Drop one Hispanic last name on I-130?

[SansTortoise 21]

My husband (both male) and I are filling out form I-130. He would prefer to drop his maternal last name on US legal documents such as SSN, GC, and eventually passport, but we also don’t want to cause any issue with USCIS/NVC.

 

Searching the forum, it seems that some people have had luck with using only the paternal last name as the main name, and then using the full last name as an additional name used.

 

Any advice/experience would be appreciated. 

[D-R-J 192]

Hmm. Maybe others will chime in. My wife changed her name during her citizenship process and that was pretty easy if it comes to that.

[SansTortoise 21]

Just now, D-R-J said:

Hmm. Maybe others will chime in. My wife changed her name during her citizenship process and that was pretty easy if it comes to that.

Yes, I know it’s possible during the citizenship process; but this is more for the green card.

 

Basically the custom in many Spanish-speaking countries is to have a paternal and maternal last name, but to primarily use the paternal for everything but legal purposes.

 

He’d prefer to just drop the maternal last name at the green card stage for simplicity’s sake rather than to have two last names and have to legally change it on all the paperwork in 3 years.

[D-R-J 192]

Ok, check this link: https://fam.state.gov/fam/08fam/08fam040301.html

 

8 FAM 403.1-5(A)  Acceptable Immaterial Discrepancies

…

 

(5)  Drop a last name if the applicant has two or more last names (e.g., “John Smith Jones” to “John Jones”).  There is no restriction on which of the two last names the applicant may drop.  Even if an applicant drops a last name, it must still be entered into the name clearance field in TDIS/ACS (see 8 FAM 501.3 on entering names for clearance)

[SansTortoise 21]

11 minutes ago, D-R-J said:

Ok, check this link: https://fam.state.gov/fam/08fam/08fam040301.html

 

8 FAM 403.1-5(A)  Acceptable Immaterial Discrepancies

…

 

(5)  Drop a last name if the applicant has two or more last names (e.g., “John Smith Jones” to “John Jones”).  There is no restriction on which of the two last names the applicant may drop.  Even if an applicant drops a last name, it must still be entered into the name clearance field in TDIS/ACS (see 8 FAM 501.3 on entering names for clearance)

Thanks, that seems to suggest that State wouldn’t have any issues with it (even though it doesn’t cover DS-260 within its scope.)

 

There doesn’t seem to be similar guidance for I-130/USCIS so maybe someone with experience there could chime in.

[D-R-J 192]

The DS-260 instructions definitely say names should match passport.

 

🤷‍♂️

[SansTortoise 21]

5 minutes ago, D-R-J said:

The DS-260 instructions definitely say names should match passport.

 

🤷‍♂️

Right — but I’m specifically asking about I-130 and USCIS and if someone from a Hispanic country has experience getting USCIS to issue a green card using only the paternal last name. Not about naturalization or what the consulate will do.

 

State is going to issue a visa using the name in the passport.
 

The question is if by filling out I-130 with one name and then listing both last names as other names used, USCIS will process the application/will issue a green card with one last name.

 

I figured this was a fairly common occurrence since it’s the norm in most of the Hispanic world, but there’s not much on here about the topic.

[pushbrk 12,876]

I'm not aware of a way to request such a change.  Dropping the maternal name on the I-130 does not remove the requirement to have the name on the DS 260 match the passport resulting in the visa and green card being issued in the passport name.  The solution that comes to mind is to drop it in the current passport.  Is that possible in his country?

[SansTortoise 21]

3 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

I'm not aware of a way to request such a change.  Dropping the maternal name on the I-130 does not remove the requirement to have the name on the DS 260 match the passport resulting in the visa and green card being issued in the passport name.  The solution that comes to mind is to drop it in the current passport.  Is that possible in his country?

Unfortunately, no. Both surnames are required.

 

I saw some old posts on here/other Internet forums that suggested that there was a USCIS/State disconnect on this and that I-130 under one name would result in a green card under one name even if DS-260 uses both and state would issue the IV under both.
 

But most of those were a decade plus old and were light on details. Figured it was worth asking in case anyone had more recent experience.

[D-R-J 192]

This USCIS site references the same State document. Seems to indicate they have the same policy, but instruction everywhere say names should match passport.
 

Hopefully we will hear from someone with first hand experience. 

 

I would be hesitant to do anything that would delay immigration if I were in your shoes. I wonder if it’s the kind of thing that can be addressed at the interview.

 

I wonder if it would be helpful to have moderators move this to a regional forum.

[Lemonslice 4,836]

If he's able to have his passport modified to the name he wants, before the interview at the consulate, his visa will be issued in that name.

[JKLSemicolon 411]

Just a data point here that at the DS-260 stage the DOS changed the beneficiary’s last name in their system to match the passport (with both paternal and maternal last names) despite the I-130 being approved by USCIS with a different last name (in this case, the married name). As a result, the visa and green card were issued based on what was on the passport.

We’re currently waiting until citizenship to do any name change because of this; your mileage may vary.

 

[Lemonslice 4,836]

5 hours ago, JKLSemicolon said:

Just a data point here that at the DS-260 stage the DOS changed the beneficiary’s last name in their system to match the passport (with both paternal and maternal last names) despite the I-130 being approved by USCIS with a different last name (in this case, the married name). As a result, the visa and green card were issued based on what was on the passport.

We’re currently waiting until citizenship to do any name change because of this; your mileage may vary.

 

I've never seen the visa being issued in another name than the one in the passport.  OP's husband should update his passport before the interview, if it's important to him.

[JKLSemicolon 411]

11 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

I've never seen the visa being issued in another name than the one in the passport.  OP's husband should update his passport before the interview, if it's important to him.

 

If updating the passport name is possible, I agree that would be one way to go about it. Many countries don't allow it but maybe @SansTortoise could specify which country we are talking about here.