Names don't match

[amykathleen2005 441]

Okay, so just finishing going through paperwork. We have a sufficient amount of financials and all of that. We were going to send letters sent to us as a couple as a supplement. I go by a hyphenated last name (mine and his) and my husband by his own last name. On Facebook my husband also goes by the hyphenated name as well so we match (he is thinking of hyphenating his name too, but it is a longer process). And of course with a hyphenated last name you have people who just don't get that it is my actual name and despite seeing the hyphenation refer to me as only my husband's last name.

Ex:

Me-Mrs. Smith-Jones

Him- Mr. Jones (informally Smith-Jones)

Letters include, Mr and Mrs. Smith-Jones, Mr and Mrs. Jones and Mr. Jones and Mrs. Smith-Jones.

So long story short, we have lots of mail but some of the names don't match up from personal letters. Didn't really bother us as people got used to the name, but officially it isn't correct. Should we send these anyway as proof of common residence and friends?

[Dave&Roza 748]

Okay, so just finishing going through paperwork. We have a sufficient amount of financials and all of that. We were going to send letters sent to us as a couple as a supplement. I go by a hyphenated last name (mine and his) and my husband by his own last name. On Facebook my husband also goes by the hyphenated name as well so we match (he is thinking of hyphenating his name too, but it is a longer process). And of course with a hyphenated last name you have people who just don't get that it is my actual name and despite seeing the hyphenation refer to me as only my husband's last name.

Ex:

Me-Mrs. Smith-Jones

Him- Mr. Jones (informally Smith-Jones)

Letters include, Mr and Mrs. Smith-Jones, Mr and Mrs. Jones and Mr. Jones and Mrs. Smith-Jones.

So long story short, we have lots of mail but some of the names don't match up from personal letters. Didn't really bother us as people got used to the name, but officially it isn't correct. Should we send these anyway as proof of common residence and friends?

Financial co-mingling and taxes are the two most importnt items to show you are "taking a risk with money" on each other. Utility bills, letters, and to some extents affadavits from friends and family members are secondary evidence IMHO. They want to see your lives joined like most common people. That means filing taxes together, having joint bank accounts, having a common address, and doing things as husband and wife (i.e. vacations together, wills, power of attorney, added as beneficiary to life and health insurance unless there are good compellig reasons not to). I would not worry about the last name issue. We finally received a letter from a company with the wife and I listed with her lastname as she kept her maiden name.

For AOS we sent in the marriage certificate, a few photos of the marriage ceremony, joint tax return for that year, car title, and proof she was added on my health insurance and life insuracne policies. That was all we had and the interview was short and sweet. For ROC we will have a little more like joint bank account and CC and there are the invvestments I/we inherited from my Mother. She is not on the mortgage or deed to the house.

Good luck,

Dave

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I wouldn't worry about the names. I still use my ex-husband's last name and nobody questioned it. (Reason: I have a lifetime of things in that name and it would take the rest of my life to change it all. It took me 3 years to get joint things in my name only after he died, so I wasn't ready to take on a name change.) I think if you want to supplement with the mail, USCIS will figure it out that you've got a circumstance people don't quite get when addressing an envelope. I don't think it will be detrimental to your case.

[Hedi 24]

I wouldn't worry about the names either. I have a hyphenated last name as well, and the name change was not on the forms during the AOS process, but when we went through the ROC for my husband, my last name had been hyphenated at that point. Some of our documents had my former last name and some of our documents had my new last name. It never was an issue and nobody questioned it. I think the important thing is to submit documents that show proof of the co-mingling of your finances and the joint residence.

Good luck.