Divorce name change on perm resident card

[catfrances 3]

Hi,

I have tried searching for the answers and I am sorry, I am a little confused.

I just got divorced in WA, after being married just under 3 years, I have a permanent resident card that is due to expire 2020. I am from the UK and my husband was American.

Do I need to change my last name and if so how long do I have to change my perm resident card?, as it seems to be $450 just to change it the name and I can't afford it right now.

I am also guessing that nothing else changes with my status here, other than I will be divorced.

Any help much appreciated. Sad times

Thank you

[Newbie608 103]

Keep his last name if u want to... its cheaper in my opinion

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hi,

I have tried searching for the answers and I am sorry, I am a little confused.

I just got divorced in WA, after being married just under 3 years, I have a permanent resident card that is due to expire 2020. I am from the UK and my husband was American.

Do I need to change my last name on my card and if so how many days do I have to change it?, as it seems to be $450 just to change it the name and I can't afford it right now.

I am also wondering what happens when my card expires, do I just renew it again every 10 years if I don't want to become a USA citizen and how can I become a dual citizen?

Any help much appreciated. Sad times

Thank you

I don't think there is any deadline or specific requirement to change your name. The only way to do it is the form I-90 which is expensive. Here's a page from Customs and Border Protection explaining how to travel internationally if your Name does not match your documents https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1209/~/us-citizens%2Flawful-permanent-residents-name-does-not-match-documents

You can pay to renew your card every 10 years or you can become a citiizen after you have been a permanent resident for 5 years. Looking at your timeline, that's in March 2013, which means you could apply around Christmas of this year. That would cover the name change and no more name changing with immigration if you marry again and use another new name because you can throw out the greencard when you become a citizen (actually they collect it from you.) You will still be a citizen of the UK and can continue to renew your British passport as well as get a US passport. Just make sure you use the US passport leaving or entering the US. Many people use their British passport when they enter/leave the UK and pull out the US passport when they get off the plane back in the States.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

You don't "have" to change your card but you can get your US passport (if/when you apply) in your maiden name.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Duplicate thread from the General Immigration forum has been moved here and merged with this thread, and duplicate post removed

[catfrances 3]

I don't think there is any deadline or specific requirement to change your name. The only way to do it is the form I-90 which is expensive. Here's a page from Customs and Border Protection explaining how to travel internationally if your Name does not match your documents https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1209/~/us-citizens%2Flawful-permanent-residents-name-does-not-match-documents

You can pay to renew your card every 10 years or you can become a citiizen after you have been a permanent resident for 5 years. Looking at your timeline, that's in March 2013, which means you could apply around Christmas of this year. That would cover the name change and no more name changing with immigration if you marry again and use another new name because you can throw out the greencard when you become a citizen (actually they collect it from you.) You will still be a citizen of the UK and can continue to renew your British passport as well as get a US passport. Just make sure you use the US passport leaving or entering the US. Many people use their British passport when they enter/leave the UK and pull out the US passport when they get off the plane back in the States.

Thank you for your help. I was under the impression that becoming a citizen or lifting the conditions, (as I see it is called) was giving up your British citizenship and becoming an American. I noticed that is what you had done, but you have the USA and UK passport still? So are you a dual citizen?

Emma

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Thank you for your help. I was under the impression that becoming a citizen or lifting the conditions, (as I see it is called) was giving up your British citizenship and becoming an American. I noticed that is what you had done, but you have the USA and UK passport still? So are you a dual citizen?

Emma

I'm the American wife, but my English husband is an American citizen and a Brithish citizen. The UK never takes you off their "roles" so to speak. As far as they are concerned, you are British for life. The US does not require you to give up other citizenships. The oath you take promises allegiance to only the US and to the US you are only considered American by the government if that makes sense. The term dual-nationality seems to be preferred over dual citizenship.

When you read up on dual nationality, there's some criteria like the British government won't help you diplomatically while you are in another country where you also hold citizenship. So once you become a US citizen, you can't run to the British Embassy If you get in trouble while in the US. While in Spain, yes you can call the Brits.

There are a few countries that make you give up your passport and citizenship if you take citizenship elsewhere. Not the UK. To become un-British, you have to file a form and pay a fee to renounce your citizenship. If it's ok with your birth country, it's okay with the US. Some people worry about income tax. There is a treaty where you only pay one country. As a US citizen you will be expected to file a return even if you live abroad, but that doesn't mean pay taxes. It's often for information only if you are not earning from a US company or no longer maintain US residence. That's another advantage of citizenship...no limit on how long you can be out of the country. As a greencard holder, say you wanted to live in Canada for two years. You could lose your greencard. Once you get a US passport, you can come and go freely or move to Paris for 10 years without losing status.

Lots to think about.

Edited October 20, 2012 by Nich-Nick

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Thank you for your help. I was under the impression that becoming a citizen or lifting the conditions, (as I see it is called) was giving up your British citizenship and becoming an American. I noticed that is what you had done, but you have the USA and UK passport still? So are you a dual citizen?

Emma

I am already a dual UK/Australian and when I apply for USC I will keep those 2 and become a tri-national. That's when you file the N-400. Lifting conditions (ROC) is when you file form I-751 to turn your 2 year card into a 10 year card. You already have a 10 year card. You are eligible for citizenship after 5 years of being an LPR. There is a "resident since" date on your GC. 5 year, minus 90 days, from that date you're eligible.

Some countries remove your other citizenship (for example China doesn't permit dual and you lose Chinese citizenship by becoming a citizen of another country), the UK and Australia do not, and the US permits you to have more than one (though they only see you as American) so no, don't lose your UK passport.

Edited October 20, 2012 by Vanessa&Tony

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

PS-- I forgot to comment on your statement about lifting conditions. That is not citizenship. The citizenship term is naturalization.

If a K1 person comes to the US and gets married, their first greencard is for 2 years only. The same is true of spouses who have been married less than two years and come on a CR1 visa. Their greencard also expires in two years. Their greencard is based on marriage so it"s like you have to prove your marriage again when the two year card is about to expire to get the 10 year greencard. That is called lifting conditions on your two year status. After that you just renew every 10 years and don't have to prove you are still married to the one who got you here.

In our case, after two years we did lifting conditions and he got his 10 year card. After 3 years as a permanent resident (one year after lifting conditions) he was eligible to naturalize based on remaining married to the same US citizen. It's like a bonus if you are still married. We had to prove our marriage yet again. Anybody not married to a US citizen is eligible after 5 years as a permanent resident and the application is easier without all that documentation proving your marriage. That's why I said you were eligible after 5 years.