Help! My wife wants to change her name while I130 is pending

[bradyp1971 1]

My Thai wife and I are I130 CR1 August filers. She informed me today that she wants to change her first name for good luck. I told her that this is a bad idea while our I130 application is pending. I said she should wait until after she gets her visa, but she really wants to change her first name now. Does anyone on the group have any thoughts on this subject? Do you know of anyone who has changed their first name while their I130 application is pending? I would appreciate any of your thoughts or experiences. Thank you.

[stlMac 16]

My Thai wife and I are I130 CR1 August filers. She informed me today that she wants to change her first name for good luck. I told her that this is a bad idea while our I130 application is pending. I said she should wait until after she gets her visa, but she really wants to change her first name now. Does anyone on the group have any thoughts on this subject? Do you know of anyone who has changed their first name while their I130 application is pending? I would appreciate any of your thoughts or experiences. Thank you.

She can change her first name in the court and get certificate from court, Get affidavit of two people and get new passport.

At the NVC stage her Visa will be issued to the name that is in her new passport and she can use the new name.

[Karee 4,190]

My Thai wife and I are I130 CR1 August filers. She informed me today that she wants to change her first name for good luck. I told her that this is a bad idea while our I130 application is pending. I said she should wait until after she gets her visa, but she really wants to change her first name now. Does anyone on the group have any thoughts on this subject? Do you know of anyone who has changed their first name while their I130 application is pending? I would appreciate any of your thoughts or experiences. Thank you.

This is a bad idea all the way around. This process is already a pain in the #######. Why complicate it by changing names while you you have a pending I-130?

[Tango777 3]

Oh my Gosh! I thought truly that I was the only person that this could ever happen to ! My financee will come over to the States on a K-1 probably in Jan. So after waiting 8 months for NOA2 last July, we get an RFE for Marital intentions. Right during this she changes her first name! I figured it was start over again. Well, she sent the marriage intentions letter with her new first name, and also the name change certificate (in Thai). So I included the docs and wrote a short letter telling what happened. 10 days later we got NOA2 approved! Crazy story, I kind of like her new name too!

[Dave&Roza 748]

My Thai wife and I are I130 CR1 August filers. She informed me today that she wants to change her first name for good luck. I told her that this is a bad idea while our I130 application is pending. I said she should wait until after she gets her visa, but she really wants to change her first name now. Does anyone on the group have any thoughts on this subject? Do you know of anyone who has changed their first name while their I130 application is pending? I would appreciate any of your thoughts or experiences. Thank you.

I see this as something the two of you need to discuss as a married couple and come to a decision you can both live with. Since you are in the first stages of the process and waiting for the NOA2, she can do the process of getting her name changed in Thailand PLUS getting the passport changed into the new name and then finish up the process with the Embassy using her new firstname. That way the visa name will be her new passport name and the GC will be her new name.

Yes, this process is a royal PITA, but if it is something she really wants and she can agree to all the complications this may cause, it is better to do it now rather than trying to change her passport after she arrives in the US. Would she be willing to go three years with the "wrong" name in her Thai passport--until she can get a US passport after becoming a USC?

Good luck,

Dave