Information on Name Change During Naturalization

[JimmyHou 611]

Great! This was just what I was looking for. Question though, just so I'm absolutely clear on it: You said that if a person is simply taking his/her spouse's name, then a legal name change is not required, the marriage/divorce certificate already acts as a legal proof of name change.

So if I'm interpreting this right, taking on your spouse's last name DOES NOT need a judicial ceremony. Is that right?

If I hyphenate my last name to my spouse's (or just use his instead of mine) in the N-400, do I put the new hyphenated name (or spouse's last name) under CURRENT LEGAL NAME or do I still have to put my maiden name (which is what is reflected in all my documents) in current AND fill up the NAME CHANGE section with the hyphenated one?

I read that in my area, including the name change may cause significant delay in the naturalization process since they seldom have judicial ceremonies, and I do not want that at all. But if I can take on my spouse's name without needing the judicial oat taking ceremony then it might be the convenient forum for me to start the whole take on the spouse's surname! I'm trying to avoid additional expenses and headaches.

Looking forward to your answer and thanks so much for posting this very helpful thread.

You can probably do either.

If you put your maiden name as your current name and your married name in the name change section, then you should just get the certificate in your married name.

But you can also put your married name down as your current legal name. And use the marriage certificate as proof. You just need to make sure your maiden name is listed under other names used.

In either case you should not require a judicial ceremony.

In my opinion, writing your married name down as your current legal name is the better approach because it ensures that the interviewer won't mistakenly request a judicial ceremony for you because the name change box is checked.

This is based on the N400 instructions which state that your current legal name is the name you were given at birth unless you have a legal document changing your name. Your marriage certificate counts as just such a document.

There may be some states that do not allow this, so you'll find out at your interview, but I believe they all recognize name changes through marriage.

Finally, the hyphenation of last names should be allowable, but if you get an interviewer who isn't fully aware of the rules he may insist on a formal name change and judicial ceremony. So you should go into the interview having decided (just in case) if you want to wait for a judicial ceremony, just use your married name with no hyphenation, or keep your maiden name.

[JimmyHou 611]

Apparently name change certificates are handled differently by different district courts.

It seems that in some cities, applicants receive the naturalization certificate at the ceremony and then receive the name change certificate a few days later by mail.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/568429-n-400-october-2015-filers/?p=7970702

In the majority of cases I've read about, the name change certificate is attached to the naturalization certificate at the judicial ceremony.

Edited January 16, 2016 by JimmyHou

[bellaling 6]

Thank you really appreciate the response!

[kirat17 8]

I applied for green card with my maiden name which is reflected on my Indian passport and green card. But i have since then used my husband's last name on all other documents like driver's license and social security.. Now its been 2 years as being a green card holder and its time to file for i-751 to remove conditions on green card..

Now, should I apply with maiden name or with my husband's last name? if with maiden name, then my new card will still have maiden name and i would have to wait for naturalization to change my last name to married name..

and what if I apply with my married last name, in the hope that the new card will carry it, is there a good chance that they'll reject it as its not the same as in my green card??

[JimmyHou 611]

I applied for green card with my maiden name which is reflected on my Indian passport and green card. But i have since then used my husband's last name on all other documents like driver's license and social security.. Now its been 2 years as being a green card holder and its time to file for i-751 to remove conditions on green card..

Now, should I apply with maiden name or with my husband's last name? if with maiden name, then my new card will still have maiden name and i would have to wait for naturalization to change my last name to married name..

and what if I apply with my married last name, in the hope that the new card will carry it, is there a good chance that they'll reject it as its not the same as in my green card??

This thread is for a discussion of name changes during the naturalization process.

Someone else may be able to answer this post, but you may get better answers if you ask your question in the Removal of Conditions forum.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/86-removing-conditions-on-residency-general-discussion/

I don't know much about the ROC process, but regardless of what your green card says, you can use your marriage certificate as proof of your legal name. Rules vary from state to state, but in most states, you should be able to get a drivers license in your married name no matter what it says on your green card. You won't need a name change during naturalization; you'll just get your naturalization certificate in your married name when you present your marriage certificate.

