Name on my new GC

[Coleman21 6]

Hello everyone,

I have a concern to share and to ask for advice. When I got married, I did not change my name, even though my marriage application form says my designated last name is my husband's name. But, I wanted to change my last name this time as I filed my application for removal of condition. I didn't go through court or anything, but requested USCIS to change my name as my first name, maiden name as middle name, and husband's last name as my last name. Now, after I sent my application, USCIS would send me letters with my name as I requested. So I assumed that they would make my green card this way. But when I finally received my 10 year green card, it said my first name, and maiden name and husband's last name as one surname (no hyphen).

I prefer having my maiden name as middle name, instead of being connected to my husband's last name. I called USCIS and told them about it, then the representative asked me if this would cause trouble to my traveling in the future. I said I don't know. I said as long as Social Security Administration could have my name as first name, middle name, marrried name, I don't really care. The representative said, if I want to change my name on GC, I would have to file I-90, and if I could prove that it was USCIS's fault that my GC doesn't have the name as I wanted, I do not have to pay fee. I assume that I can send copies of USCIS letters they sent me with the name I requested as the evidence that my GC was supposed to have my maiden name as my middle name.

However, the application instruction says that I would have to send my original GC in the package, and I'm wondering if it is worth doing it. I'm a little nervous about sending my GC I just got. Besides, my full name would be exactly the same.. whether [first name], [maiden name as middle name], [married name] or [first name], [maiden name and married name surname]. But the USCIS representative had also told me that I could try going to Social Security and see if they would have my maiden name as middle name, instead of part of surname, without changing my GC name. I was going to do that, but then my American friend told me that when her name on mortgage and tax didn't match with SS name, she had to pay fine, even though her full name was the same. She also wanted her maiden name to be her middle name, but SS had her maiden name as part of her surname without a hyphen. So she advised me to have my name always exactly the same.

However, my last name in my home country, Japan hasn't changed, and have no intent to, because I would have to go to court in person, and have no plan to go back to the country for a while. So my Japanese passport will have my old name, for a while at least. I do have to renew my passport, and my Japanese friend as advised me to put my married name in parathesis on my Japanese passport. That's something the Japanese Consulate has told me I can do as well, if I have changed my name in the US and not in Japan.

So my question is.... is it really a problem if I keep my GC as it is, and have SS have my maiden name as middle name? I feel like if SS has my name as I want, all the other documents will change my name that way, and I would file my tax that way too, so I wouldn't have trouble like my American friend did. But will it be a problem if my GC was a little different? Would it affect my traveling? My Japanese passport will be different from GC whether I keep my GC as it is or file I-90 anyway...

What do you think? Should I just keep my surname as the non hyphenated maiden+married name and change all of my other documents that way?? I know that I will have another chance to change my name when I apply for citizenship, but I don't know if I want to get rid of my Japanese citizenship, especially without knowing who the US president will be.. haha

If you have experience in name change with USCIS and SS, please please tell me your insights!

Thank you very much!

[akihon 129]

Your mistake was not declaring the name you wanted on your marriage certificate. You cannot simply change your name on USCIS paperwork, because now you're in a conundrum where you have NO documentation showing the name that you wanted. Your legal name is the name on file with Social Security. If you want to change that, you have to show them documentation proving that your name has been changed, and as far as I can see in your case, it is YourFirst HisLast.

If you want to change your name properly, you will have to wait for naturalization. Note that this may prolong your case because you cannot just take an Administrative Oath, you will have to wait for a Court Oath, which are not held as often.

As for your Japanese passport, it's up to you. My passport is in my maiden name, my GC is in my married name, and I've never had a problem re-entering the US, except that because my GC doesn't match the name on the airline manifest (I book international flights in my maiden name) I get an X on my slip and have to go through CBP officer processing at immigration.

