Legal name change after marriage

[mirrortraveler 1]

Hey you guys,

So we are now married, marriage certificate has been obtained (along with several copies) and I would now like to change my last name to his.

There were a few things I was wondering about:

a) How does this happen? Is the Social Security Office the right place to go or should it be the DMV or the court house?

b) When should I ideally change my last name?

c) Does this need to happen before I apply for the Green Card/Work Permit?

d) Because German passports don't specify, USCIS grouped my middle name in with my first name (so now I have 2 first names and no middle name). Is it recommendable to try and change this as well when I go in for my legal name change?

d) Can/should I change the name on my foreign passport as well?

Thank you in advance!

[CowBoE 429]

Hey you guys,

So we are now married, marriage certificate has been obtained (along with several copies) and I would now like to change my last name to his.

There were a few things I was wondering about:

a) How does this happen? Is the Social Security Office the right place to go or should it be the DMV or the court house?

b) When should I ideally change my last name?

c) Does this need to happen before I apply for the Green Card/Work Permit?

d) Because German passports don't specify, USCIS grouped my middle name in with my first name (so now I have 2 first names and no middle name). Is it recommendable to try and change this as well when I go in for my legal name change?

d) Can/should I change the name on my foreign passport as well?

Thank you in advance!

So here is what we are planning...

1) Got SS card under maiden name to get marriage license

2) Tried to change the SS card last name after marriage but they refused

3) Applied for AOS (Green Card), EAD, and AP using husband's (mine) last name

4) Just got EAD/AP approved today. EAD (and eventually GC) card should come in husband's last name

5) Will use EAD card to change the SS card name, Passport name, and to get Driver's License

6) Will change last name in Bank accounts, credit cards, health insurance, etc.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Hey you guys,

So we are now married, marriage certificate has been obtained (along with several copies) and I would now like to change my last name to his.

There were a few things I was wondering about:

a) How does this happen? Is the Social Security Office the right place to go or should it be the DMV or the court house?

b) When should I ideally change my last name?

c) Does this need to happen before I apply for the Green Card/Work Permit?

d) Because German passports don't specify, USCIS grouped my middle name in with my first name (so now I have 2 first names and no middle name). Is it recommendable to try and change this as well when I go in for my legal name change?

d) Can/should I change the name on my foreign passport as well?

Thank you in advance!

The Marriage Certificate is your official and legal document you use to change your last name. You complete the AOS form with the name you want on the card--so put your first name as the frist name, middle name as the middle, and you husband's name as the last name. That way the EAD/AP and GC arrive with the correct name. I would list your maiden name and the name that the visa came in as names previously used. If you still have about 2 weeks left on your I-94, you can use the Marriage Certificate to change your SSC, if not or it has expired, you will have to wait for the EAD or GC--I would wait for the GC so you can also get the "VALID FOR WORK WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION ONLY" removed from your SSC. Changing your passport is up to you and depends on how complicated it is to do so here in the US. If the passport last name and GC last name are different, it is recommended to travel with a copy of the Marriage Certifiacte to show you are the same person and help avoid possible problems, but bieng from an ESTA country it is not very hard for you to travel to the US, so you may have less trouble than those where a valid visa is required for that country's citizens to enter the US.

There is no requirement to take the husband's last name--it is a personal choice. As long as you have valid ID, either name is your legal name.

Dave

Edited February 18, 2015 by Dave&Roza

[N&S 32]

You are not specifying if your marriage certificate has been issued in your new name or in your maiden name - if when you filled out that portion of the marriage license you put in your new name your life is going to be much easier because you already legally changed your name, otherwise you will need to do a legal name change (I think court is involved, but not sure).

If you have your marriage license in your new name everything is easy, just a lot of running around otherwise you first have to change your name and then can go to all the offices (yes, you'll need to see them all to change things, DMV, SS office, banks etc).

Being German myself I can confirm that it is possible to change your name on your German passport - if that is what you want to do - and also possible to register your marriage if you so choose with the German administration. Depending on how straight forward your name change is, it might be helpful to know that Germany agrees to accept any name change that is legal in the country as long as the wedding was as per the rule of that country. If you want to change it best contact your local German embassy, they'll be able to help.

Regarding middle name just fill out the forms for AOS accordingly - not sure what the passport has to do with it, afaik they go by the forms...

Good luck!

[mirrortraveler 1]

In Florida, the marriage certificate and the marriage license are on the same piece of paper. The marriage certificate is just the little portion below the license part which has been signed by the person performing the ceremony and witnesses, as well as stamped by a notary public. So since I gave my regular (maiden) name on the marriage license, that's the one on the marriage certificate as well.

I have several copies of the marriage license in my maiden name, now. What can I do to change that?

[N&S 32]

It would appear that things work differently in FL from how it works in snowy MA - this doc seems to be giving instructions:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/fy/fy04500.pdf

[mirrortraveler 1]

I'm familiar with all the pre-marriage, pre-license stuff. I've also by now called both the local clerk of courts and the Department of State, which I was referred to. These processes are so confusing. I just want to make sure I get this right:

1) Name change at Social Security Office (is that also the first step for people prior to AOS?) - as I already have my SSN and card.

2) Name change at DMV? I don't have a current State ID yet, and no previous driver's license. Do I have to do this now or can it wait until I've sent off my AOS application?

3) The Department of State told me I need an apostille from them on a certified copy of my marriage license/certificate if I want to travel to Germany.

But is this also required for AOS?

4) Also, once the name change is effective with the Social Security Office, they said I should get a name change on my German passport as well with a back page in the passport certifying my identity (by a notary) and an apostille on my passport.

Truth be told, I don't intend to apply for advance parole since I have no plans of traveling until my Green Card has been issued.

So should I get points 3) and 4) now before I apply for AOS or can they wait?

[mirrortraveler 1]

About the name on the marriage license, I was just informed by a lady at the clerk of courts that the name on the marriage license doesn't have to match with my current legal name as USCIS knows that things are different in Florida and that I will change my name with Social Security. I believe her but can anyone help me shine more light on this whole situation?