Information on Name Change During Naturalization

[humming bird 14]

2 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

You don't need to go in front of a judge. Going in front of a judge is a completely different type of name change. It is legal to just assume your husbands name. You just fill out all your N400 forms with your married name. No need to do a court name change.

Thank you!

[Ontarkie 14,324]

4 minutes ago, humming bird said:

Thank you!

You're welcome, you can actually start using it right away. Your proof to use it is your marriage certificate. 

[dhassan 0]

On 5/22/2015 at 9:44 AM, JimmyHou said:

I thought this might help those of us considering a legal name change.

The N400 application is (in most cases) a great time to legally change your name. It's fast and it's free. Outside of the N400 process, a name change requires a visit to your local courthouse, may require a public announcement in a newspaper (depending on your state and local laws) and will cost you money. In New York City, the cost is about $65 while on Houston it is over $400, so cost varies from city to city.

You can change your name to anything you want within certain limitations. You can't change your name to impersonate someone or in an attempt to hide your identity for illegal purposes. Other than that, it's up to you. If you are Arthur Robert Wilkinson, you can become Geraldo Mohamed Leibowitz.

It's important to note that if you are just changing your last name to take your spouse's last name or to revert to your maiden name, then a legal name change is not required. This is because a marriage certificate or a divorce certificate acts as proof of legal name change. This is true EVEN IF your certificate does not show the new name that you want to take. For example, if Anita Mary Harrolds marries Geraldo Mohamed Leibowitz, she can legally be known as Anita Mary Leibowitz even though that name does not appear anywhere on the certificate. In fact, she can also hyphenate both last names without a legal name change. However, if she wanted to change her middle name from Mary to Margaret, she would need a legal name change.

To request a legal name change through the naturalization process, fill out the name change section of the N400. The interviewer may ask you to confirm that you still want to change your name because some people change their minds between the application and the interview. The interviewer may ask for proof of your current legal name. In case of a discrepancy between your green card and your passport, a birth, marriage, divorce, or name change certificate determines your current name, so make sure you have these with you (if they apply in your case...it's always a good idea to have your translated birth certificate with you at the interview). The interviewer will print out some forms (three I think) for you to check and sign. These should have your old and new names on them.

You will have to be scheduled for a judicial oath ceremony. This is because USCIS does not have the legal authority to change your name and must ask a judge to do so. If your city has regular judicial ceremonies then there shouldn't be any delays. If your city holds regular administrative ceremonies, but not many judicial ceremonies, then the name change may cause a delay. Some cities (including San Francisco and San Jose) have stopped scheduling judicial ceremonies altogether. Applicants in these cities cannot legally change their names through the N400 application. Your interviewer will inform you of this and will cross out the name change section during the interview. You will have to request a regular name change before or after naturalization if you live in these cities (see above).

At your oath ceremony you will be given your naturalization certificate as well as a name change certificate signed by a judge. This second certificate will show your old and new names and you'll need it to update your name with your banks, on your drivers license, credit cards, etc. In addition to doing all the paperwork to make these changes, you'll also have to consider the effect of the name change if you have dual citizenship; your name on your two passports may not match and your other country may require you to go through different name change procedures or may not allow name changes at all. People do travel using passports with different names, but you have to be careful when booking tickets and you may want to travel with your name change certificate (and translations).

If you want to check whether or not (and how often) judicial ceremonies are held in your location, find your office here and look under naturalization ceremonies:

http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/field-offices

Need to correct/change spellings of my name - will it affect my interview for naturalization as to why I am doing it?

[VPVM 1]

On 12/15/2016 at 11:49 AM, JimmyHou said:

Hi; you're in a bit of a tough situation. You want a legal name that isn't on your birth certificate or spelled out on your marriage certificate. In such cases, USCIS allows you to take your spouse's last name instead of yours. In most cases, changing your middle name is considered a formal name change and not simply a marriage name change. Many officers, and even some states, recognize customs from other countries and allow these changes during naturalization. But this isn't always the case though, and some officers are skeptical. For example, Arthur John Smith can show a marriage certificate to Jane Mary Greenfield and say that in his home country, the tradition is to take the wife's last name and hyphenate it with his own middle name so that he wants his certificate to read Arthur John-Greenfield Smith. Obviously I just made all that up, but that's why officers, in many cases, don't accept name change traditions they are not familiar with. They don't tell you you can't do it; they just tell you that you need to go through the formal process to change the name. Unfortunately, in your case, San Jose may not be able to give you a formal name change, so you'll have to go through the courts.

