Help with Family Name Change

[scott1956]

My wife wants to take my family name as her family name - we were married in China so her name was not changed at that time. She received her 2 year conditional GC in her maiden name and when we went to Social Security office to get her SS# they would not allow her to change her name. We provided a certified english translated marriage certificate from China, but they said we needed to show a marriage certificate after she arrived in US (to support different name than GC) otherwise name would be same as GC. We have now received her social security card in her maiden name which again matches her GC and her passport.

 

My question is how to change name on social security card now. Do we have to have her name changed on her green card? Is this even possible? It seems like it would be a real hassle to change her name on the green card and possibly expensive. Maybe we could just go to the court house and get re-married here in California and then request a new SS card with name change based on marriage? Or?????

[lostinblue]

I may have read that some where. That you may need to get remarried in order to change your name. Or maybe the town clerk mentioned that when we applied for our marriage license. For SS card.

[skibum]

If she will become a USC, why not just wait and change it on that form.

[LeeFisher3]

I may have read that some where. That you may need to get remarried in order to change your name. Or maybe the town clerk mentioned that when we applied for our marriage license. For SS card.

It is not quite legal to get married when you are already married, even if it is to the same person.

[LeeFisher3]

My wife wants to take my family name as her family name - we were married in China so her name was not changed at that time. She received her 2 year conditional GC in her maiden name and when we went to Social Security office to get her SS# they would not allow her to change her name. We provided a certified english translated marriage certificate from China, but they said we needed to show a marriage certificate after she arrived in US (to support different name than GC) otherwise name would be same as GC. We have now received her social security card in her maiden name which again matches her GC and her passport.

 

My question is how to change name on social security card now. Do we have to have her name changed on her green card? Is this even possible? It seems like it would be a real hassle to change her name on the green card and possibly expensive. Maybe we could just go to the court house and get re-married here in California and then request a new SS card with name change based on marriage? Or?????

It is possible to do a name change after receiving the green card using form I-90 at a cost of $260 for the new card and biometrics, but IMHO it is not worth the expense and grief. Also, the fee may be going up by the end of the month.

 

I would recommend waiting until you file the I-751 for removal of conditions and file it in her married name, listing her Chinese name in Part 3 #1. You could include a letter of explanation concerning her desire to adopt the US custom of adopting her husbands family name, but don't go into too much detail as it only gives them the ability to ask more questions for such a simple thing.

 

There is nothing to prevent her from beginning to use her married name now.

[scott1956]

I suppose she can use her married name, but for the medical insurance, bank accounts, dental insurance, eye insurance, drivers license, work, life insurance, taxes, school, etc. she can't really use her married name - because she doesn't have any legal documents with her married name. Or am I missing something. She does plan on becoming a USC and we will be lifting conditions in Jan. 2009, but the longer we wait, the more documents, ID's, beneficiary, etc will have to be changed. I was just hoping that there was a simple way to have her name changed... silly me I work for the government I ought to know better.

[jim_julian]

We are in California and have been through similar issues, Scott, I recommend she go through a legal name change procedure. Cali, as I'm sure you know, is just too damn rigid to apply common sense.

[SirLancelot]

We are in California and have been through similar issues, Scott, I recommend she go through a legal name change procedure. Cali, as I'm sure you know, is just too damn rigid to apply common sense.

 

CA use to be one of the easiest states to change names. But now it's almost impossible to change name without going through the court process, be it through the naturalization process or through petitioning your local superior court to legalize a name change. But you also have to advertise in a local newspaper that your name is being changed. That's the most annoying part.

[scott1956]

Yes very annoying - I have contacted a company that will petition the court and place the ad in the local newspaper for a $80 fee which seems reasonable, but still very frustrating considering that we have done everything possible to ensure we have complied with all the laws already. And it is very strange that Homeland Security uses our certified translated marriage certificate as a basis for the CR-1 status, but the Social Security Office would not use it for a name change - go figure.

[David&Wendy]

This is a related subject to the family name change.

 

I'm bringing my SO to America on a K1.

At what point do I submit the paperwork to change her family name to mine?

[Randy W]

This is a related subject to the family name change.

 

I'm bringing my SO to America on a K1.

At what point do I submit the paperwork to change her family name to mine?

 

 

Get married, get your SS, apply for Texas ID or TDL and AOS in her married name and you're home free.

[Yuanyang]

We were CR-1 all the way thru (i.e. no K3) and when we applied for a SSN no problem at all when she said she wanted my family name added to her name.

[dnoblett]

Changing Your Name in California

 

by Attorney Emily Doskow

 

Changing your name in California is simple. Here are the basics.

 

What's in a name? Lots, if the number of people who change their names in California every year is any indication. Fortunately, name changes are not complicated, even though we strongly recommend that in most cases you use court proceedings (the "court method"), rather than the old "usage" method, to change your name. (It used to be fairly simple to just pick a new name, start using it, and ask agencies like the DMV and Social Security to change your records. After a few years, your new name would become your official legal name.) Today, because of identity theft and fears about terrorism, most agencies will require that you have a court order changing your name before they will change your records.

The Marriage Exception

 

Taking spouse's name. The only exception to using the court method is if you are changing your name after getting married -- as long as one spouse is taking the other spouse's name. In this situation, you can just take your marriage license to the DMV and fill out a simple form. You can do the same with the Social Security Administration. But in all other situations, you'll want to use the court method, including if you and your spouse both want to change your names to a completely new name.

 

Domestic partners. For a short time, the DMV treated registered domestic partners like married couples for purposes of name changes after marriage -- but no more. Even though it's inconsistent with California law stating that domestic partners should be treated like married couples, the DMV won't change one partner's name to match the other's after registration. You'll need to use the court method -- or get a lawyer and fight the unfair policy.

Limits on New Names

 

You can change your own name or the name of your child through the court method. You can switch to just about any name you want, with a few exceptions:

• You can't change your name to the same name as a famous person if you're doing it for fraudulent purposes or to benefit financially, or if it will cast the famous person in a negative light.
   
  
• You usually can't use fictitious names that are protected by copyright (like Harry Potter or R2D2).
   
  
• You can't use racial slurs or fighting words.
  

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/ObjectID/B...4F/118/121/ART/

[jim_julian]

This is a related subject to the family name change.

 

I'm bringing my SO to America on a K1.

At what point do I submit the paperwork to change her family name to mine?

 

 

Get married, get your SS, apply for Texas ID or TDL and AOS in her married name and you're home free.

 

Emphasizing what Randy said, file the I-485 and related documents in her married name even though you could read the instructions otherwise. We did not, just said in a cover letter that we wanted the GC in her married name, and it took two months to straighten it out.

[dnoblett]

Emphasizing what Randy said, file the I-485 and related documents in her married name even though you could read the instructions otherwise. We did not, just said in a cover letter that we wanted the GC in her married name, and it took two months to straighten it out.

They have a CR-1 visa, no AOS involved, just enter the USA and green card will be in the mail in maiden name, so only way to get name changed on the green-card is by filing I-90 and pay a fee or wait the 2 years and do it when lifting conditions as Lee suggested. Edited June 6, 2007 by dnoblett (see edit history)