The name on the green card is not necessarily your legal name; that's why the N400 application asks for both your current legal name and your name as it appears on the card.

[kamara1 0]

hello

please I applied for name change during my N400 application in Dallas field office March 3,2015 finally did interview July 13 2015.. passed it.. up till date I am still waiting for a call up letter for the oath ceremony... I have been to the office 6 times since interview but nothing concrete has been said about my case... it is frustrating I don't know what to do next...

[JimmyHou 611]

hello

please I applied for name change during my N400 application in Dallas field office March 3,2015 finally did interview July 13 2015.. passed it.. up till date I am still waiting for a call up letter for the oath ceremony... I have been to the office 6 times since interview but nothing concrete has been said about my case... it is frustrating I don't know what to do next...

Since you requested a name change, you need to attend a Judicial ceremony, but Dallas holds 3 Judicial ceremonies per month according to their information page.

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/field-offices/texas-dallas-field-office#Naturalization Ceremonies

There's absolutely no reason why you're still waiting if you were, in fact, approved.

So the question is whether or not you were approved.

Were you recommended for approval at your interview?

Did you get a piece of paper saying you were recommended for approval?

Did your online status ever change to "inline for oath" or anything like that?

I very much doubt that this delay has anything to do with your name change request.

If you have not actually be approved, then USCIS needs to be pressured into acting; they have (by law) 120 days to make a final decision on your case after the interview.

If you have been approved, then they must have messed up your oath ceremony.

I don't know what they told you those six times, but you need to know:

1) Are you approved or not?

2) If not, why have they passed the legally-mandated 120 limit to make a decision?

3) If you are approved, who is scheduling your ceremony? The federal district court or USCIS?

At this point, you need to write to your congressman or one of your senators. Explain the situation; explain that your case is beyond normal processing times. If that doesn't help; you can take legal action against USCIS (assuming they haven't approved you yet).

[kamara1 0]

hey thanks for the response... I have not been approved.. 8 months after interview passed... and no reason has been given.. I am thinking of taking legal action against uscis because of the 120 days rule

[JimmyHou 611]

hey thanks for the response... I have not been approved.. 8 months after interview passed... and no reason has been given.. I am thinking of taking legal action against uscis because of the 120 days rule

Contact your representatives first. Look up your two congressmen and your senator and see if one of them has an immigration staffer on his/her team. If not, contact any or all of them. Legal action could take months or it could take years. An inquiry from a member of congress is free and usually, but not always, gets things moving again. Explain your situation in detail in the letter.

This this is the name change forum, I'll just repeat for others reading this, that this delay probably has nothing at all to do with a name change request.

Edited February 5, 2016 by JimmyHou

[jeevcy 2]

I had my oath ceremony with name change in Dallas within 3 months of my interview.

[sweetie1986 0]

Hi Jimmy,

My current name is Van T Nguyen

My husband's name is Sam Smith

On our marriage certificate, I keep my maiden name since it was issued in Vietnam. I request to change my name to Van Nguyen Smith on N-400 form. Do I need the judicial ceremony? If not, is the naturalization certificate issued with my new requested name? I live in Dallas, TX.

Thanks for your help.

[JimmyHou 611]

Hi Jimmy,

My current name is Van T Nguyen

My husband's name is Sam Smith

On our marriage certificate, I keep my maiden name since it was issued in Vietnam. I request to change my name to Van Nguyen Smith on N-400 form. Do I need the judicial ceremony? If not, is the naturalization certificate issued with my new requested name? I live in Dallas, TX.

Thanks for your help.

If you were changing your name to Van T Smith, then you would definitely not need a judicial ceremony and your nat. certificate would say Van T Smith

Technically, combining both last names should be allowed without a judicial ceremony, but I'm not sure if the interviewer will insist on a judicial ceremony... they are not always consistent. Also, if you drop your middle initial, then that should require a legal name change, and a judicial ceremony, but again, the interviewer may not make you get one.