Your choices are to convince USCIS at an infopass that your legal name is what you want (this needs to be before the ceremony), or to pay the court fees after naturalization and go through that process. The advantage of the latter is that you'll have a document showing your birth name and your new legal name; this could be helpful when proving your identity down the line.

Hi

I had same case as yours, IO insisted that Inuse my maiden name too as my middle name. To sum it up, he let me signed a petition for a name change if I still want to use my current legal name-First Name, Father’s Last name and Spouse’s Last Name. I did sign and said it will take 45 days for the process, same with the oath. I’m just confused cuz all of my documents and ID’s too are same with my current legal name, so how could that be a name change? 😁

[VPVM 1]

On 3/15/2018 at 1:40 PM, Hank_ said:

Walang anuman   

Hi Hank

Upon reading the thread, Now I understood why the IO insisted the format of First Name-Maiden Name-Spouse’s Last Name. Unlike in the Philippines where Father’s Last Name became

our Middle Name after married. At least now I’m complacent that I wasn’t the only one who had this kind of issue.lol. IO did name change on my case the way I wanted to(Phil Style) despite of all my documents and IDs are already in that format…he said it is still a  name change. So now I have to wait 45 days after  I passed the interview. Thank you and God bless!

[ohcoffeeeyes 120]

They still do these in major cities. Just had mine done in San Diego, CA... Took me a week, they expedited cause I'm deploying in December. 

[Kitty Anh 38]

I am a Vietnamese and I have 2 middle name. My GC first name and middle name were mixed up that my middle name became my first name. I also didn't change my last name after married. 

 

So the questions are: 

1. Can I change my first name with my correct Vietnamese first name and drop out 2 middle name ? 

For example my middle name is: B C 

my first name is: A

and last name is: D

=> My name on GC is: B C A D 

Now I want to change my name to: A D . I don't want my middle name because it is very long letters. Do you guys think it is okay ? 

 

2. Now if above name change is success, what should I do to add my husband last name to my new name ? Do I have to update my marriage license again with my new name ? I am a little confused here, please help ! 

 

[Scandi 4,173]

19 hours ago, Kitty Anh said:

I am a Vietnamese and I have 2 middle name. My GC first name and middle name were mixed up that my middle name became my first name. I also didn't change my last name after married. 

 

So the questions are: 

1. Can I change my first name with my correct Vietnamese first name and drop out 2 middle name ? 

For example my middle name is: B C 

my first name is: A

and last name is: D

=> My name on GC is: B C A D 

Now I want to change my name to: A D . I don't want my middle name because it is very long letters. Do you guys think it is okay ? 

 

2. Now if above name change is success, what should I do to add my husband last name to my new name ? Do I have to update my marriage license again with my new name ? I am a little confused here, please help ! 

 

You choose any name you like when you file the N-400. Your marriage certificate and greencard have nothing to do with the N-400 name change, when you fill out your N-400 you tick the box that asks if you want to change name and then your write whatever you want your name to be. You can change your first name, last name, get rid of middle names, add names, change the spelling of names etc. Whatever you like.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Scandi

[AH&JH 10]

I wanted to provide some information I got at my N400 interview. 

 

If you changed your name due to marriage, then divorce and want to go back to your maiden name

The officer can change your name back to your original name (due to divorce) and it seemed that there was no need of judicial ceremony because I almost make it into the same day ceremony that I believe was administrative. the cutoff time was half an hour before my approval so I couldnt participate. now waiting on letter for oath

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by AH&JH

[Family 4,068]

34 minutes ago, AH&JH said:

wanted to provide some information I got at my N400 interview. 

 

If you changed your name due to marriage, then divorce and want to go back to your maiden name

The officer can change your name back to your original name (due to divorce) and it seemed that there was no need of judicial ceremony because I almost make it into the same day ceremony that I believe was administrative. the cutoff time was half an hour before my approval so I couldnt participate. now waiting on letter for oath

 

Edited 31 minutes ago by AH&JH

That is right. When you divorce, there is a notation on in the court order that indicates spouse will ( or won’t) go back to maiden name. It’s all you need to go about to DMV/SS and all other business of life. 
 

