Married name

[Catou1181 0]

When I get married, does it simplify the process if I change my name right away ? (Im old fashionned and want to take his name )

Or would it be best if I waited until all the immigration process is over and Im living in the US ?

[Len & How 0]

When I get married, does it simplify the process if I change my name right away ? (Im old fashionned and want to take his name )

Or would it be best if I waited until all the immigration process is over and Im living in the US ?

I was thinking about that too and I'm going to change my name right away. I want to get all my ID's, papers and all that stuff in my new name rather then get it in maiden name and then change it later. It seems like less hassle to me that way.

And I will start my new life fresh with new name :-)

It is just my opinion, but I'd advise you to change your name right away. But let's see what others think....

[CanuckmeetsYank 0]

I opted to change my name as soon as possible, just so I could get use to it. Plus when we filed AOS they needed to know if I was taking my husband's name or not. All my Canadian accounts and cards still have my maiden name, for now. Goodluck!

[Marilyn. 340]

I didn't change my name until a few months after we started the I-130/CR-1 process....

I didn't change until after I had already sent out the DS-230 forms... I emailed the embassy in Montreal and all they said I had to do was bring my marriage certificate to the interview (which you have to do anyways) and tell them that I changed my name....

but if you change your name before you fill out any forms, you can just fill them out with your new name....

The visa will be in whatever your name is in your passport.... So remember to change that too.....

[Mephys 2]

When I get married, does it simplify the process if I change my name right away ? (Im old fashionned and want to take his name )

Or would it be best if I waited until all the immigration process is over and Im living in the US ?

I was thinking about that too and I'm going to change my name right away. I want to get all my ID's, papers and all that stuff in my new name rather then get it in maiden name and then change it later. It seems like less hassle to me that way.

And I will start my new life fresh with new name :-)

It is just my opinion, but I'd advise you to change your name right away. But let's see what others think....

Same here, addition to that, I have a french name and maiden name, and another reason on top of the fact that I love my soon to be husband more than anything, I also want my family name to be easy once I get in the US so that people wont screw up my name completely when they write it.

[Cassie 8]

As I started applying for things (AOS, library card, etc etc), I started using my married name. My passport is still in my maiden name, for various reasons.

[antda 13]

Hi Catou1181,

Good luck on your immigration journey. In answer to your question, get your name changed to your married name right away, as it's going to be more of a hassle to get it changed afterwards when all the paperwork is already done. I don't think you'd want to deal with the immigration officials in Canada, USCIS, SSA, DMV, banks, etc. or any other people who you need your married name for, more than you should have to in order to notify them of your married name change!

Likewise, I am old-fasioned in that regard too, and have everything in my married last name (except for my Canadian passport, and I'm still trying to figure out as to how to get the married name change on that. Any ideas anyone, besides applying for a new Canadian passport?). As for my own situation, regarding the married last name, I am using that new married last name instead of my old maiden last name. I like my married last name, and I love my husband and feel that this is respectful for him and his family. I overall hated my maiden last name, which I had no connection with my former family (my ex-so-called family that have now pretty much disowned me), and growing up my former maiden last name caused a lot of confusion and I was made fun of quite a bit because of it. Besides, why get rid of a good tradition of changing women's last names when they get married? It has worked for many years throughout history that women change their last names when they marry, so why shouldn't it work now? After all, by having the same last name, doesn't one feel more connected to their new married family too?

Hope this helps.

Ant

When I get married, does it simplify the process if I change my name right away ? (Im old fashionned and want to take his name )

Or would it be best if I waited until all the immigration process is over and Im living in the US ?

Edited March 15, 2007 by AntandD

[misa 2]

Same here, addition to that, I have a french name and maiden name, and another reason on top of the fact that I love my soon to be husband more than anything, I also want my family name to be easy once I get in the US so that people wont screw up my name completely when they write it.

Funny you mention that. My US born husband has a French last name and people are always screwing it up constantly... except here where we know how to pronounce French last names properly (well at least most people I know here do)

FWIW, I didn't change my last name and don't plan on it.

For Catou1181, if you are planning on changing your name after marriage (which I know you do ) do it asap.

[no one 0]

When I get married, does it simplify the process if I change my name right away ? (Im old fashionned and want to take his name )

Or would it be best if I waited until all the immigration process is over and Im living in the US ?

I've heard that some places charge you a fee if you wait a certain amount of time after marriage to change your name (whereas if you change your name at the time of marriage, they don't charge you anything).

I've kept my maiden name, thinking the paperwork would be simpler... but now I kind of regret it, because a hyphenated last name would be interesting to have. As well, some authorities here in the U.S. were confused about the order of my given names (I have an English name and a Chinese name, but when combined together into one legal name, some people get confused about the order of the names)... so if I had all my paperwork changed, it would be easier on some people

[Catou1181 0]

I decided that I will opt to take my husband's name and will take care of all that paperwork when I get home on the 27th. Ive already started making a list of where I need to go and who I need to call.

