name change after marriage

[kannan 208]

My fiance will be coming in few weeks and get married in another couple of weeks. She has been to the USA before on work visa and hence already has SSN. if she wants to change her last name, do we do that during marriage (get marriage certificate with new name?) and then use that to get new SSN card with the changed name, apply for AOS etc? what is the procedure?

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

20 minutes ago, kannan said:

My fiance will be coming in few weeks and get married in another couple of weeks. She has been to the USA before on work visa and hence already has SSN. if she wants to change her last name, do we do that during marriage (get marriage certificate with new name?) and then use that to get new SSN card with the changed name, apply for AOS etc? what is the procedure?

You can do that after you get married. You will need the official marriage certificate in order to do that. You can actually file AOS without an updated SSN but it is up to you to do that or not.

[kannan 208]

is name change separate process - need to file paperwork with court? or, can we just do that as part of getting marriage certificate?

[AshMarty 360]

21 minutes ago, kannan said:

is name change separate process - need to file paperwork with court? or, can we just do that as part of getting marriage certificate?

The Name Change will start with the SS card at the social security office with the proof of a certified marriage certificate.

 

A couple of days later you can change you name at the DMV because it takes 48-72 hours for the systems to update (if she is able to get a license). But it all starts at the social security office with an official marriage certificate.

 

From there everything is done on an individual bases and it super annoying (speaking from someone who is still doing it (I am the USC)). 

 

A website for assistance: https://www.theknot.com/content/name-change-101

 

I suggest requesting 3 or 4 marriage certificates because of the name changes and immigration. One or Two of our marriage certificates are always in use so it is nice to have multiples of a certified copies. 

Edited February 6, 2018 by AshMarty