Name change in passport -- Chicago consulate

[peterh]

Has anyone gone to the Chinese consulate in Chicago to submit for a name change (or more apt, to get the "also known as" page)? We had tried to contact them by phone, but we've never gotten through. We sent a bunch of questions to them via email, but they only answered a small portion of them. We're going to visit my family in that area anyway, so I thought we'd pop in and try to update my wife's passport.

 

1) They've told us to bring marriage certificate, passport, and green card. Has anyone needed anything else? Cash, check, passport photos? Is there an application we should fill out in advance?

2) Can we just walk in during the morning and hope we get what we need?

3) Do they process the passport that same day?

4) Anything we cannot bring in? Cell phones? 3 month old baby?

5) It is the 1 East Erie St. address, not the 100 West Erie St. address, correct? I realize they're only a few blocks away, but I'd rather go to the right one.

 

Thanks for any information. We just want this page added in her passport so she could get plane tickets in her married name and not worry about carrying around the marriage certificate anymore.

[dnoblett]

We never bothered with the addendum to passport.

 

When my wife renewed passport on her first visit to China, they would not do it.

 

Eventually my wife did get passport in married name after becoming a U.S. Citizen her American passport is in married name.

[Randy W]

I THINK Dan means they wouldn't provide the addendum in China. You shouldn't have any trouble in Chicago, although same day service is probably a bit much to hope for. If you want to save another trip, you might provide a FedEx mailer envelope.

 

But no, I haven't been to Chicago.

[warpedbored]

My wife and I did this in San Francisco. I assume the process is not much different in Chicago. In a nutshell they add an adendum that says something to the effect of "The person on this passport is also known as ...." They don't actually change the main page. All that was needed was her passport, her green card and a copy of our marriage certificate.

[peterh]

If this helps anyone, here is our experience when we went to the Chicago Chinese consulate today. We arrived at 10:30, got a number, and was called up to the teller in about 10 minutes. He told us that we could not get her name changed in her passport. We tried to explain that we didn't want to change her name, but only get an addendum added stating she was also known by another name. No luck. Then he and another guy proceeded to tell us that we needed a court document that showed her name change, despite the fact that the marriage certificate clearly shows her legal name change. He had said something to the effect of "you can't change your name just because you felt like it, you need to go to court to change it." After about 5 minutes of arguing (I don't speak Mandarin, so I'm going by what my wife later told me), he gave her an application, said to fill it out, and maybe it would get approved.

 

She filled out what she could, then we decided to get another number instead of going back to the original teller. My wife explained the situation to this different teller, and said that she didn't feel the form was appropriate since she wasn't trying to apply for a new/replacement passport. We (I decided to get involved this time around, and the teller spoke English) also asked her how her green card could have her new name if the name change as shown in the marriage certificate wasn't legal. The second teller basically agreed, and she had us fill out a few more fields, and then told us to come back at 2pm to pick up her passport. We had lunch, came back, paid $35, and got her passport. Unfortunately, they abbreviated her middle name to just an initial, which I wasn't happy with since I expected her full legal name, but they told her they would only match the name as shown on the green card. I didn't feel it was worth arguing. But it makes me feel like we still need to purchase airplane tickets in her old name.

 

1) They've told us to bring marriage certificate, passport, and green card. Has anyone needed anything else? Cash, check, passport photos? Is there an application we should fill out in advance?

They did ask for a passport photo, so I'm glad we brought some along.

2) Can we just walk in during the morning and hope we get what we need?

After arguing with them, sure.

3) Do they process the passport that same day?

Surprisingly, yes.

4) Anything we cannot bring in? Cell phones? 3 month old baby?

Cell phones and a poopy baby were allowed.

5) It is the 1 East Erie St. address, not the 100 West Erie St. address, correct? I realize they're only a few blocks away, but I'd rather go to the right one.

1 East Erie is correct.

[MikeandRong]

Has anyone gone to the Chinese consulate in Chicago to submit for a name change (or more apt, to get the "also known as" page)? We had tried to contact them by phone, but we've never gotten through. We sent a bunch of questions to them via email, but they only answered a small portion of them. We're going to visit my family in that area anyway, so I thought we'd pop in and try to update my wife's passport.

 

1) Cash, check? They won't take cash. Money order from Post Office only, or Mastercard/Discover, not Visa and not Amex, as of 10/2014.

 

3) Do they process the passport that same day? Only if your there when they open and pay extra, because it took about 4 hours. Closed for lunch, and closes early, so watch the times.