I-485 What last name do I use?

[Scandi 4,166]

You should always use your legal name. If you changed name when you got married then that's your legal name. If you switched out your maiden name and took his name instead, that means your maiden name is no longer your name. Using a name that isn't yours is never a good thing..

[zham 12]

On 4/6/2017 at 2:45 PM, Georgia16 said:

New name. You want your GC in your new name. It will cost you around $400 to get it changed on the card.

Thanks. Do we need any supporting documents for that? Or is the marriage certificate enough?

[Ayrton 965]

1 hour ago, zham said:

Thanks. Do we need any supporting documents for that? Or is the marriage certificate enough?

Marriage certificate is an official name change document.

[JonSeattle 202]

On 4/6/2017 at 2:08 PM, Ninatica said:

Thank you very much!

 

Last question, should I use my new married name without hyphenating it, I mean my name + my husband's last name.

or: my name + my current last name-his last name, since my higher educational degrees and certifications are under my maiden name, my decrees are from Costa Rica and in my country we use both last names (dad's and mom's ones) and if I apply for a job and they ask me for copies they will be on my full maiden name, I do not know if that might cause issues.

 

Thanks once again.

Either of those sound fine. It is your preference. If there is ever any question about older documents, you just show a copy of your marriage certificate.

 

For other options, it is up to state law what you are allowed to use as your new name. In Washington state for example, the only official way to follow the custom of the Philippines where the wife's new middle name is her old last name is to get a court order, although I wouldn't expect for anyone to really object if someone went ahead and did that anyway.