LOTS OF QUESTIONS IN MY MIND

[chinitayukii 2]

Hello guys. So I just moved here in Sugar Land TX 2 months ago through K1 Visa. I am from Philippines and getting married next week, my fiance told me about this insurance thing that he wants me to be part of his health insurance. But I suddenly feel nervous and scared cos I don't want to cause any trouble to him if his company find out that my name and gender is still male. I told him that maybe we can wait till I can legally change my name and gender but I still don't know how and if it's still possible. And I feel like it will take years? (i'm not sure). So my questions are:

 

Is it okay if my fiance can put me in his health insurance with my gender identity after we got married? Does my gender identity will affect his work? (i'm afraid to be discriminated)

 

How can I change my name and my gender legally? What are the steps?

 

Thank you so much. I know that this is very sensitive topic but I hope I can find some answers here. 

[MaleAlpha 314]

Employers can't discriminate based on race, nationality, gender etc. and if they do, they are liable to be sued. That applies to the spouses of employees. 

 

To change your name, simply change it on the marriage certificate and it becomes official. You can start using this new name on your immigration application and any other official documents you apply for (drivers license, SSN etc). I'm not sure about gender changes so I will defer for someone else to answer that.

 

All the best

Edited July 30, 2017 by MaleAlpha

[KULtoATL 1,551]

Unless there won't be a tax penalty anymore for not having health insurance, it is probably better that you get added to your fiance's work health insurance. Otherwise, you might want to look into getting your own individual private health insurance that may be quite costly.

 

Last name change can happen at the point of marriage without any court petition.

 

If you want to change your first and middle names, in other words a complete name change, this will involve the court through a petition. In TX, a publication is not needed for a name change.

 

As for a legal gender change, it looks like it will involve a doctor. You'll need to get a doctor to verify that you're undergoing a gender change and the verification letter should be on the doctor's letterhead. The said letter will be submitted together with your court petition. However, please note that it is up to a judge to approve or reject your petition to change your gender marker. It may be an issue with conservative judges. Due to that, transgendered people often hire LGBT attorneys to assist with gender change petitions.

 

I could be wrong but I don't think you'll be able to submit any legal forms using your new (first and middle) names and gender identity until you've legally changed them. Therefore, for the time being, everything will probably be based on your passport or marriage certificate and list you as a male.

 

Try and contact the National Center of Transgender Equality: http://www.transequality.org and they might be able to give you more specific info or even redirect you to the right people for legal assistance.

 

All the best!