K-1 Visa Name Change Deed Poll documentation

[UK-USA-K1 128]

I searched through the forum, but haven't been able to find an answer to this specifically.

Can someone please let me know if we may need to have this document for the interview?

She was previously married but is now divorced. After marriage, she decided to go with a hyphenated name and did so with a Deed Pole. Since she did this to add her husbands name to her own, will she need a copy of the deed poll or will her divorce decree be enough. Oh, also, she has kept her married name after divorce if that makes a difference.

[Maple79 1]

Doe she have the deed poll document, I would bring it to be safe. I have read somewhere that you need to bring proof of all name changes including deed poll.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Deed poll is on the list of documents for London, so why wouldn't she bring it since she has one? That would be the most careful thing to do to cover her bases.

[UK-USA-K1 128]

Deed poll is on the list of documents for London, so why wouldn't she bring it since she has one? That would be the most careful thing to do to cover her bases.

That's the rub, she can't find her document and I only asked because it says it's not required if changed through marriage. Although she did change it after marriage it was to take on her ex's last name but it required a deed poll. She is still looking for it, but I told her to see if there's a way to get a copy of it ahead of time to stay safe. Was just hoping someone here might have gone through the process without one and whether or not it caused any delays by not bringing it.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

That's the rub, she can't find her document and I only asked because it says it's not required if changed through marriage. Although she did change it after marriage it was to take on her ex's last name but it required a deed poll. She is still looking for it, but I told her to see if there's a way to get a copy of it ahead of time to stay safe. Was just hoping someone here might have gone through the process without one and whether or not it caused any delays by not bringing it.

She can get a copy from the courts, just like people who can't find their marriage certificate, divorce decrees, or criminal records. It doesn't stop her from sending her application forms or having the medical. She will wait until she has it to send the DS-2001 form to say she is in possession of all documents needed for interview.

Or she can go with what she has and maybe be fine or maybe be asked to send a deed poll before they will approve the visa. I don't know of many name changes. The only one I remember had many red flags and quite the grilling including "why did you change your name from OsamaBinLadin to David Beckham?"** (It was because he wanted to sound more British. )

**not the actual names used.

[UK-USA-K1 128]

She can get a copy from the courts, just like people who can't find their marriage certificate, divorce decrees, or criminal records. It doesn't stop her from sending her application forms or having the medical. She will wait until she has it to send the DS-2001 form to say she is in possession of all documents needed for interview.

Or she can go with what she has and maybe be fine or maybe be asked to send a deed poll before they will approve the visa. I don't know of many name changes. The only one I remember had many red flags and quite the grilling including "why did you change your name from OsamaBinLadin to David Beckham?"** (It was because he wanted to sound more British. )

**not the actual names used.

Thanks...I can understand the need to look further into name changes often, and I wouldn't think that going from her maiden name to the maiden-married would cause even so much as a pinkish hue flag let alone a red flag, but I suppose the standard rule of thumb is better safe than sorry.

I'll talk to her later and find out what she's found out about getting a copy and what that will entail time-wise and financially and we'll just move on from there. Hopefully it won't delay us any if we get on it right away.

Funny how little details like this don't even cross the mind until you start actually getting the paperwork ready.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Thanks...I can understand the need to look further into name changes often, and I wouldn't think that going from her maiden name to the maiden-married would cause even so much as a pinkish hue flag let alone a red flag, but I suppose the standard rule of thumb is better safe than sorry.

I'll talk to her later and find out what she's found out about getting a copy and what that will entail time-wise and financially and we'll just move on from there. Hopefully it won't delay us any if we get on it right away.

I agree with you that it seems a non-issue as far as why she changed her name. I gave you the extreme real life and only London example I know. I'm not really one of those better-safe-than-sorry kind of people. I kinda weigh up what I think is an issue and why it is asked for, then go with what my common sense tells me to do. I have reasonable (or lucky) instincts because we made it from start to finish without an RFE or delay that was our fault. Sometime I go against VJ guides because I disagree with them.

