Name change during AOS process

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Hi everybody,

please I am new here and neep help.

I got married on a K1 visa a month ago and now filling for AOS and I dont know what name I should file with:

my maiden or married name?

I already have a social security card albeit under my maiden name.

Can I file with my new married name based on the marriage certificate or do I need to officially change my name

with Social Security office before? Unfortunately right now I am out of status because my I 94 expired

a few days after I got married. And thats a problem too because right now I dont have a valid immigration document

besides the entry stamp in my passport, so I dont know if SS would accept this.

I would really like to file with my married name so I wouldnt need to change the GC name after the AOS process.

I was trying to find answers but the information do differ and I really dont want to create a problem with my AOS process.

Thank you very much for all your suggestions .

You apply for AOS in your married name. SSA doesn't own your name, just apply for AOS in the married name. USCIS will accept the marriage cert as proof of name change. Then you can go back and change the name at the SSA.

To the above poster, you can fly on your passport in the maiden name if you can't change it. No reason not to get your GC in your married name.

[Arinlars 19]

Hi all,

I don't remember if I posted that here somewhere but it's a good info, they do not accept maiden names to be middles name. We Greeks don't have middle names so I wanted to do that since my Greek name is a huge railroad and if also hyphenated it won't fit in credit cards or anywhere, so I just took my husbands last name. Turned out ok. I still want my maiden name to be my last name but I will try and do that in the neutralization process.

[KayDeeCee 4,894]

I would recommend you using your maidens name. I changed my name and it shows name change on my marriage certificate. ( the marriage certificate explicitly says new name ***). I have 0 problem changing my last name on SSN , driving licence , bank account, credit accounts etc , however , changing name on my HK and UK passport has been a hell of a battle for me. Some countries would allow you to change names on passports easy and some do not. If you travel often out of the country often , it is easier to use your maidens name just to avoid any problem at the airport . You could change your last name when you become a citizen.

If someone changes their name when they marry, then they should fill out all the AOS forms in their new, legal married name. Just as this thread from last year already stated. The EAD/AP and green card will be issued in the married name and either of those cards can be used to change their name on their SSN, get a bank account, insurance, license or ID in the married name they wish to use. Until they can get their passport changed to their new name, they simply travel with the AP/green card, passport and marriage certificate. A marriage certificate is proof of legal name change, even if the new married name is not stated on it. Many states do not include anything other than the names at the time of the marriage, and they are still acceptable as a name change document. No need to wait until filing for citizenship to change their name. Some people do not even ever plan to naturalize, and no reason for them not to take their spouse's name if that is what they wish to do.

[LizzieBee 25]

My husband arrived from Egypt on a K-1 visa last month and we got married a few weeks later. We're not preparing his AOS paperwork--the marriage certificate still hasn't arrived but should come next week. We would like to change both of our last names to his middle name because his "last name" that is shown on his passport is actually his 7th name and not one he feels attached to at all. He identifies with his second and third name as family names. I can legally change my name after marriage, and I plan to. Can he also change his last name before filing for AOS? Or is the system sexist and assume that only women would ever want to change their name after marriage? Any ideas?

[funkymunky 11]

You may change your last name regardless of gender on the marriage certificate if it is either person's surname, former surname, a recombination of all or parts of the surnames or both hyphenated.

If your hub wants to change his last name to something different (not one of those options) then he will have to use a court order to change it before the marriage so you can then change it to said surname on marriage certificate.

You will have to check and see if his chosen name is considered a middle or last name. Just ask about it when you inquire about your marriage license.

Edited July 12, 2014 by funkymunky

[KayDeeCee 4,894]

My husband arrived from Egypt on a K-1 visa last month and we got married a few weeks later. We're not preparing his AOS paperwork--the marriage certificate still hasn't arrived but should come next week. We would like to change both of our last names to his middle name because his "last name" that is shown on his passport is actually his 7th name and not one he feels attached to at all. He identifies with his second and third name as family names. I can legally change my name after marriage, and I plan to. Can he also change his last name before filing for AOS? Or is the system sexist and assume that only women would ever want to change their name after marriage? Any ideas?

You need to call your county court and ask about the laws in your state for the husband changing his name through marriage. Not very many states allow the change without a court order for the husband. Other states will not allow the wife to change her name to something else other than the husband's last name that is listed exactly as is on the marriage certificate. This is why you need to ask. You might need to get a court order for both of you to change your names to the middle one as you wish to do.

Edited July 14, 2014 by KayDeeCee

[KayDeeCee 4,894]

You may change your last name regardless of gender on the marriage certificate if it is either person's surname, former surname, a recombination of all or parts of the surnames or both hyphenated.

For some states perhaps, but definitely not all. People need to check with their own state's laws about name change through marriage. And once again, a lot of states do not have you list a change of name on the marriage certificate.