changing full name after marriage and before applying for AOS

[sumdesi 3]

Hi guys,

My wife came to US on a K-1 visa. My wife and I just got married few days back. We received our marriage license yesterday. We have plenty of time to apply for her AOS before her K-1 visa expires. I'm just waiting on my most recent tax forms so I can fulfill the requirements of the I-864. I had a question about name change for my wife though.

Legally, my wife's first name is Poorvi. Her parents always wanted it to be spelled Purvi, but the government official in India messed up and put it down as Poorvi on her birth certificate, and all of her legal documents after that have used Poorvi. However, my wife and her parents used the Purvi whenever possible, and my wife wants her name to be spelled as Purvi. But since all of her legal documents had her name spelled as Poorvi, we just thought we would leave it as such while applying for her K-1 visa, and change it once she came to USA.

So now that we are married, I know she can legally change her last name to my last name, but we wanted to find out if she could also change her first name as well. The part that is confusing is how would we do this, and if we do, would it confuse USCIS when we apply for her AOS. I have not submitted any of her AOS paperwork, but I have most of it completed, with the name entered as Purvi Shah (my last name). Does anyone have experience with this or can guide us in how to go about doing this name change?

[agnesb 47]

I know for a fact she'll be able to change her first name during naturalization, I am not sure if that's possible during AOS.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

I do not believe you can change a first name due to marriage. I am not familiar with all the state laws, but I have not heard of legally changing a first name through marriage. Check your state laws. You will most likely have to go through the court to make that type of name change. Or you can wait until she files for naturalization, when she can change her name for free during that process.

[sumdesi 3]

ok I'll check out my state's laws and see if the name can be changed prior to AOS. If not, we'll wait till naturalization. Thank you both!

[ajhigh 2]

I might be missing something, but when I (Australian citizen) married by husband (US citizen), the name change had to be done in Australia before I could update my name on the US side of things.

i.e. I applied to my state registry of births, deaths and marriages in Australia, had my birth certificate amended (at that stage I could have changed my entire name if I'd wished to - I just changed my surname), and once I received that, I took that and my marriage certificate to the DVM to get a new license, and to SSA to get a new social security card. I was on a work visa, and I've continued to travel/work on it even though it's in my old name, with no problems.

i.e. changing my name in the US wouldn't be possible without changing it in the country of citizenship first. And changing your name in the country of citizenship depends on those country's laws/procedures.

I'm now applying to adjust status, using my new name.

[aussie_jason 195]

Err why would you amend your birth certificate? All you would have needed to change your name in the US is the marriage certificate and the same in Australia but you wouldn't normally amend your birth certificate with your married name, after all you weren't married when you were born.

[Lainie B 465]

I might be missing something, but when I (Australian citizen) married by husband (US citizen), the name change had to be done in Australia before I could update my name on the US side of things.

i.e. I applied to my state registry of births, deaths and marriages in Australia, had my birth certificate amended (at that stage I could have changed my entire name if I'd wished to - I just changed my surname), and once I received that, I took that and my marriage certificate to the DVM to get a new license, and to SSA to get a new social security card. I was on a work visa, and I've continued to travel/work on it even though it's in my old name, with no problems.

i.e. changing my name in the US wouldn't be possible without changing it in the country of citizenship first. And changing your name in the country of citizenship depends on those country's laws/procedures.

I'm now applying to adjust status, using my new name.

Actually I found the opposite to be true. For anything within the US (SSN, US drivers licence US bank accounts, etc etc) all I needed to show is my US marriage certificate to prove your name change. I don't know why any US bank etc would want to see an Australian name change certificate when you have a US marriage certificate to prove your name change.

For anything in Australia (eg changing name on my Australian passport, Australian bank accounts, etc etc) I had to first go through my Australian home state's Birth Deaths and Marriages to change my name. Depending on your home state, you will either get a name change certificate or a new birth certificate that shows the name change. You then use that as proof of name change within Australia.

[Lainie B 465]

Err why would you amend your birth certificate? All you would have needed to change your name in the US is the marriage certificate and the same in Australia but you wouldn't normally amend your birth certificate with your married name, after all you weren't married when you were born.

Within the US, the US marriage certificate is enough to prove name change.

In Australia, if you get married outside of Australia you must go through Births Deaths and Marriages to apply for a name change before you can get a new passport etc. Some states (eg Victoria) do actually issue a new birth certificate that shows your new name (and your old name). Other states just issue a name change certificate.