Seeking Guidance: Filing I-130 for Mother with Complex Name Changes and Religious Divorce

[ie1059 3]

Disclaimer: Names and scenarios are representative for privacy.

Hello visajourney.com community,

I'm preparing to file an I-130 petition for my mother and am encountering challenges due to multiple name changes and a religious divorce.

Here's a detailed breakdown to mirror my situation:

Birth Certificate Name: Let's use "Nora Hatim Ali" as an example, where "Hatim" represents my grandfather's name, offering context similar to my mother's situation.

Marriage Certificate Name: On the marriage certificate, her name appears as "Nora Mulla Hatim Alli", incorporating "Mulla" as a title, much like "Sir", which my grandfather adopted. This reflects the addition of a title. Note the additional letter 'L' added in 'Alli'

Passport Name When Married: For international travel, she adopted her husband's surname, becoming "Nora Ednan Khan" (assuming "Khan" represents my father's surname), which shows her moving away from her maiden name. Adnan assumed as my father's first name. Note spelling difference of Adnan vs Ednan.

Divorce Documentation: Their divorce was conducted through a religious ceremony. I'm doubtful if muslim divorce certificate is recgnized by indian local courts. The documentation lists my father with a variant surname, "Adnan Khan" becoming "Adnan Khaann", and my mother as "Nora Hatim Bakshi". "Bakshi" represents a new surname she adopted post-divorce, because my grandfather changed his surname from 'Alli' to 'Bakshi' during the time my mom and dad were married (27 years).

My Birth Certificate: Simplifies her name to just 'Nora' and my father's name as 'Adnan Irfan Khan'. My Name stated as 'Younus'

Post-Divorce Name Change: After the divorce, she chose "Nora Hatim Bakshi", as her official name which is there on her passport too. There's a government document called the gazette, that has proof of name change from "Nora Adnan Khan" to "Nora Hatim Bakshi". Note spelling of Adnan vs Ednan.

My official name everywhere: "Younus Adnan Khan"

Given USCIS guidelines, I understand that my birth certificate and proof of my citizenship might be initially sufficient to prove my relationship to my mother. I have gone ahead and done a DNA test as well and they have issued me a document that I can scan and upload (with a 'void' watermark popping up since they usually physically mail the result to USCIS on an RFE for DNA).

What documents are enough to make the i130 approval requirements? For now I'm uploading my birth certificate, my mother's current passport ("Nora Hatim Bakshi"), my citizenship certificate and US passport.

However, the name discrepancies and the nature of her divorce have raised concerns about potential complications in the I-130 application process.

Questions: How can I best document and explain the various name changes in the I-130 form to reflect the transition from "Nora Hatim Ali" to "Nora Mulla Hatim Alli" to "Nora Ednan Khan" and finally to "Nora Hatim Bakshi"? Considering the divorce was conducted through a religious ceremony without a formal court decree, what additional documentation might USCIS require? Are there specific strategies or documentation I should prepare to clarify these issues for USCIS?

I'm grateful for any advice or insights, particularly from those who have navigated similar complexities. Thank you!

 

[Lemonslice 4,796]

Start by checking the reciprocity schedule to make sure she has the right version of each document:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/India.html

[ie1059 3]

Thank you @Lemonslice
This helps me!