition with LA courthouse. Should I file the petition before or after I file AOS-EAD-AP? Would file a Name Change petition and AOS-EAD-AP under "Peggy Chan Goodfellow" concurrently possible and wait for USCIS asked for RFE? I'm overwhemled with these whole things and could not think clearly. Please any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks!

[CQ & CS 2]

Oh by the way, my I-94 is only two weeks old. I arrived USA on Oct 11.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Hi VJ Members, I have a similar case but a little bit complicated, I think. So I need you guys experience and wisdom on this.

My fiance and I are getting married in Las Vegas in two weeks. However, the Clark County will not change the bride's madian name to married name on neither marriage licence nor marriage certificate. We are residence of Los Angeles county. I know we should get married in LA instead until after we filled out the Application for Marriage License at Clark Conty online. In LA, the bride may change her madian name to her husband's last name when they get married, but not the first name.

Here's my situation: I was neutalized in Canada under my Chinese birth name, say, Pik Kay, Chan (I make this up). However, I always go by "Peggy Chan or Peggy Pik Kay Chan" at school, at work, at bank etc. I just never did a legal name change in Canada so my passport states "Pik Kay, Chan" as my name.

Now I want to change my name to Peggy Chan Goodfellow as my married name (I make that up too. So Peggy is my first name, Chan becomes my middle name and Goodfellow is my husband's last name) and I'm thinking the best approach to it. I should have no problem to change my last name if we get married in LA. However, they won't change my first name unless I petition with court. So I think where I get married is not a concern coz I want to change my madian name and my first name at the same time. Correct me if I'm wrong.

So let's say I need to file a Name Change petition with LA courthouse. Should I file the petition before or after I file AOS-EAD-AP? Would file a Name Change petition and AOS-EAD-AP under "Peggy Chan Goodfellow" concurrently possible and wait for USCIS asked for RFE? I'm overwhemled with these whole things and could not think clearly. Please any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks!

You will need a court order to change your first name. Sorry.

[Krikit 1,165]

Question has been split from separate topic and moved to General Immigration Discussion.

Previous topic: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/217995-name-change-after-filing-for-aos-ead-ap/page__view__findpost__p__3308310

[CQ & CS 2]

Thanks for the reply. After a not so good night sleep I came up some dedails that I missed in my last post. What if I have reported "Peggy Pik Kay Chan" as other named used when I filed my I-129 petition and have provided my Hong Kong ID copy? Technically, "Peggy Pik Kay Chan" is my legal name in Hong Kong. "Peggy Pik Kay Chan" should have been in the USCIS system showing "Other name", I assumed. Am I correct? So just a thought if I put "Peggy Chan Goodfellow" when I file AOS-EAD-AP, would USCIS consider it's a complete name change? Would making an appointment with Infopass to sort things do-able? Thanks guys!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thanks for the reply. After a not so good night sleep I came up some dedails that I missed in my last post. What if I have reported "Peggy Pik Kay Chan" as other named used when I filed my I-129 petition and have provided my Hong Kong ID copy? Technically, "Peggy Pik Kay Chan" is my legal name in Hong Kong. "Peggy Pik Kay Chan" should have been in the USCIS system showing "Other name", I assumed. Am I correct? So just a thought if I put "Peggy Chan Goodfellow" when I file AOS-EAD-AP, would USCIS consider it's a complete name change? Would making an appointment with Infopass to sort things do-able? Thanks guys!

You can't select an "other name used" as the name to be put on your green card. You can write anything you like in the "other names used" box - this is only to ensure that they conduct the background checks on every name you've ever used. The name at the top of the form must be your current legal name.

Unless you have a previous marriage and associated name change, you'll run into the least resistance from USCIS if the name on your birth certificate matches the name on your passport, and the name you selected on your marriage license complies with state law for a name change by marriage. California will allow you to take your husband's last name, and your maiden name can become your middle name. Changing your first name will require a court order. If any names don't match between your birth certificate, your passport, your marriage license, and your AOS petition, then you must be able to prove that your name was legally changed between the times each document was issued.

[JoannaV 174]

If you file the Petition for Name Change in LA immediately you return from your wedding you should be completed with the name change before filing for AOS. (You should be able to do it in 6 weeks.) I don't know how quickly Las Vegas gives people their marriage certificate but I don't think you even need it for the name change. So long as you don't need to travel soon you will then be able to get a new passport in your new name at your leisure.

[CQ & CS 2]

Thanks guys! I think I'll make an appointment with InfoPass first and see if I can set up an appointment soon enough and go ahead to fill out some forms for name change.