So at N-400 it’s treated as above and no judicial ceremony req. 

[Scandi 4,173]

40 minutes ago, AH&JH said:

I wanted to provide some information I got at my N400 interview. 

 

If you changed your name due to marriage, then divorce and want to go back to your maiden name

The officer can change your name back to your original name (due to divorce) and it seemed that there was no need of judicial ceremony because I almost make it into the same day ceremony that I believe was administrative. the cutoff time was half an hour before my approval so I couldnt participate. now waiting on letter for oath

 

The dirvorce decree is proof of name change if you decide to take back your maiden name.

 

The same way the marriage certificate is proof of name change if you want to take your spouse's name. 

 

Neither requires a name change in court. 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Scandi

[Helmut & Bee 0]

Somewhat confused about a name change. 

During the AOS, my wife changed her last name to my last name with the marriage certificate. Her drivers license, green card, and social security all show my last name.

Sometime during the AOS and N-400, she decided to change her first name in her home country, in her passport. (Apparently done quite frequently in her home country)

During the interview, the IO stated that he has to use her name in as shown in her her current passport for the Naturalization Certificate, and she will have to change her name through a court later, if she wants to. Is this correct, or should he have used her name as on the green card, as entered during AOS?

[Scandi 4,173]

15 hours ago, Helmut & Bee said:

Somewhat confused about a name change. 

During the AOS, my wife changed her last name to my last name with the marriage certificate. Her drivers license, green card, and social security all show my last name.

Sometime during the AOS and N-400, she decided to change her first name in her home country, in her passport. (Apparently done quite frequently in her home country)

During the interview, the IO stated that he has to use her name in as shown in her her current passport for the Naturalization Certificate, and she will have to change her name through a court later, if she wants to. Is this correct, or should he have used her name as on the green card, as entered during AOS?

USCIS doesn't care what's in the foreign passport, so that shouldn't be an issue. A lot of officers don't know USCIS' own rules and don't care to learn either, unfortunately. Obviously USCIS has been totally fine with her name before as she has it on her greencard etc, so that would still be fine.

 

However, during the pandemic some field offices haven't allowed name changes since they normally have a judicial naturalization ceremony in the courthouse, and during the pandemic many court houses have been closed. So it's possible this particular gield office is oke of those. BUT that doesn't change the fact that she can absolutely have the same name on the Naturalization certificate that is already on her greencard. That's just a poorly educated officer. 

[papasmf 90]

@JimmyHou my wife's IDs and SS card have her name as FirstName MaidenName MarriedName.  When she went in for the citizenship interview, the interviewer said she would need a name change or would otherwise have to use FirstName MiddleName MarriedName (in her case Middle Name is her mom's maiden name, not a real middle name). 

The interviewer gave her the forms to fill out and sign and told us to expect it to take longer before her ceremony letter would come in.  It's been 7 weeks since then and today we received the ceremony letter, but it is using FirstName MiddleName MarriedName, as opposed to what was requested on the forms and shown on her GC, driver's license, and SS card.

At this point we aren't sure how to try to resolve this, and her ceremony is in two weeks.  Would you happen to have any advice for us?  Thank you for your information on here and thank you for you time.

[papasmf 90]

On 6/28/2022 at 6:29 PM, papasmf said:

@JimmyHou my wife's IDs and SS card have her name as FirstName MaidenName MarriedName.  When she went in for the citizenship interview, the interviewer said she would need a name change or would otherwise have to use FirstName MiddleName MarriedName (in her case Middle Name is her mom's maiden name, not a real middle name). 

The interviewer gave her the forms to fill out and sign and told us to expect it to take longer before her ceremony letter would come in.  It's been 7 weeks since then and today we received the ceremony letter, but it is using FirstName MiddleName MarriedName, as opposed to what was requested on the forms and shown on her GC, driver's license, and SS card.

At this point we aren't sure how to try to resolve this, and her ceremony is in two weeks.  Would you happen to have any advice for us?  Thank you for your information on here and thank you for you time.

@Scandi(or anyone else on here) would you happen to know the answer to this?  One of my wife's friends said just goto the ceremony and they can fix it there, but I haven't seen anything that says you can do that at the end of the ceremony.

Edit: correction to "The interviewer gave her the forms to fill out and sign" - wife said he actually just filled them out for her on his computer and had her verify information on the screen.

Edited June 29, 2022 by papasmf