Edited April 18, 2016 by akihon

[Coleman21 6]

Well, attorneys and a lot of people on this website said that you can have the name you want by writing it that way on application forms to the uscis. That's what I did. And some people here told me that my new green card will suffice to change my name on social security card. And I think the uscis was going to have the name I requested on my gc because they were sending me noa1, biometric letter and change of address confirmation letter all in the name I requested. My maiden name was put as initial of my middle name. I just don't understand why they changed it to having my surname as the combination of my maiden and married name. Does gc name have to match social security name? I was going to ask social security to have my maiden name as middle name if possible.

[akihon 129]

Sure, you can have the name you want on USCIS, I guess, if you had it declared on your marriage certificate and were going to use that to update Social Security. That's my understanding. If I'm mistaken, someone else please point me out.

My GC matches my Social Security, so I'm not entirely sure about your situation. In fact, I changed my name with Social Security before I AOSed, not knowing that I could just put my new name on the forms and then change it later. I am only telling you what I know.

Edited April 19, 2016 by akihon

[Coleman21 6]

Okay, thanks for sharing! What documentation did you use to change your name on ss card? Did you just need a marriage certificate?

As for my name on gc, my marriage certificate didn't have my surname as the combination of maiden and married name, so I just know that the uscis didn't care what my marriage certificate declared. :/ I might schedule an infopass to talk to an officer in person.

Okay, thanks for sharing! What documentation did you use to change your name on ss card? Did you just need a marriage certificate?

As for my name on gc, my marriage certificate didn't have my surname as the combination of maiden and married name, so I just know that the uscis didn't care what my marriage certificate declared. :/ I might schedule an infopass to talk to an officer in person.

[Coleman21 6]

Something went wrong and my message was doubled last time. Sorry!

[akihon 129]

Okay, thanks for sharing! What documentation did you use to change your name on ss card? Did you just need a marriage certificate?

As for my name on gc, my marriage certificate didn't have my surname as the combination of maiden and married name, so I just know that the uscis didn't care what my marriage certificate declared. :/ I might schedule an infopass to talk to an officer in person.

I used my marriage certificate to change my name with Social Security.

Yes, an infopass to address the issue would be a good idea.

[priyadutt86 0]

On 18/04/2016 at 9:47 AM, Coleman21 said:

Hello everyone,

I have a concern to share and to ask for advice. When I got married, I did not change my name, even though my marriage application form says my designated last name is my husband's name. But, I wanted to change my last name this time as I filed my application for removal of condition. I didn't go through court or anything, but requested USCIS to change my name as my first name, maiden name as middle name, and husband's last name as my last name. Now, after I sent my application, USCIS would send me letters with my name as I requested. So I assumed that they would make my green card this way. But when I finally received my 10 year green card, it said my first name, and maiden name and husband's last name as one surname (no hyphen).

I prefer having my maiden name as middle name, instead of being connected to my husband's last name. I called USCIS and told them about it, then the representative asked me if this would cause trouble to my traveling in the future. I said I don't know. I said as long as Social Security Administration could have my name as first name, middle name, marrried name, I don't really care. The representative said, if I want to change my name on GC, I would have to file I-90, and if I could prove that it was USCIS's fault that my GC doesn't have the name as I wanted, I do not have to pay fee. I assume that I can send copies of USCIS letters they sent me with the name I requested as the evidence that my GC was supposed to have my maiden name as my middle name.

However, the application instruction says that I would have to send my original GC in the package, and I'm wondering if it is worth doing it. I'm a little nervous about sending my GC I just got. Besides, my full name would be exactly the same.. whether [first name], [maiden name as middle name], [married name] or [first name], [maiden name and married name surname]. But the USCIS representative had also told me that I could try going to Social Security and see if they would have my maiden name as middle name, instead of part of surname, without changing my GC name. I was going to do that, but then my American friend told me that when her name on mortgage and tax didn't match with SS name, she had to pay fine, even though her full name was the same. She also wanted her maiden name to be her middle name, but SS had her maiden name as part of her surname without a hyphen. So she advised me to have my name always exactly the same.

