Submitting I-130 in beneficiary's married name, passport in maiden name

[JKLSemicolon 411]

Hello all,

 

I am almost ready to submit everything for our I-130 package.

 

We want to have my wife's green card issued with her married name (my last name). However, her Ecuadorian passport will always be in her maiden name, since Ecuador does not change names on passports due to marriage (Source: 1, 2).

 

From the second post in this discussion, "the name on your visa must match the name on your passport so if you are wanting to immigrate under your new name you will need to update your passport." Is that correct?

 

At this point all of the evidence I have gathered is under my wife's married name. Is this going to be a problem when the case goes to the Consulate?

 

All of the other cases from Ecuador involving name changes that I have found on this site did the K-1 process (which we had originally been doing), so I am not sure what will happen when seeking a CR-1.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Edited November 28, 2020 by JKLSemicolon

[Ryan H 3,812]

1 hour ago, JKLSemicolon said:

We want to have my wife's green card issued with her married name (my last name).

 

This is something you won't have any control over.  Unless Ecuadorian laws have changed since the discussions you cite have taken place (unlikely), then updating the passport to match the name won't be an option for you.  If your wife's green card is ultimately issued in her maiden name but she wants it her married name, it can be changed but there's a catch; an I-90 with the filing fee would have to be filed.

 

 

1 hour ago, JKLSemicolon said:

At this point all of the evidence I have gathered is under my wife's married name. Is this going to be a problem when the case goes to the Consulate?

 

No

[JKLSemicolon 411]

4 hours ago, Ryan H said:

 

This is something you won't have any control over.  Unless Ecuadorian laws have changed since the discussions you cite have taken place (unlikely), then updating the passport to match the name won't be an option for you.  If your wife's green card is ultimately issued in her maiden name but she wants it her married name, it can be changed but there's a catch; an I-90 with the filing fee would have to be filed.

 

 

 

No

Thanks for the response.

 

As long as it is not a problem to list my wife's married name in the beneficiary section of the I-130 and I-130A despite her passport remaining in her maiden name, I am okay with having to submit the I-90 and fee later to make the change to the green card. I just want to make sure that this will not pose a problem when it comes to processing the I-130 case, since at this point it would not make sense to change all of the evidence back to her maiden name unless there were a risk of delay or rejection. But if I understand you correctly, it should be fine, right?

 

Edited to add: we have listed her maiden name in the "other names used" section of the I-130.

Edited November 29, 2020 by JKLSemicolon

[Chancy 6,241]

9 minutes ago, JKLSemicolon said:

As long as it is not a problem to list my wife's married name in the beneficiary section of the I-130 and I-130A despite her passport remaining in her maiden name, I am okay with having to submit the I-90 and fee later to make the change to the green card.

 

Note that even if you use married name for the I-130/I-130A, the name in the DS-260 must match the name on the passport at the time of interview.  The name in the DS-260 will be the name on the visa and the green card.

 

[JKLSemicolon 411]

1 minute ago, Chancy said:

 

Note that even if you use married name for the I-130/I-130A, the name in the DS-260 must match the name on the passport at the time of interview.  The name in the DS-260 will be the name on the visa and the green card.

 

Thanks for clarifying that.

[Ryan H 3,812]

42 minutes ago, JKLSemicolon said:

But if I understand you correctly, it should be fine, right?

 

You understood correctly; just fill out applicable forms correctly (i.e. the other names used section which you have done with the I-130 and she'll do with the DS-260).

[JKLSemicolon 411]

I'm reviving this thread because it is almost time to fill out the DS-260, and I'm wondering what to do with this last name issue when it comes to getting a Social Security card.

 

So far based on this thread and other reading, my understanding is this:

• Although our case lists my wife as the beneficiary under her married name, we will have to fill out the DS-260 using her maiden name since that is what is on her passport. We included her maiden name in the "other names used" section of the I-130 so it will not be a problem.
• The visa and (eventually) Permanent Resident Card will be issued in her maiden name.
• Once she arrives in the U.S., we will have to submit form I-90, pay a fee, and (likely eventually) send in the original card to USCIS order to have a new card issued in her married name. We should be prepared to wait 6 months to a year for a new card, based on current USCIS processing times.
• If/when we have to send in the original green card, the I-551 stamp will take its place for up to 1 year after POE. And it's possible (though maybe difficult) to make an Infopass appointment to get a new I-551 stamp if the I-90 is still in progress after the 1-year mark.

Now, here is what I think will happen when it comes to a Social Security card:

• We check the box on the DS-260 saying we want the SSA to issue a number/card.
• The card will arrive in my wife's maiden name.
• We then go to the local SS office (assuming we can get an appointment) and apply for a name change. We will need the existing SS card, plus her Permanent Resident Card (or I-551 stamp) and marriage certificate.
• A new SS card with my wife's married name will then be sent in the mail.

Looking at the Social Security website, it seems like if we didn't check the box on the DS-260 it would not save any steps because they would still first need to issue a new card in her maiden name based on her immigration documents.

 

Does all that sound right?

Edited March 5, 2021 by JKLSemicolon

[JKLSemicolon 411]

Edited to add: we did submit the DS-260 using my wife's maiden name and with her married name in the "Other Names Used" section. Once that happened, NVC changed the Applicant name in CEAC to her maiden name.

