Should I buy my wife's plane ticket under married name or maiden name?

[Trymester3 6]

Hello,

I'm trying to figure out how to fly my wife back to the USA. She traveled to Japan under her maiden name, because that is the name that is in her passport. She left on November 9, 2014 and will probably be returning in late-March 2015. She was able to be gone for so long, because she has one of those work/travel cards that doesn't expire until September 2015. Since she has been gone, she received an approved I-485 saying that she has been granted permanent residence for a 2-year time period. The card will be arriving in 3 weeks. She didn't have to go through an interview.

My only concern is that when she returns to the USA, I don't want her to have any trouble getting into the country.

Should she return under her maiden name since that's what her passport says, or should she return under her married name, so that she doesn't get into any potential trouble with the custom agents? How should she go about coming back in?

Btw, she was gone for so long because one of her grandmothers passed away and then the other grandmother passed away.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Oksana & Max 94]

Hello,

I'm trying to figure out how to fly my wife back to the USA. She traveled to Japan under her maiden name, because that is the name that is in her passport. She left on November 9, 2014 and will probably be returning in late-March 2015. She was able to be gone for so long, because she has one of those work/travel cards that doesn't expire until September 2015. Since she has been gone, she received an approved I-485 saying that she has been granted permanent residence for a 2-year time period. The card will be arriving in 3 weeks. She didn't have to go through an interview.

My only concern is that when she returns to the USA, I don't want her to have any trouble getting into the country.

Should she return under her maiden name since that's what her passport says, or should she return under her married name, so that she doesn't get into any potential trouble with the custom agents? How should she go about coming back in?

Btw, she was gone for so long because one of her grandmothers passed away and then the other grandmother passed away.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

You can buy under either name. I did it for my wife and we never had any issues.

[Jo Së 200]

Best to buy it under her Passport name.

[Frewchen 8]

Totally agreed! She might not be able to board the plane, because airlines usually validate the boarding passes with the travel document (in this case passport).

[Oksana & Max 94]

Totally agreed! She might not be able to board the plane, because airlines usually validate the boarding passes with the travel document (in this case passport).

You can buy in either name. As any airline will check the passport as well as the document she will use to enter US. And this document would be in married name.

As I said we are travelling at least twice a year, and never had any problems to buy tickets on either of the names. Just have the Marriage Certificate with you and everything will be fine.

[Nkkystel 8]

Pls do buy with the name of her passport.

Pls do buy with the name of her passport.

[Frewchen 8]

You can buy in either name. As any airline will check the passport as well as the document she will use to enter US. And this document would be in married name.

As I said we are travelling at least twice a year, and never had any problems to buy tickets on either of the names. Just have the Marriage Certificate with you and everything will be fine.

That's good for you.

But why would someone risk their travel plans?

It is still up to the airline to decide if you are allowed to board or not. Chances are higher that you get to fly when your travel documents match your boarding pass.

[j&ana 363]

I agree with other replies. You should buy it in the name that is on the passport

[Trymester3 6]

Okay guys, I appreciate the responses. I'll buy it in her maiden name that is found on her passport.

[novedsac 355]

That's good for you.

But why would someone risk their travel plans?

It is still up to the airline to decide if you are allowed to board or not. Chances are higher that you get to fly when your travel documents match your boarding pass.

That's the point he was making ... passport has the maiden name and the visa for entry has the married name. So regardless of which name is on the boarding pass, only one of the two required travel documents will match. Bringing your marriage certificate will tie the two names together - it's not a novelty for the airlines to deal with. Purchasing the ticket with either the married name or the maiden name will work without any difficulty at all as long as the marriage certificate is available and the other travel documents are in order.

[Darnell 8,478]

Hello,

I'm trying to figure out how to fly my wife back to the USA. She traveled to Japan under her maiden name, because that is the name that is in her passport. She left on November 9, 2014 and will probably be returning in late-March 2015. She was able to be gone for so long, because she has one of those work/travel cards that doesn't expire until September 2015. Since she has been gone, she received an approved I-485 saying that she has been granted permanent residence for a 2-year time period. The card will be arriving in 3 weeks. She didn't have to go through an interview.

My only concern is that when she returns to the USA, I don't want her to have any trouble getting into the country.

Should she return under her maiden name since that's what her passport says, or should she return under her married name, so that she doesn't get into any potential trouble with the custom agents? How should she go about coming back in?

Btw, she was gone for so long because one of her grandmothers passed away and then the other grandmother passed away.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

get ticket in passport name.

show EAD/AP combo card at a poe, along with a marriage certificate showing the 'married' name.

might need to show all at Narita immigration control point, and ask for supervisor if staff are dumbfounded.

[dalatian 4]

That's the point he was making ... passport has the maiden name and the visa for entry has the married name. So regardless of which name is on the boarding pass, only one of the two required travel documents will match. Bringing your marriage certificate will tie the two names together - it's not a novelty for the airlines to deal with. Purchasing the ticket with either the married name or the maiden name will work without any difficulty at all as long as the marriage certificate is available and the other travel documents are in order.

ALWAYS book with the last name on a passport! Period. We learned this the hard way: My wife was refused a boarding pass by US Airways. We had to rebook our Cancun trip and thus, the trip cost was doubled. When it comes to boarding a plane, it's up to the airlines to set out the rules. Marriage certificate might help a BCP officer to map a name change. We had all necessary documents with us and yet went through an awful experience of being turned away at the airport.

Edited March 25, 2015 by dalatian