CR1 Visa Surname Naming Question

[pushbrk 12,868]

8 hours ago, mugatu300 said:

Not sure where you see that. He said "her Russian passport is still in her maiden name"

It would be nice if @Dashinkawould come back and clarify.  Seems something is missing in our understanding of "LATER".

[pushbrk 12,868]

1 minute ago, pushbrk said:

It would be nice if @Dashinkawould come back and clarify.  Seems something is missing in our understanding of "LATER", but from the timeline, he/she was a K1 case so the marriage came AFTER the visa.  In a K1 case the visa is always issued in the before marriage name.  Not applicable to a spouse visa case.

 

[Dashinka 24,479]

On 1/4/2023 at 11:17 AM, mugatu300 said:

So your wife's visa/GC was issued with your family name but her passport still has her original maiden surname? If that's the case, I will pursue that route. 

Slightly different as my wife came over on a K1, so her visa was in the name on her passport, but when we filed the I485, we used her new marriedname and the GC came in that name.  All during the time she was an LPR when she traveled, we bought the tickets in her maiden name to match her Russian passport, she always kept a certified copy of the marriage certificate with her in case anyone asked, but she had no issues.  When she naturalized, her US Passport is in her married name, so now we buy tickets using that name, and she only uses her Russian passport when entering Russia, she still keeps the marriage certificate with her.

 

I am not sure if on a spousal visa application you can do the same thing.  I expect the maiden/passport name will be on her visa, but I am not sure if you can request her GC to be in her married name.

 

Good Luck!

Edited January 6, 2023 by Dashinka

[pushbrk 12,868]

11 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Slightly different as my wife came over on a K1, so her visa was in the name on her passport, but when we filed the I485, we used her new marriedname and the GC came in that name.  All during the time she was an LPR when she traveled, we bought the tickets in her maiden name to match her Russian passport, she always kept a certified copy of the marriage certificate with her in case anyone asked, but she had no issues.  When she naturalized, her US Passport is in her married name, so now we buy tickets using that name, and she only uses her Russian passport when entering Russia, she still keeps the marriage certificate with her.

 

I am not sure if on a spousal visa application you can do the same thing.  I expect the maiden/passport name will be on her visa, but I am not sure if you can request her GC to be in her married name.

 

Good Luck!

IMO, that is a huge difference, not a slight difference.  Such a huge difference, it is meaningless to the OP.

 

[Dashinka 24,479]

4 hours ago, pushbrk said:

IMO, that is a huge difference, not a slight difference.  Such a huge difference, it is meaningless to the OP.

 

I guess I am not totally familiar with the details of the spousal visa relative to how USCIS and DoS do things differently.  In theory, one should be able to fill out the I130 in the married name regardless of what is on the passport, and the consulate should honor the marriage certificate to allow that so even if the visa must be issued in the name on the passport, the GC can be issued in the married name based on the I130 like the K1/AOS process.

 

Regardless, to the OP, it is probably best to change the passport prior to the Visa interview, and then make plans to do the name change at the naturalization stage if naturalization is the ultimate plan.

 

Apologies for adding any confusion.

 

Good Luck!

[pushbrk 12,868]

5 hours ago, Dashinka said:

I guess I am not totally familiar with the details of the spousal visa relative to how USCIS and DoS do things differently.  In theory, one should be able to fill out the I130 in the married name regardless of what is on the passport, and the consulate should honor the marriage certificate to allow that so even if the visa must be issued in the name on the passport, the GC can be issued in the married name based on the I130 like the K1/AOS process.

 

Regardless, to the OP, it is probably best to change the passport prior to the Visa interview, and then make plans to do the name change at the naturalization stage if naturalization is the ultimate plan.

 

Apologies for adding any confusion.

 

Good Luck!

What DOES HAPPEN and what you think SHOULD HAPPEN, are opposite.  They honor the marriage certificate in terms of legal marriage, but a marriage certificate is not necessarily a change of name.  It's an opening to changing a name, in many cultures, but not all, and only an opening.

[Dashinka 24,479]

36 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

What DOES HAPPEN and what you think SHOULD HAPPEN, are opposite.  They honor the marriage certificate in terms of legal marriage, but a marriage certificate is not necessarily a change of name.  It's an opening to changing a name, in many cultures, but not all, and only an opening.

However, a marriage certificate is a legal name change document in the US and USCIS and DoS are US entities that follow US law.  It is similar to same sex marriage which is unlawful in many countries, but a same sex married couple can get a US spousal visa based on US law.  Regardless, I understand it is much easier to change the name in the Foreign passport first, but that can be very tough in some countries that do not accept a marriage certificate as a legal name change document.

[pushbrk 12,868]

6 hours ago, Dashinka said:

However, a marriage certificate is a legal name change document in the US and USCIS and DoS are US entities that follow US law.  It is similar to same sex marriage which is unlawful in many countries, but a same sex married couple can get a US spousal visa based on US law.  Regardless, I understand it is much easier to change the name in the Foreign passport first, but that can be very tough in some countries that do not accept a marriage certificate as a legal name change document.

Nevertheless, this is a spouse visa case.  The marriage certificate is only the beginning of a name change process.  The name change itself is a somewhat different process in each country and the applicable process must be followed.  If the passport name is not changed, the visa and green card will be in the passport name, in spouse visa cases.  This topic is not a place to discuss opinions about what anybody thinks "should be" but what actually applies to the OP's case.

[mugatu300 8]

On 1/7/2023 at 5:38 PM, pushbrk said:

Nevertheless, this is a spouse visa case.  The marriage certificate is only the beginning of a name change process.  The name change itself is a somewhat different process in each country and the applicable process must be followed.  If the passport name is not changed, the visa and green card will be in the passport name, in spouse visa cases.  This topic is not a place to discuss opinions about what anybody thinks "should be" but what actually applies to the OP's case.

Ok well thank you very much for the clarification. So, under worst case scenario, if we are unable to change her Chinese passport to her married name prior to visa interview, both the visa and green card will be issued in her maiden name. I worry this may be the case as it seems changing Chinese passport name may be difficult from the information my fiancé has been able to gather.

 

If she plans on living in the US long term, having children here, and working here, do you think that would cause any issues down the line? At the moment, she does not plan on pursuing naturalization but would rather maintain her Chinese citizenship. Would she be able to obtain a US drivers license and open accounts (i.e. bank accounts, etc.) in her married name? Or would anytime she has to fill out paperwork in her lifetime would she have to use her maiden name? Thank you kindly in advance. 

[pushbrk 12,868]

8 hours ago, mugatu300 said:

Ok well thank you very much for the clarification. So, under worst case scenario, if we are unable to change her Chinese passport to her married name prior to visa interview, both the visa and green card will be issued in her maiden name. I worry this may be the case as it seems changing Chinese passport name may be difficult from the information my fiancé has been able to gather.

 

If she plans on living in the US long term, having children here, and working here, do you think that would cause any issues down the line? At the moment, she does not plan on pursuing naturalization but would rather maintain her Chinese citizenship. Would she be able to obtain a US drivers license and open accounts (i.e. bank accounts, etc.) in her married name? Or would anytime she has to fill out paperwork in her lifetime would she have to use her maiden name? Thank you kindly in advance. 

Her name is her name.  Unless she changes her name, she doesn't HAVE a "married name". 

 

Having children or planning to does not necessitate changing her name, but it is a common reason a Chinese woman might WANT to change her name.  You're marrying a woman from a different culture.  She's lived her whole life in a culture where couples have different surnames, and children have the Father's surname.  
 

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by pushbrk