However, my last name in my home country, Japan hasn't changed, and have no intent to, because I would have to go to court in person, and have no plan to go back to the country for a while. So my Japanese passport will have my old name, for a while at least. I do have to renew my passport, and my Japanese friend as advised me to put my married name in parathesis on my Japanese passport. That's something the Japanese Consulate has told me I can do as well, if I have changed my name in the US and not in Japan.

So my question is.... is it really a problem if I keep my GC as it is, and have SS have my maiden name as middle name? I feel like if SS has my name as I want, all the other documents will change my name that way, and I would file my tax that way too, so I wouldn't have trouble like my American friend did. But will it be a problem if my GC was a little different? Would it affect my traveling? My Japanese passport will be different from GC whether I keep my GC as it is or file I-90 anyway...

What do you think? Should I just keep my surname as the non hyphenated maiden+married name and change all of my other documents that way?? I know that I will have another chance to change my name when I apply for citizenship, but I don't know if I want to get rid of my Japanese citizenship, especially without knowing who the US president will be.. haha

If you have experience in name change with USCIS and SS, please please tell me your insights!

Thank you very much!

Hello,

 

Im applying for my I751 to remove conditions on my GC and i want my 10 yr GC to be issued in my married name- do i need to go through any court orders or just fill my form accordingly with the change name as i want? 

[Coleman21 6]

10 hours ago, priyadutt86 said:

Hello,

 

Im applying for my I751 to remove conditions on my GC and i want my 10 yr GC to be issued in my married name- do i need to go through any court orders or just fill my form accordingly with the change name as i want? 

Hi, priyadutt86!

 

In NY State, you do not need to go through court to change your last name to your spouse's. I know that Georgia does not require that either. If you live in a state that does not require a court order to change your last name to your spouse's, you can just fill out your I-751 form with your new name, and put your maiden name in the box that says "other names used" or something like that. I am not sure if this is the case if you live in a state where you need a court order to change your last name after marriage. I feel like it does not really matter to USCIS any way, because I could almost add my maiden name as my middle name without a court order by filling out I-751 like that, even though NY state requires a court order if you want a new middle name. (USCIS messed it up and had my maiden name as part of my last name, and I ended up going with that.) It seems that when it comes to name change, things are a little different for those who go through USCIS.

 

I'd first check if your state requires a court order, though. Because even if you get your new GC with your new name on it, you will still have to go to Social Security Administration, and they might require a court order on name change depending on where you live. In NY state, you'd just have to show your new green card and a marriage certificate to Social Security Administration.

 

Oh, and if you're changing your name by just filling out I-751, I recommend writing a name change request. When I applied for my 10 year green card, I typed on Word Document the reason why I kept my maiden name until now (my passport had my maiden name and green card application form told me to write my name exactly as it appears on my passport and I did not want to complicate matters) and that I wanted USCIS to change my name to so and so. I printed it out and signed it, and attached it to I-751 application form.

 

Hope this helps!

Coleman21

Edited April 25, 2017 by Coleman21

[priyadutt86 0]

2 hours ago, Coleman21 said:

Hi, priyadutt86!

 

In NY State, you do not need to go through court to change your last name to your spouse's. I know that Georgia does not require that either. If you live in a state that does not require a court order to change your last name to your spouse's, you can just fill out your I-751 form with your new name, and put your maiden name in the box that says "other names used" or something like that. I am not sure if this is the case if you live in a state where you need a court order to change your last name after marriage. I feel like it does not really matter to USCIS any way, because I could almost add my maiden name as my middle name without a court order by filling out I-751 like that, even though NY state requires a court order if you want a new middle name. (USCIS messed it up and had my maiden name as part of my last name, and I ended up going with that.) It seems that when it comes to name change, things are a little different for those who go through USCIS.

