Were we supposed to put her new name on the marriage license?

[nyaliss 25]

We are so confused about the name change process. And yes I know a lot of people say it's easier to just keep her maiden name but she want's to change it (really hyphenate but it's still a change). I think we were supposed to put her new name on the marriage license but we weren't prompted and i figured that would come up if necessary. Can we go to SS and apply for the SSN with a new name? Or should we go to the clerk's office and see what they say?

[Mollie09 1,543]

2 minutes ago, nyaliss said:

We are so confused about the name change process. And yes I know a lot of people say it's easier to just keep her maiden name but she want's to change it (really hyphenate but it's still a change). I think we were supposed to put her new name on the marriage license but we weren't prompted and i figured that would come up if necessary. Can we go to SS and apply for the SSN with a new name? Or should we go to the clerk's office and see what they say?

Whether or not the new name goes on the marriage license is county-specific, most places only show birth names and you can still use them as a name change document.

My husband an I both hyphenated our last names with a marriage certificate that had only birth names.

[Celie 793]

26 minutes ago, nyaliss said:

We are so confused about the name change process. And yes I know a lot of people say it's easier to just keep her maiden name but she want's to change it (really hyphenate but it's still a change). I think we were supposed to put her new name on the marriage license but we weren't prompted and i figured that would come up if necessary. Can we go to SS and apply for the SSN with a new name? Or should we go to the clerk's office and see what they say?

Like @Mollie09 said, depends where you get married. My first marriage was in San Diego and it had a section at the bottom to opt in if I wanted to change my last name. But in my county in Texas where I married my now husband, there is no such thing. The marriage license itself is sufficient proof to change your documents (driver license, passport, work documents, etc).

[K1visaHopeful 2,817]

And you can try to update the name on your SSN card but you will likely be unsuccessful.

Most SSA agents dont know the rules for the K1 SSN process and rarely grant a name change until you receive your first immigration benefit (EAD or GC).