For your passport, someone was asking earlier in this thread, you have 2 options. You can have your married name ADDED to your passport for 12$ (which is what Im gonna do cuz my passport was just issued...). If you want to have in changed to your married name, you have to fill a whole new application and wait again for your passport to be ready. I would think adding your married name to the passport is sufficient.

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/can/personal_information.aspx?lang=e

As for the rest, Ill make a nice little post when Ive changed all my IDs and stuff, so other people wanting to do so can refer to it, look for that in about 2 weeks.

Cat

[Marilyn. 340]

I decided that I will opt to take my husband's name and will take care of all that paperwork when I get home on the 27th. Ive already started making a list of where I need to go and who I need to call.

For your passport, someone was asking earlier in this thread, you have 2 options. You can have your married name ADDED to your passport for 12$ (which is what Im gonna do cuz my passport was just issued...). If you want to have in changed to your married name, you have to fill a whole new application and wait again for your passport to be ready. I would think adding your married name to the passport is sufficient.

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/can/personal_information.aspx?lang=e

As for the rest, Ill make a nice little post when Ive changed all my IDs and stuff, so other people wanting to do so can refer to it, look for that in about 2 weeks.

Cat

that is all I did, I had my married name added to my passport.... it will be a stamp looking thing on one of the pages of your passport that will say something like this.... Bearer's Married Surname is .......

and to the person that said they will charge you to change your name if you wait too long, that is not true... I waited about 7 months or so and I wasn't charged anything....

I am trying to remember what I all changed... I think I just changed my SIN, driver's license, my bank account and my passport to my married name ....

How do I change the name on my SIN card?

For all requests (first-time, replacement, amendment, corrections, etc.), you must complete an application form and provide an original of a primary document that proves your identity and status in Canada. You must also provide a supporting document if the name on your primary document is different from the one you are currently using. It is important that documents are originals and that they are written in English or French.

Application forms may be picked up at your local Service Canada Centre or you may download one in a PDF format from this site. You will require Adobe Acrobat Reader to fill out and print this form.

Service Canada encourages you to apply for your SIN in person at a Service Canada Centre. This process is faster and more convenient, as it does not require you to part with your valuable identity documents. You may also apply by mail.

http://www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/cs/sin/030.shtml#q1

Edited March 15, 2007 by MarilynP

[antda 13]

Hi Cat and Marilyn,

Good luck on your immigration journeys. Thanks for the extra info about the Canadian passport stamp with the married name in it, as I was wondering about that as an option, since I want to get my Canadian passport to include and/or changed into my married name. Everything else that I have here in the USA is in my married name too which is the name that I use, and I would like my Canadian passport to be consistent with all the other IDs that I have here in the USA. Do I just get that married name observation stamp at the Canadian Embassy here in the USA?

See my message post regarding further about my "Canadian Passport Dilemma" (specifically option (a) that I wrote about the name change thing):

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;#entry770395

As for my Canadian SIN card, I think for the time being I'll just leave it be (and maybe cut the card up in the future), as I wont use that card ever again (why the heck would I ever want to work in Canada?). I've already notified them when I filed my final Canadian tax return (the tax department is the same department as the SIN, I assume), so hopefully they're smart enough to update their databases regarding the name change. But it's good to know about the SIN too, so thanks for the info regarding that of the name change too.

Ant

For your passport, someone was asking earlier in this thread, you have 2 options. You can have your married name ADDED to your passport for 12$ (which is what Im gonna do cuz my passport was just issued...). If you want to have in changed to your married name, you have to fill a whole new application and wait again for your passport to be ready. I would think adding your married name to the passport is sufficient.

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/can/personal_information.aspx?lang=e

Cat

that is all I did, I had my married name added to my passport.... it will be a stamp looking thing on one of the pages of your passport that will say something like this.... Bearer's Married Surname is ....... I am trying to remember what I all changed... I think I just changed my SIN, driver's license, my bank account and my passport to my married name ....

How do I change the name on my SIN card?For all requests (first-time, replacement, amendment, corrections, etc.), you must complete an application form and provide an original of a primary document that proves your identity and status in Canada. You must also provide a supporting document if the name on your primary document is different from the one you are currently using. It is important that documents are originals and that they are written in English or French.Application forms may be picked up at your local Service Canada Centre or you may download one in a PDF format from this site. You will require Adobe Acrobat Reader to fill out and print this form.Service Canada encourages you to apply for your SIN in person at a Service Canada Centre. This process is faster and more convenient, as it does not require you to part with your valuable identity documents. You may also apply by mail.

http://www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/cs/sin/030.shtml#q1

Edited March 16, 2007 by AntandD

[Catou1181 0]

Here's a link to the SIN form you can fill out to have your SIN changed to your married name. There's no fee

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eforms/forms/2006/nas2120e.pdf