changing last name

[jcg303 1]

my wife and i went through the immigration process 2 years ago, and she finally arrived in the US in April of 2010. at the time she decided to keep her last name, and all the following paperwork was filled out using her last name. 14 months later, she has decided that she would like to take my last name. we're planning on taking her driver's license, green card, and our marriage certificate to the local SS office first before going to get a new driver's license and updating all the USCIS stuff.

my question is - has anyone gone this route before? is it any different than doing a name change immediately following the marriage? does she need any addition documentation than what i mentioned earlier? any tips are greatly appreciated, as always!

thanks!!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Well she can either wait for ROC and change her GC then, OR she can pay the $455 fee to file the I-90 to replace the greencard with the married name.

She shouldn't change anything until her GC is changed. When working she works in her GC name, which means she'll file taxes in that name, but it needs to match her SSN. And you can't change the drivers licence until she changes the SSN.

It's just simpler to do the GC first THEN do the rest. She can of course call herself by your last name, but any legal forms she is maiden name, until she changes the GC.