Club Colombia

[Mike and Adriana 0]

My wife wishes to change her last name to mine while she is still in Colombia. She knows she must do this through a notary....and then get her cedula and passport changed. She has been told that the cedula will take about 10 months to change and that in the interim she will be given some sort of paper with a "password." I have a couple of questions...does anyone know the answers?

1) Does the U.S. embassy in Bogota require the cedula for the interview (the K-3 list does not seem to mention it)?

2) Can my wife get the name on her passport changed with only the notary document? Or must she wait to get her cedula back?

3) Is the cedula necessary in order for a Colombian citizen to leave the country?

She really wants to take my last name. I figure it is much easier to handle this while she is in Bogota so that we can get her visa issued in her new name.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks!

Mike and Adriana

[ardilla 0]

Hi Mike,

She will certainly need her cedula or the cedula paper receipt with her photo, to leave the country.

Since she will be living in the US anyway, why not wait until adjustment of status to have the name incorporated into the US documents? The EAD, permanent resident card and SSN will be in her married name (if she shows a marriage certificate with that name, that is). True, that her passport and cedula will have her maiden name, and her US issued documents will have her married name, but this is pretty common nowadays and it does not really cause problems.

[dougyceci 0]

I don't have any experience with it but would be grateful if you kept us posted. My wife and I discussed this also but decided to wait until this whole process was over. Not sure which way to go is best. Good luck.