Pros and cons of name change (China-specific)

[Hemutian 68]

I know this topic has been discussed before, but those threads are years old, so thought I'd get a fresh perspective.

We're planning a county clerk marriage in two days. Haven't yet decided whether she'll keep her Chinese surname, or take mine (and use her Chinese surname as a new "middle name").

 

Here's a brief summary of some of the pros and cons I identified in earlier threads on this topic. Are there any others to be aware of?

 

Pros (partial list):

• I didn't actually see this directly stated anywhere, but it occurs to me that one benefit of a Chinese wife taking her American husband's surname is that it counts towards the "relationship bonafides" evidence list. (is this true?)
• Helps beneficiary more thoroughly adapt to life in America, an English language environment, etc
• For those worried about the maiden name on her Chinese passport not matching her married name on her travel document, she can always get an "addendum" page added to her Chinese passport (thanks @RandyW )

 

Cons (partial list):

• In 2013,  @Darnell wrote that his Chinese wife keeping her maiden surname "Makes ID very easy - just think about changing her hukuo book, china id card, china passport, etc - what a PITA !" (My question to Darnell, updated to 2019, is this: is it really necessary for her to actually change her hukou book, China ID card, Chinese passport, etc? I guess if her passport was about to expire it might be an issue, but my fiancee's is good for 7 years. If she did take my name, couldn't she just keep her Chinese documents for use in China, and use her US documents in the US? As for airlines it appears that the marriage certificate should "connect" the maiden to the married name. I suppose the hassle is one isn't really given a chance to submit a marriage certificate in the airline ticket online booking process, triggering the need for phone booking, which can have extra costs?)
• Keeping her maiden name is a sign of respect for her heritage and culture. It's a way for her to keep a visceral connection with her homeland. And on the practical side, her Chinese surname is very easy to read and pronounce by Americans (unlike certain Chairmans of the Party's Chinese surnames).

Edited October 3, 2019 by Hemutian
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[givionte 138]

In my case, my wife and I decided she would take my surname when she is ready to be naturalized.  It seems to me to be less of a pain, since going through the naturalization process a name change is pretty straightforward, and will be tied to her American passport and other identification.  At that point she will likely shred her Chinese passport, and have already closed or transitioned anything in her name in China.  We just felt doing a name change in China would waste time and money at this point, and cause confusion with all the documents for the I-130 and other immigration forms. She can verbally take my name regardless for the time being, so it's not really a big deal I want to waste time and effort on.

 

I've never seen before a name change being considered evidence.  I would consider it secondary evidence at best.

[Dashinka 24,512]

4 hours ago, Hemutian said:

I know this topic has been discussed before, but those threads are years old, so thought I'd get a fresh perspective.

We're planning a county clerk marriage in two days. Haven't yet decided whether she'll keep her Chinese surname, or take mine (and use her Chinese surname as a new "middle name").

 

Here's a brief summary of some of the pros and cons I identified in earlier threads on this topic. Are there any others to be aware of?

 

Pros (partial list):

• I didn't actually see this directly stated anywhere, but it occurs to me that one benefit of a Chinese wife taking her American husband's surname is that it counts towards the "relationship bonafides" evidence list. (is this true?)

No, this is not evidence as people do all sorts of things with their family name based on marriage from not changing it, to using hyphens.  I don't see there being any extra weight given at AOS, or ROC because the spouse adopted the other spouse's family name.

4 hours ago, Hemutian said:

• Helps beneficiary more thoroughly adapt to life in America, an English language environment, etc
• For those worried about the maiden name on her Chinese passport not matching her married name on her travel document, she can always get an "addendum" page added to her Chinese passport (thanks @RandyW )

 

Cons (partial list):

• In 2013,  @Darnell wrote that his Chinese wife keeping her maiden surname "Makes ID very easy - just think about changing her hukuo book, china id card, china passport, etc - what a PITA !" (My question to Darnell, updated to 2019, is this: is it really necessary for her to actually change her hukou book, China ID card, Chinese passport, etc? I guess if her passport was about to expire it might be an issue, but my fiancee's is good for 7 years. If she did take my name, couldn't she just keep her Chinese documents for use in China, and use her US documents in the US? As for airlines it appears that the marriage certificate should "connect" the maiden to the married name. I suppose the hassle is one isn't really given a chance to submit a marriage certificate in the airline ticket online booking process, triggering the need for phone booking, which can have extra costs?)
• Keeping her maiden name is a sign of respect for her heritage and culture. It's a way for her to keep a visceral connection with her homeland. And on the practical side, her Chinese surname is very easy to read and pronounce by Americans (unlike certain Chairmans of the Party's Chinese surnames).