[CQ & CS 2]

Thanks guys! I think I'll make an appointment with InfoPass first and see if I can set up an appointment soon enough and go ahead to fill out some forms for name change.

Hey guys, here an update after the InfoPass appointment. The immigarnation office told me to put whatever name I want to be used on the AOS-EAD-AP forms and USCIS will determine if I can use that name during my AOS interview. He suggesed not to do any legal name change at this moment until after I have my AOS interview.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hey guys, here an update after the InfoPass appointment. The immigarnation office told me to put whatever name I want to be used on the AOS-EAD-AP forms and USCIS will determine if I can use that name during my AOS interview. He suggesed not to do any legal name change at this moment until after I have my AOS interview.

Let us know how it goes. The information will be useful for other members in the future.

[CQ & CS 2]

Hello VJers, so I think I would post an update on my Complete Name Change experience here. In my experience, a complete name change without a court order is possible, given you have nothing set up under your old name in the US. By nothing set up I meant no SSN, no bank account, and no driver license. Also, it's by luck, in my opinion, that the IO being easy on a different name used on your passport and AOS application. So, it's at your own discretion to take the chance or to pay $400 for court order. I did both and I will explain why below. Again, it's only my own experience. So here we go:

As I stated earlier in this thread, I had made an Infopass appointment before I filed for AOS and the IO said I could put whatever name I wanted to show on the application and it would either be approved or disapproved at the AOS interview. So I put my a.k.a . first name (Peggy) as my new first name, my maiden last name (Chan) as my new middle name, and my husband’s last name (Goodfellow) as my new last name on the AOS application.

I received all communication, including 3 NOAs, biometric appointment letter and AOS interview appointment letter, from the USCIS in my new name (Peggy Chan Goodfellow). So far so good, eh?! So the challenge did not happen until I went to my biometric appointment. Just as you know, when you go to your biometric appointment, you need to show the security guard your appointment letter and your ID; in my case it’s my Canadian passport. The guard gave me a form to fill out and directed me to take a seat outside the IO’s office. I noticed there was a check on the form that stated “Different Name”. I waited couple minutes and was then called in by the IO. He looked at my passport and the form and asked when I changed my name. I told him after I got married. Then he asked me to show him my marriage certificate. Then he asked, “When did you change your first name?”. I explained to him that I added my a.k.a. name on my HKID but I did not change it on my Canadian passport. Then he said that I should use the name on my passport because it’s confusing that I used a totally different name on the application. With that said, he approved me to go ahead to have my fingerprinted and picture taken IN MY NEW NAME. Fast forward to AOS interview. The IO who interviewed us only asked me who Pik Kay was. I told him that’s me also and it’s my birth name. That’s it. HE APPROVED MY GREEN CARD IN MY NEW NAME TOO.

However, when I took my green card to SSN office and Wells Fargo and asked them to change my name they refused to do so. They insisted me to show them the official name change document, ie a document showing how Pik Kay Chan change to Peggy Chan Goodfellow. In this case, a marriage certificate is not sufficient as I changed my first and last name; a marriage certificate can only justify a last name change. So eventually, I had to file a court order to change my name in order to match my name on the GC. After that SSN and Wells Fargo had no problem change my name. It’s kind of doing it backward.

So in summary, I had no problem changing my name on the USCIS side without a court order but I had resistant from SSA and the bank.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

So long story is, USCIS might approve it in your entire new name but no other agency will so it's not a legal change and pretty much useless except that you don't need to pay for a new greencard when you eventually do the legal change.

Australia won't even recognise my foreign marriage certificate so I needed to do a name change at home to change my last name. Ahh bureaucracy... what joy. At least you finally got it sorted though.

[CQ & CS 2]

So long story is, USCIS might approve it in your entire new name but no other agency will so it's not a legal change and pretty much useless except that you don't need to pay for a new greencard when you eventually do the legal change.

Australia won't even recognise my foreign marriage certificate so I needed to do a name change at home to change my last name. Ahh bureaucracy... what joy. At least you finally got it sorted though.

What the other agency want to see is the document showing the process of name change from A to B. A court order will state this change. A new GC only shows the new name. So in my case, I saved $300+ to get a new GC but I still have to pay $400+ for legal new change. Had I waited to have SSN and bank account before I got the GC, I would pay $0. However, this is only for US per se. I'm sure our home countries will require some sort of legal document to show name change when we renew our passport and want to have the new name on it. With that said, I have not figure out the name change in my Canadian passport yet. Canada might require me to change it legally so it's okay to pay that money now.