Different last name on the SSN card and GC versus DL - which one is "legal"?

[True_South 10]

Hi guys,

 

So, apparently I can already file N-400 - married to USC for 4+ years and LPR since 30 Aug 2017. After getting married, I changed my last name on everything I could think of, starting with my SSN card - so it's hyphenated with my maiden name and my husband's last name. When my 2-year GC arrived, they'd dropped the hyphen (I hadn't caught it in the interview for that card). We then moved to a different state, and the local DMV used my GC non-hyphenated last name for the new DL. I haven't changed any of the long-term things (like banking info, SSN card) because I was going to have my name fixed on the 10-year GC anyway.

 

I've just received my 10-year GC with my last name corrected to include the hyphen. So basically I now have my GC, SSN card and the majority of other stuff (like debit/credit cards) carrying my correct last name, but my current DL has the last name with the error. I've scheduled an appointment at the DMV to get a new DL, but the earliest slot I was able to grab was like the last week of October.

 

My question is, do I understand correctly that first I should wait for my new DL with correct last name because that would be my legal name? It's just that in the Part 1 of the N-400 form question 1 reads "Your Current Legal Name", and then question 2 is "Your Name Exactly As It Appears on Your Permanent Resident Card", and then the instructions explain that as "Your current legal name is the name on your birth certificate unless it changed after birth by a legal action such as a marriage or court order." The state where we got married doesn't ask "what would you like your name to be now", so the most official thing for the name change that I have is my SSN card.

 

Hopefully my question makes sense 😬 Thanks!

[millefleur 5,047]

**Moved from US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports to US Citizenship General Discussion**

[Dashinka 24,825]

The marriage certificate functions as a legal name change document regardless of what it contains.  If you want to be safe, just list your name with the hyphen as your current legal name, and put it without the hyphen in the other names used section.

 

Good Luck!

[Undecided 78]

If the IO decides that there isn’t sufficient information to authenticate the name change (and its sounds as if there would be anyway) you would be told at interview and given the option to change your name to whatever you want it to be. Because my middle name wasn’t on my birth certificate I would have to change it to keep it. I’ve decided not to. That does mean I will have to change everything, but oh well, So I wouldn’t worry about it too much. 

[True_South 10]

On 8/5/2020 at 12:16 PM, Dashinka said:

The marriage certificate functions as a legal name change document regardless of what it contains.  If you want to be safe, just list your name with the hyphen as your current legal name, and put it without the hyphen in the other names used section.

Right on, that's what I was trying to figure out - if I can use my name as it is spelled on the GC for both questions. Seems like I can. Just trying to make sure I fill out the form as accurately as I possibly can. I hate RFEs and returned applications, it's so stupidly stressful. Thanks!