Passport Name Different than AP

[slavaskii 886]

Good morning! My wife and I are finalizing a trip to visit her family in Poland. I searched this question before, but want to understand completely the answer & what to prepare for - my wife's passport (Belarus) has her maidan name, whereas her EAD/AP combo card has her married name. It is impossible to update the Belarusian passport. Given this, I understand the following:

 

1. We need to book the tickets under the name on her passport (i.e., maidan name);
2. If the tickets ask for any reentry permit number, this should be the card number on her AP;
3. She is fine reentering the US with only the unexpired combo card and passport, and presenting these at check-in should not produce any issues; and
4. She should additionally carry both her Form I-485 receipt notice and our marriage certificate.

 

Additionally, is there anything I can print out to provide for the airline staff to ensure they know she can travel with the different surnames? I have had extremely bad experiences myself with staff (particularly in FRA - story for another time), and my worst fear is the airline not letting my wife leave Poland because they can't understand what's going on. TIA!

 

*I also wanted to confirm: it is not necessary to maintain an unexpired passport throughout the immigration process, correct? We are on over 14 months waiting for the Green Card, and the passport will expire before eligibility for naturalization. The passport is fine for this trip (will not expire w/in 6 months). 

[Dashinka 24,372]

You are spot-on with your numbered bullet points.  The only thing I would add is make a couple of copies of the documents in case an airline employee wants to keep them.  You can also keep the link for the carrier guide CBP publishes (below), the relevant page is 10.

 

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2019-Mar/2019 Carrier Information Guide - ENGLISH.pdf

 

To my knowledge, you will be fine with an expired passport relative to the naturalization process.

 

Good Luck!

[slavaskii 886]

On 10/17/2023 at 11:14 AM, Dashinka said:

You are spot-on with your numbered bullet points.  The only thing I would add is make a couple of copies of the documents in case an airline employee wants to keep them.  You can also keep the link for the carrier guide CBP publishes (below), the relevant page is 10.

 

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2019-Mar/2019 Carrier Information Guide - ENGLISH.pdf

 

To my knowledge, you will be fine with an expired passport relative to the naturalization process.

 

Good Luck!

Thank you so much! Just wanted to cycle back to say that I bought the tickets, but interestingly, neither United or Lufthansa asked for passport / visa information. This could be because the flight is originating in the US? I may call tomorrow if I have time; I distinctly recall having to put this information down in the past. 

 

Now for the second 'fun' part - renewing the Schengen! 

[slavaskii 886]

Hi all - I hope this isn't considered necro'ing my own thread, but I wanted to come back and report that everything went well. It was, as anticipated, impossible to check-in online (both for the outbound and inbound trip); however, no questions were asked as to what AP meant. There were several immigration checks on the overall journey and each was pleasant. Immigration at IAD is always a good experience.

 

I verified that my wife's class of admission was properly entered as "DA." Nonetheless, I noticed that the Form I-94 (logically) lists her information as "[FIRST NAME] [MAIDAN NAME]" as this is what's reflected on her passport. Will USCIS still be advised she re-entered because all her USCIS documents for AOS are instead her married name? I'm unsure if we have to send some notice to USCIS or if that's all taken care of because it will be matched up with the passport information.

 

Thanks all in advance.

Edited January 11 by slavaskii

[OldUser 6,466]

11 hours ago, slavaskii said:

Hi all - I hope this isn't considered necro'ing my own thread, but I wanted to come back and report that everything went well. It was, as anticipated, impossible to check-in online (both for the outbound and inbound trip); however, no questions were asked as to what AP meant. There were several immigration checks on the overall journey and each was pleasant. Immigration at IAD is always a good experience.

 

I verified that my wife's class of admission was properly entered as "DA." Nonetheless, I noticed that the Form I-94 (logically) lists her information as "[FIRST NAME] [MAIDAN NAME]" as this is what's reflected on her passport. Will USCIS still be advised she re-entered because all her USCIS documents for AOS are instead her married name? I'm unsure if we have to send some notice to USCIS or if that's all taken care of because it will be matched up with the passport information.

 

Thanks all in advance.

You're overthinking this.

I-94 will match name on passport, that's correct.

If AOS forms have married name, that's also OK, as you would have included marriage certificate proving how the maiden and married names are related.

They can mismatch, that's OK. In ideal world, I always advice to only change the name during N-400 to avoid mismatch on different IDs and simplify immigration. But in real world people want to use their married names as soon as they get married and that's their right.

Edited January 12 by OldUser

[Chancy 6,241]

On 1/11/2024 at 11:26 AM, slavaskii said:

Will USCIS still be advised she re-entered because all her USCIS documents for AOS are instead her married name? I'm unsure if we have to send some notice to USCIS or if that's all taken care of because it will be matched up with the passport information.

 

The I-485 has a section for "Other Names You Have Used Since Birth".  Your wife listed her maiden name in that section, right?

 

[slavaskii 886]

20 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

The I-485 has a section for "Other Names You Have Used Since Birth".  Your wife listed her maiden name in that section, right?

 

Thank you both! Yes, she listed her maiden name in that section and, as required, the marriage certificate was included with the AOS packet; so it seems all is perfectly fine. Appreciate your quick responses very much.