Russia also has difficulties in changing names in their international passports due to the presence of the national ID (commonly called the Domestic Passport).  I am not aware of someone from Russia being able to get an addendum added to the travel passport.  In my wife's case, she did choose to take my family name when we got married.  We got her GC and DL in her married name, but her Russian passport was still in her previous name.  This was not an issue for the most part when she traveled, but just this last August when she was leaving Russia, passport control gave her a hard time about the name differences.  We may look into getting everything changed eventually, but that would require a legal name change document for the Russian domestic passport as Russia does not accept our marriage certificate as authority, time will tell.

 

In the end, the choice to change one's family name should be up to the individual, I did not pressure my wife, or even mention the possibility, it was completely her choice.

[RandyW 149]

For clarity, I have copied the link on how to get a name change for a Chinese passport.

 

http://www.visarite.com/Chinese_Passport_Name_Amendmant_Unable.htm

[Hemutian 68]

2 hours ago, RandyW said:

For clarity, I have copied the link on how to get a name change for a Chinese passport.

 

http://www.visarite.com/Chinese_Passport_Name_Amendmant_Unable.htm

Thanks, Randy,

 

So what is your final recommendation? Change her name, or keep her Chinese surname? (Or do you think it's really up to the individual and doesn't matter either way?)

Her Chinese surname is RAO, which as I said, is kind of a nice surname, really easy for Americans to read and pronounce.

[nosleep 130]

Interesting topic that I have only just begun to think about.  I think in our case it would be easier to keep her name for a few reasons.  It seems easier to keep it; we are a little older and don't expect to have children together that would potentially cause problems with last name; I don't believe changing names is common in China(I could be wrong); and it keeps things interesting.  Ultimately I will leave the decision to her, but I don't think it's necessary.  

 

 

 

 

[RandyW 149]

4 hours ago, Hemutian said:

Thanks, Randy,

 

So what is your final recommendation? Change her name, or keep her Chinese surname? (Or do you think it's really up to the individual and doesn't matter either way?)

Her Chinese surname is RAO, which as I said, is kind of a nice surname, really easy for Americans to read and pronounce.

Personal choice. Between the Chinese ID and passport, her green card, and the marriage license  that SHOULD be enough to keep everyone (for example airline counter clerks) happy. If not, call for a supervisor until you reach someone who can straighten them out.

 

I believe most Chinese women will keep their maiden name, even in the U.S.

[Hemutian 68]

8 hours ago, RandyW said:

Personal choice. Between the Chinese ID and passport, her green card, and the marriage license  that SHOULD be enough to keep everyone (for example airline counter clerks) happy. If not, call for a supervisor until you reach someone who can straighten them out.

 

I believe most Chinese women will keep their maiden name, even in the U.S.

That's what she decided when we filed for the marriage license today. I think everything will be just fine!

[bigdog 376]

We opted to use her last name as a middle name (for her green card) that way even an immigration officer can see she is married and have consistent mane usage.  She has a AZ DL (Traveler License) and a TSA frequent traveler ID.  Hope that helps as the wife is still traveling on a China Passport.  She reenters the USA with her Global Traveler ID and her Green Card.  She has flown domestically and internationally, cruised with no issues.

[Scott001 128]

My wife kept her last name after we got married. We figured it would be a huge PIA for her since she would have to update her information in China and Japan. If we were younger she would have changed it (so she says haha).

 

We never thought that changing her last name would make it easier to transition. I mean it is America, people's last names are all over the place. Plus we'll be living in an area were people are used to Asian last names. 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by Scott001

[RamonGomez 271]

Not worth it for us. Just another opportunity for USCIS to screw things up. Plus the PIA with everything else. My wife actually offered to change her last name but I preferred she keep it.

 

On top of that, names like Ying Smith or Qing Kraczinki seem, to be quite frank, odd. 

[Chris and ZhiJia 146]

Just my input here. My Wife took on my last name when we got married 4 years ago, and since then has travelled back to China multiple times, as well as a recent 3 week trip to South America. Her Green Card is in her Married name, her Passport and Visa are in her Chinese name. She always keeps a copy of our Marriage Certificate with her, and has experienced no problems domestic, or abroad. 

Everyone else's experiences will differ, but she has not experienced any problems. She even recently got a Travel Document (because her Passport was stolen), and then replaced her Passport. The were no problems, or delays due to the different names on the documents.