I've presented you with options to think about. Now you decide. Think it through.

Funny how little details like this don't even cross the mind until you start actually getting the paperwork ready.

That's why you always need to start researching the next step and practicing with the forms once you're waiting on your current step. I think about all the K1s whining about how l o n g it's taking and pouring over timelines when they could be ordering their documents for the consulate, or at least finding them.

[UK-USA-K1 128]

I agree with you that it seems a non-issue as far as why she changed her name. I gave you the extreme real life and only London example I know. I'm not really one of those better-safe-than-sorry kind of people. I kinda weigh up what I think is an issue and why it is asked for, then go with what my common sense tells me to do. I have reasonable (or lucky) instincts because we made it from start to finish without an RFE or delay that was our fault. Sometime I go against VJ guides because I disagree with them.

I've presented you with options to think about. Now you decide. Think it through.

That's why you always need to start researching the next step and practicing with the forms once you're waiting on your current step. I think about all the K1s whining about how l o n g it's taking and pouring over timelines when they could be ordering their documents for the consulate, or at least finding them.

I actually researched them quite a lot, only thing is, since i'm not used to the way things are done there differently than here, I wasn't aware that she was mandated to use the Deed Poll to change her name. I just assumed it was added on after marriage as it would have been done here and with the "marriage exclusion" on the embassy website, I thought we were covered. It wasn't until we got the NOA2 that she started actually reading through what she needed to do. The only things she had done up to this point was get a copy of her immunizations and ordered her police certificate. When she saw the need for the Deed Poll, she brought it up. If I'd known about the differences ahead of time, I'd have made sure we had it in hand already. Chalk one up for cultural differences.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I wasn't faulting you. You've been around so long asking London questions, I kinda had in my mind that you were surely on the greencard part already.

What would I do?

I would order a document. Surely it can't cost too much. I wouldn't pay a bunch to expedite. Maybe she will need it for other immigration purposes. Surely it's a document worth having for whatever reason. Call the court that did it or maybe this number which has Saturday hours.

Certified copies of British documents are obtainable from either the Certificate Services Section,

General Register Office, PO Box 2, Southport, PR8 2JD;

phone number: 0300 123 1837 (8am to 8pm Monday to Friday. Saturday 9am to 4pm).

Calls are charged at the cost of a local call.

Then I would carry on with the rest of it. I would send in the DS-2001 despite not having the deed poll. If she doesn't have it on interview day, then try to wing it with the divorce decree. If worse comes to worse, at least the document was ordered and would be arriving shortly to send to the embassy. That way you don't start from scratch getting it after the interview. Minimizes delay for worst case scenario.

[UK-USA-K1 128]

I wasn't faulting you. You've been around so long asking London questions, I kinda had in my mind that you were surely on the greencard part already.

What would I do?

I would order a document. Surely it can't cost too much. I wouldn't pay a bunch to expedite. Maybe she will need it for other immigration purposes. Surely it's a document worth having for whatever reason. Call the court that did it or maybe this number which has Saturday hours.

Certified copies of British documents are obtainable from either the Certificate Services Section,

General Register Office, PO Box 2, Southport, PR8 2JD;

phone number: 0300 123 1837 (8am to 8pm Monday to Friday. Saturday 9am to 4pm).

Calls are charged at the cost of a local call.

Then I would carry on with the rest of it. I would send in the DS-2001 despite not having the deed poll. If she doesn't have it on interview day, then try to wing it with the divorce decree. If worse comes to worse, at least the document was ordered and would be arriving shortly to send to the embassy. That way you don't start from scratch getting it after the interview. Minimizes delay for worst case scenario.

I didn't think you were "faulting" me. Sorry if it sounded that way. Just trying to explain my situation a little more.

Sounds like we are on the same page here. Thanks for the contact details, that should help.

