|-130 already submitted. Will overseas spouse changing her last name cause any issues?

[banjokaz 0]

Hey all! First post on this site!

 

My wife and I got married in Japan and we submitted our I-130 last year in October. I'm currently in the states and she's in Japan waiting for our approval.

 

She's now thinking of changing her last name to mine since Japan makes it super easy if it's done with 6 months of marriage, otherwise it's a LOT of paperwork to change it later.

 

By changing her last name, she'll receive a new Japanese passport and new driver's license with her new last name.

 

My questions is, will this cause any issues with our current I-130 form since it has her maiden name? And do we have to submit any new documents while the I-130 is pending? 

 

I've read some posts on the website saying it won't be a problem since the NVC stage asks for those documents but just wanted to double check! 

 

Thanks in advance for the help! 

[Lemonslice 5,025]

If she wants to change her name, now is a great time to do it. 
Passport in married name=Permanent residency card in her new name.  
 

Should she keep her passport in her maiden name, then her PR card will be in her maiden name.  Always possible to update later, but it is costly (card replacement), or further in the future (at removal of conditions, or citizenship).

 

No issue with your current i130.  She will bring her(new) passport to the interview, and fill everything after changing her name in her married name. 

[pushbrk 13,267]

No problem.  Just use the new name from NVC going forward. If you knew the firm intention to make the change, you could have filed in the married name, even if the change was not complete yet.

[banjokaz 0]

59 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

If she wants to change her name, now is a great time to do it. 
Passport in married name=Permanent residency card in her new name.  
 

Should she keep her passport in her maiden name, then her PR card will be in her maiden name.  Always possible to update later, but it is costly (card replacement), or further in the future (at removal of conditions, or citizenship).

 

No issue with your current i130.  She will bring her(new) passport to the interview, and fill everything after changing her name in her married name. 

Yea, that's also another benefit she was thinking of in regards to changing it. Makes it easier to get a driver's license here and whatnot. Thanks! 

 

 

41 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

No problem.  Just use the new name from NVC going forward. If you knew the firm intention to make the change, you could have filed in the married name, even if the change was not complete yet.

Ha, we had debated whether we should have filed with the married name but had no idea the process was harder down the like in Japan. Thus, we're doing it now. 

 

Thanks for confirmation about NVC!! 

[Lemonslice 5,025]

19 minutes ago, banjokaz said:

Yea, that's also another benefit she was thinking of in regards to changing it. Makes it easier to get a driver's license here and whatnot. Thanks! 

 

 

Ha, we had debated whether we should have filed with the married name but had no idea the process was harder down the like in Japan. Thus, we're doing it now. 

 

Thanks for confirmation about NVC!! 

I just want to add that this is a good plan, if she wants to change her name. 

If she prefers to keep her maiden name, that would not be an obstacle to immigration.  

[Crazy Cat 42,755]

11 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

If she prefers to keep her maiden name, that would not be an obstacle to immigration.  

My wife kept her last name.  It actually made for a smoother immigration process, I think.  Otherwise, she would have had to change investments, insurance, home country driver's license, etc. in her home country.  No one has ever questioned the fact that we have different legal last names. 

Edited Saturday at 09:54 PM by Crazy Cat

[Lemonslice 5,025]

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

My wife kept her last name.  It actually made for a smoother immigration process, I think.  Otherwise, she would have had to change investments, insurance, etc. in her home country.  No one has ever questioned the fact that we have different legal last names. 

Same, none of us changed name, zero hiccup with immigration.  

[banjokaz 0]

22 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

I just want to add that this is a good plan, if she wants to change her name. 

If she prefers to keep her maiden name, that would not be an obstacle to immigration.  

Oh. She WANTS to change her last name for sure! 

 

Long story short, Japan doesn't allow double last names so to make it easier for her life in America and Japan if we have kids, she wants to have my last name for an easy process with their names. 

 

16 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

My wife kept her last name.  It actually made for a smoother immigration process, I think.  Otherwise, she would have had to change investments, insurance, home country driver's license, etc. in her home country.  No one has ever questioned the fact that we have different legal last names. 

Yea, she's aware of that and will get a new passport, drivers license, and insurance card as well in Japan. I'm hoping they don't give us too much trouble for her having changed her name after we already submitted the 130.

[JD2 105]

8 hours ago, pushbrk said:

No problem.  Just use the new name from NVC going forward. If you knew the firm intention to make the change, you could have filed in the married name, even if the change was not complete yet.

Maybe this is a dumb question but how will they know it's the same person?  Won't the passport number be different in the new passport?

[Lemonslice 5,025]

31 minutes ago, JD2 said:

Maybe this is a dumb question but how will they know it's the same person?  Won't the passport number be different in the new passport?

The marriage certificate showing the maiden name, birth date and location, pictures, or other biometric details (most new passports are biometric) there are other ways to confirm it is the same person. 

Edited Sunday at 05:25 AM by Lemonslice

[pushbrk 13,267]

15 hours ago, JD2 said:

Maybe this is a dumb question but how will they know it's the same person?  Won't the passport number be different in the new passport?

The information on the  marriage certificate is the key.  People get new passports during the process often.  It's a non-issue.  They aren't worried you are bringing her sister instead, you know, somebody with the same address history and parents. 😜