 

I'd first check if your state requires a court order, though. Because even if you get your new GC with your new name on it, you will still have to go to Social Security Administration, and they might require a court order on name change depending on where you live. In NY state, you'd just have to show your new green card and a marriage certificate to Social Security Administration.

 

Oh, and if you're changing your name by just filling out I-751, I recommend writing a name change request. When I applied for my 10 year green card, I typed on Word Document the reason why I kept my maiden name until now (my passport had my maiden name and green card application form told me to write my name exactly as it appears on my passport and I did not want to complicate matters) and that I wanted USCIS to change my name to so and so. I printed it out and signed it, and attached it to I-751 application form.

 

Hope this helps!

Coleman21

Hi @Coleman21 thankyou so much for your reply. Appreciate it.

 

Id keep a note of your points. Il start my research on the court order in Florida, right away.

AIso, I had gotten my SSN changed to my married name 6 months back when i was in Delaware. That was easy - the marriage certificate and the passport was needed and it was done. As for the request letter -  i have written one (now I'm glad i actually did  ) and will definitely add the same reason (because that was why i actually stuck to keeping it) 

 

Also for the docs how important are sworn in affidavits. I plan on giving the utility bills, lease agreement , renters insurance with installment schedule, an airline travel with both of us, Tax return and pics.... are these good to go 

 

 

[Coleman21 6]

1 hour ago, priyadutt86 said:

Hi @Coleman21 thankyou so much for your reply. Appreciate it.

 

Id keep a note of your points. Il start my research on the court order in Florida, right away.

AIso, I had gotten my SSN changed to my married name 6 months back when i was in Delaware. That was easy - the marriage certificate and the passport was needed and it was done. As for the request letter -  i have written one (now I'm glad i actually did  ) and will definitely add the same reason (because that was why i actually stuck to keeping it) 

 

Also for the docs how important are sworn in affidavits. I plan on giving the utility bills, lease agreement , renters insurance with installment schedule, an airline travel with both of us, Tax return and pics.... are these good to go 

 

 

Oh, you already have your new name on the SS card! Then I don't think court order is necessary. The name that appears on SS card is pretty much your official name. I would just write your new name on I-751 and attach the letter you've written.

 

I hear that affidavits are not so important. That was many people's opinions on this website when I applied for I-751. However, I still had two people write affidavits. I don't think there's "too much" when it comes to green card application.

 

Does your tax return show that you filed as "married filing jointly"? I ask this because some people file as single in the tax year they became a permanent resident, due to W-2s telling US citizens to check "single" if their spouse was not a permanent resident at the time, and I read that having "single" as a tax filing status looks bad. I elected to be treated as a resident my first year of being a permanent resident, so my tax was always filed as "married filing jointly." Also some people choose to file married filing separately because that give them more refund, and I have read people's concerns about this. If your status was "married filing separately," you might want to explain why. It's a ridiculous thing to worry about to some immigration officers but some others may care only because it wasn't "joint".

 

Also, USCIS likes married couples having a joint bank account. I know this because I've contacted some attorneys even though I didn't end up hiring any, and they all told me to have a joint bank account and send proof of it to USCIS. If you guys have a joint account, include some bank statements. I included some copies I already sent the first time I applied for my green card and some from after I became a green card holder.

 

Other things you can include is joint car title, joint car insurance, etc Whatever documents you put, it should either have both of your names OR some documents that have your name and some others that have your spouse's name that have the same address. If you have some holiday cards from your friends and family addressed to both of you, include copies of the envelope. When you pick pictures, try to include some that have both of you AND some other people. This shows that your relationship is recognized by others, not just between you guys.

 

I don't know if you have, but if you have moved a lot, what I did is I made a list of all the addresses we have lived together and the duration of residence at each address because if they can clearly see that you have always lived together, there is very little chance they doubt your marriage. If there was any time you lived separately, it's probably better to include an explanation of it too. I've read about some people who lived separately because of school, and they were okay because they were able to give understandable reasons.

