Question on updating passport with married name

[SparklePony 238]

Hello all,

I'm a Portuguese citizen applying for AOS (with AP and EAD). In my home country, it is customary for people to have a long name, with many words in it. I had 5 pre-marriage. Getting my entire name plus my husband's last name in US forms is basically impossible, so while filling out all the AOS/EAD/AP paperwork, I dropped one of my middle names and tacked his last name at the end. I received my AP document with my name like that.

My idea was that I would get my name legally changed that way once I returned to Portugal, so I could get a passport with a name that matched the one on the AP document. Turns out that while adding a last name through marriage (and losing it through divorce) is easy peasy, dropping a name from the middle is not even allowed by law. This means that now I have two options available:

a) I wait to change my passport AFTER I have my greencard so that entering the US is not an issue with mismatched names, and I continue using my current passport (given the expiration date is in 2018), using the marriage certificate as proof of name change

b) I change my passport now and risk re-entry in the US with a passport with a name that doesn't match AP, but is updated with my husband's last name

Any thoughts, suggestions or ideas are appreciated, namely on what are my chances of getting in trouble re-entering the US with the mismatched names, and if the marriage certificate would still be of value in making a connection between the two names.

Thank you!

[nolee 7]

Hello all,

I'm a Portuguese citizen applying for AOS (with AP and EAD). In my home country, it is customary for people to have a long name, with many words in it. I had 5 pre-marriage. Getting my entire name plus my husband's last name in US forms is basically impossible, so while filling out all the AOS/EAD/AP paperwork, I dropped one of my middle names and tacked his last name at the end. I received my AP document with my name like that.

My idea was that I would get my name legally changed that way once I returned to Portugal, so I could get a passport with a name that matched the one on the AP document. Turns out that while adding a last name through marriage (and losing it through divorce) is easy peasy, dropping a name from the middle is not even allowed by law. This means that now I have two options available:

a) I wait to change my passport AFTER I have my greencard so that entering the US is not an issue with mismatched names, and I continue using my current passport (given the expiration date is in 2018), using the marriage certificate as proof of name change

b) I change my passport now and risk re-entry in the US with a passport with a name that doesn't match AP, but is updated with my husband's last name

Any thoughts, suggestions or ideas are appreciated, namely on what are my chances of getting in trouble re-entering the US with the mismatched names, and if the marriage certificate would still be of value in making a connection between the two names.

Thank you!

That's a tough call! From what I have read in threads on here is that people are suggesting for travel that you carry a copy of your marriage certificate and making sure that the name on your passport matches the name on you airline boarding passes. My guess would be to wait to change your passport and bring copies of marriage certificate.