 

 

I'm revisiting this thread with another question related to this situation:

 

When the green card is eventually mailed, what address will it go to? Is it the petitioner's mailing address provided on the I-130? Petitioner's physical address? Something else?

 

I'm asking because my mailing address is a mailbox at a local UPS Store. When I signed up for it (prior to creating this thread), I added my wife's married name so that she could also receive mail there.

 

However, based on the discussion above, the green card will be mailed to her maiden name, and I want to make sure that it will be delivered correctly. For the mailing address that will require additional paperwork. For the physical address I already have both names on the inside of the mailbox.

We are still many months away from needing this, but I am trying to think ahead.

Edited May 17, 2021 by JKLSemicolon

[JKLSemicolon 411]

I think I found the answer to my own question.

 

On the DS-260 we listed my physical address as the address where we want the Permanent Residence Card mailed.

 

And according to the USCIS Immigrant Fee page, the address can be updated if needed at the interview or at POE.

 

 

[Chancy 6,241]

31 minutes ago, JKLSemicolon said:

When the green card is eventually mailed, what address will it go to? Is it the petitioner's mailing address provided on the I-130? Petitioner's physical address? Something else?

 

In the DS-260 there is a section for Permanent US Address.  The GC will be sent to that address if your wife answered "Yes" to the question "Is this address where you want your GC mailed?"

 

Also, at POE, the inspecting CBP should confirm the address.  If they don't, your wife should make sure to tell the officer the address where she wants her GC and SSN mailed.

 

[JKLSemicolon 411]

1 minute ago, Chancy said:

 

In the DS-260 there is a section for Permanent US Address.  The GC will be sent to that address if your wife answered "Yes" to the question "Is this address where you want your GC mailed?"

 

Also, at POE, the inspecting CBP should confirm the address.  If they don't, your wife should make sure to tell the officer the address where she wants her GC and SSN mailed.

 

Thanks, that matches what I found after more searching.

[JKLSemicolon 411]

Following up here because I am not sure if my plan to change my wife's Social Security card to her married name will work until the new green card is issued.

 

This link from the SSA website, Definining the Legal name for an SSN, says the following (emphasis mine):

 

Quote

B. Evidence of legal name

2. Foreign born individual

A foreign-born person’s legal name is the name shown on his or her immigration document (includes hyphens and apostrophes).

The only time you may process an SSN application in a name that does not agree with the name shown on the immigration document is if the person legally changed his or her name after the immigration document is issued. In these situations, the legal name is the name shown on the evidence of the name change. For information on evidence of a name change, see RM 10212.010.

NOTE: For foreign students (F-1 and M-1) consider the name on Form I-20 the legal name. For exchange visitors (J-1), consider the name on the DS-2019 the legal name. For additional information see RM 10211.295 and RM 10211.375.

Name on immigration document and other evidence for an SSN are different

When the name shown on the immigration document differs from the name shown on other evidence submitted for an SSN, process the SSN in the name on the immigration document as long as the name can be derived from the other evidence (e.g., foreign passport). Different versions of the name shown on other required documents must be shown in the other name fields in the Enumeration system following RM 10205.130.

If the individual has a single name, see RM 10205.130B for instructions on entering the name shown on the immigration document in the “Other name used by number holder” field.

If the required documents show clearly different names, do not accept the evidence to process the SSN application. In these situations, the applicant must submit SSN evidence showing the same name or submit evidence of a name change after the immigration document was issued per RM 10212.010.

C. Background on legal name for foreign born SSN applicants

There may be events outside the US that are taken into account by foreign government or US agencies (e.g. Department of State) when issuing immigration documents bearing a person’s legal name.

When issuing immigration documents, the Department of State and Department of Homeland Security generally issue them in the person’s legal name. The legal name is also generally the name in which the foreign passport was issued.

 

My wife's passport and Permanent Resident Card will be in her maiden name, and since we got married before the date that the Permanent Resident card (i.e. the immigration document) will be issued, it looks like we wouldn't be able to change her name on the Social Security card until filing form I-90 and getting a new Permanent Resident card, which could take a year.

 

If that's the case, my main concern is that we filed for an ITIN this year under her married name and have been using her married name everywhere in the US (bank accounts, credit cards, insurance, retirement accounts, tax return, etc.) and it would be frustrating if we had to go back and change everything back to her maiden name once the SSN is issued.

 

 

It would be great to hear more from anyone who did the CR1/IR1 route where the beneficiary kept a maiden name in their home country and used their married name in the US. The only cases I can seem to find about that have been people adjusting status who have access to an EAD in the married name which avoids some of these issues.

[Chancy 6,241]

8 hours ago, JKLSemicolon said:

My wife's passport and Permanent Resident Card will be in her maiden name, and since we got married before the date that the Permanent Resident card (i.e. the immigration document) will be issued, it looks like we wouldn't be able to change her name on the Social Security card until filing form I-90 and getting a new Permanent Resident card, which could take a year.

 

I will be in the same situation because I can't get a new passport listing my married name, due to some civil registry requirements that I'm not able to submit.  I came to the conclusion that if I want an SSN card with my married name before naturalization, I would have to get a name change court order in the US.  I don't plan on changing the name on my green card.  Based on SSA policy, the court order will be sufficient evidence.  No need for my GC to also have my new name.

 

If your wife plans to file the I-90 anyway, she would probably need a name change court order as well.  The I-90 requires evidence that the name was legally changed after the issuance of the GC.