 

And whatever documents you include, include some from the beginning of your marriage, which will probably overlap with what you've already sent the first time you got your green card. You don't have to send a lot, just some from the past. Then, include more documents that prove your relationship SINCE you got your green card. What USCIS wants to see is the timeline of your marriage life. Some people get their 10 year green card just fine without sending anything from before they got a green card, and some others get RFE. I think it really depends on who gets to look at your application, so you want to be on the safe side.

 

This is what I included in my package:

 

Check

I-751

Name change request

Marriage certificate and explanation of marriage certificate in GA (In NY you get a marriage license first and then a certificate, but in GA they are combined, so I explained that, since when I applied for my 10 year green card I lived in NY)

A list of addresses and dates for Part 1. Item 22

Copies of I-797 from two years before (someone from this website suggested including this, even though I don't think I751 instruction required it. But this has the bar code and A number, so someone said it was easier for USCIS to look at your application. It is Notice of Action you receive when your first green card is approved)

Copy of conditional green card, front and back

Copy of verification of residence (original submitted at the interview two years before)

Envelope addressed to both of us at the address

All the leases at current address

Envelope from friends and family addressed to both of us at the current address

Rent payment receipts (I had had my landlord put both of our names each month)

Copies of both of our NY State IDs (our IDs had the same current address on them)

Car title

Car registration

Car insurance cards and car insurance policy

Phone plan

Tax return transcripts with copies of W-2s (two fiscal years)

Old joint checking account statements

Copy of our debit cards

Old joint checking accounts that show our debit card numbers

Joint checking accounts from the past 5 months that show our debit card numbers

Joint saving account statements, one old and one recent

Auto repair receipt

Admission letter to community college for my husband (My husband was a high school drop-out the first time I applied for my green card, so I wanted USCIS to see we were working hard)

Employment letter for myself (since I was about to change jobs and move again)

Train tickets from trip together

Itinerary from trip together

Photos

Affidavits from two people

 

I was anxious so I sent a lot like this, and included a list of all the documents included in the package so they won't misplace things and give me RFE. (That's why I was able to type all these above, I wouldn't be able to write this up from memory! And I made copies of all the documents for myself, which I do recommend doing.) I don't think you have to send this much, but now you have something to refer to when you think about what to include in your package. I didn't receive RFE and had no interview!

 

Good luck!!!

[priyadutt86 0]

@Coleman21 can i have your email id? 

[Pickle 65]

On 4/18/2016 at 8:01 PM, akihon said:

Sure, you can have the name you want on USCIS, I guess, if you had it declared on your marriage certificate and were going to use that to update Social Security. That's my understanding. If I'm mistaken, someone else please point me out.

My GC matches my Social Security, so I'm not entirely sure about your situation. In fact, I changed my name with Social Security before I AOSed, not knowing that I could just put my new name on the forms and then change it later. I am only telling you what I know.

It depends on the state you get married.  I did not have the option of  which last name I wanted on my marriage certificate in the state I got married.  My maiden name is on my marriage certificate.  My green card, social security, and driver license have my married name.  I had to show my green card to get my social, social to get my driver license.  

[priyadutt86 0]

On 26/04/2017 at 9:28 AM, priyadutt86 said:

@Coleman21 can i have your email id? 

Hi @Coleman21 hope you doing good. I didnt hear back from you  i have jotted down a detailed email to send to you. So that you did have abetter picture of things. If you could share you email id with me would be really great though  

 

 

[Coleman21 6]

 

Hi @Coleman21 hope you doing good. I didnt hear back from you  i have jotted down a detailed email to send to you. So that you did have abetter picture of things. If you could share you email id with me would be really great though  

 

 

Omg, I didn't get any notification from VisaJourney so I hadn't logged in! I'm sorry! you can private message me on here!