As for our status...we actually are still waiting on the London Case number. Should have that soon and will be able to start actually moving through the final stages of the K-1 portion of the Journey

Edited June 28, 2013 by UK-USA-K1

[mindthegap 2,601]

She can get a copy from the courts.

Er, no she cant. Deed polls are not filed anywhere at all, let alone at a court. Contacing the GRO as you mention in your later post will not do any good either- it is nothing to do with them.

A deed poll is a simple declaration of a change of name, signed, dated, and witnessed.

There is no 'official' place to go, no register of name changes kept anywhere, and no one company that issues them. Anyone can prepare one- even a simple home made piece of A4 as long as it contains the correct wording and is signed, dated and witnessed- is legally all you need to get your passport, bank accounts, and credit cards changed.

It is a peculiar quirk of Uk law dating back a very long time and is a very different process to changing your name in the US.

Having been through the deed poll process myself and then my CR-1, i can tell you the london embassy will want to see it if it documents a name change not done via the marriage certificate, and will ask you why you changed your name (in my case asking if i had changed it avoid a criminal past...er, no!).

You must also ensure that your ACRO police certificate details ALL previous names IN FULL, and they will check this carefully - this very nearly caught me out, as my previous middle name was missed off when they issued the certificate. Thankfully I also had a subject access report with me which did detail all previous names -this was accepted and thankfully avoided any delays.

If you cant find the original deed poll, draw up another one and backdate it to the relevant dates.

Personally i used http://deedpoll.org for mine, purely because i wanted something that looked professional and they were actually cheaper than getting my solicitor to draw one up. However, having checked, they wont backdate and will only provide you with a replacement if they issued it in the first place.

Edited June 29, 2013 by mindthegap

[UK-USA-K1 128]

Er, no she cant. Deed polls are not filed anywhere at all, let alone at a court. Contacing the GRO as you mention in your later post will not do any good either- it is nothing to do with them.

A deed poll is a simple declaration of a change of name, signed, dated, and witnessed.

There is no 'official' place to go, no register of name changes kept anywhere, and no one company that issues them. Anyone can prepare one- even a simple home made piece of A4 as long as it contains the correct wording and is signed, dated and witnessed- is legally all you need to get your passport, bank accounts, and credit cards changed.

It is a peculiar quirk of Uk law dating back a very long time and is a very different process to changing your name in the US.

Having been through the deed poll process myself and then my CR-1, i can tell you the london embassy will want to see it if it documents a name change not done via the marriage certificate, and will ask you why you changed your name (in my case asking if i had changed it avoid a criminal past...er, no!).

You must also ensure that your ACRO police certificate details ALL previous names IN FULL, and they will check this carefully - this very nearly caught me out, as my previous middle name was missed off when they issued the certificate. Thankfully I also had a subject access report with me which did detail all previous names -this was accepted and thankfully avoided any delays.

If you cant find the original deed poll, draw up another one and backdate it to the relevant dates.

Personally i used http://deedpoll.org for mine, purely because i wanted something that looked professional and they were actually cheaper than getting my solicitor to draw one up. However, having checked, they wont backdate and will only provide you with a replacement if they issued it in the first place.

Thank you, this is correct. I spoke with her last night about it and she did order from one of these sites, and didn't pay them to archive it for her, so if she doesn't locate it she will have to order one. I checked a few sites, including the one you linked, and the prices aren't too bad and they can generally have them to her within a week or so (less if you pay extra), so although it's an added step and a few extra £'s, it shouldn't cause any delays

Thanks again for the clarification.

[UK-USA-K1 128]

I found some more information on this topic, just in case someone finds this thread looking for answers.

There's an article from the guardian that explains the deed poll process pretty well:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/jun/29/deed-poll-websites-avoid

Also, there's a link to a site that offers free deed polls which, according to the article, worked at each test they performed in changing names on documents:

http://freedeedpoll.org.uk/