Going by my own interpretation of the guidelines, if you became Van T Smith or Van T Nguyen Smith (last name being Nguyen Smith), you should not need a judicial ceremony, but if you became Van Nguyen Smith (middle name Nguyen or last name Nguyen Smith with no middle initial), then you should need a judicial ceremony.

Either way, your certificate will have your new name on it, but you'll have to wait until the interview to see which type of ceremony you need.

[rueni 0]

Apparently name change certificates are handled differently by different district courts.

It seems that in some cities, applicants receive the naturalization certificate at the ceremony and then receive the name change certificate a few days later by mail.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/568429-n-400-october-2015-filers/?p=7970702

In the majority of cases I've read about, the name change certificate is attached to the naturalization certificate at the judicial ceremony.

I'm having a real hard time trying to retrieve my proof of name change, which was changed during the Oath ceremony, almost 16 years ago. I'm getting married abroad, in less than 2 months and the local government there needs to verify my identity. They're requesting a proof of name change to match my identity to my birth certificate and I'm having a hard time figuring out where I need to go to get it. I've visited the USCIS office in Chicago and they sent me to the US District Court. When I arrived there, they said they only have records if the name change was filed via a Petition of Name Change (vs N-400). I went back to the USCIS office and now they're saying that I need to file a FOIA request to get the information I need. Can someone PLEASE help?

[JimmyHou 611]

I'm having a real hard time trying to retrieve my proof of name change, which was changed during the Oath ceremony, almost 16 years ago. I'm getting married abroad, in less than 2 months and the local government there needs to verify my identity. They're requesting a proof of name change to match my identity to my birth certificate and I'm having a hard time figuring out where I need to go to get it. I've visited the USCIS office in Chicago and they sent me to the US District Court. When I arrived there, they said they only have records if the name change was filed via a Petition of Name Change (vs N-400). I went back to the USCIS office and now they're saying that I need to file a FOIA request to get the information I need. Can someone PLEASE help?

I assume that you have checked everywhere for a name change certificate? You should have got one with your naturalization certificate. The exception would be if you changed your name through marriage... in that case there was no name change order and there won't be a record of it; you would just use your old marriage certificate.

But let's assume that you didn't get a name change certificate or you lost it and you didn't change your name based on marriage.

Since the name change went through the US District Court, they are the ones who should have a copy of the judge's order. It shouldn't matter whether or not the name change was processed through a Name Change Petition or an N400 because a judge on that court would have had to sign the order. The only question may be where they keep such records. They should have all copies of judicial orders, but they may be kept somewhere else. Maybe they're looking in the wrong place (name change petitions vs. N400 judicial orders). I would try again with the court.

If that doesn't work, then you'd have to file a FOIA request, which would give you copies of your entire immigration file... that would, I assume, have a copy of the papers you filled out at your interview to change your name, which will then have been signed by a judge.

Unfortunately, an FOIA takes months and you won't know if that one document will be included or not until you get the response.

Your best bet may be to go back to the court and find someone more helpful.

If none of that works, then you're stuck... you'll have to consider something more extreme like:

- having a ceremony abroad but getting legally married when you return (you may still face the same issue, so check now)

- legally changing your name now to match your birth certificate

- filing for a legal name change in your birth country (if they allow this) so that you'll have some proof of name change

Edited February 23, 2016 by JimmyHou

[Katyk1986 0]

Hi Jimmy,

I was wondering if you could give me advice. This is my situation:

-about to file my N-400

-My name on my German Birth certificate is Katharina Kloos

-I got married in the US and changed my name to Katharina Kloos Jackson (only in the US. my married name is displayed on all US documents such as social security card, permanent resident card etc. but in Germany I still have my maiden name)

-I got divorced 3 years ago but never changed back to my maiden name in the US.

-I thought that N-400 would be a good opportunity to change back to my maiden name

My question: Is this possible by just filling out the name change section on the N-400 form?

Thank you so much in advance for your kind help!

Best regards,

Katharina

Edited February 23, 2016 by Katyk1986