Name change in Green Card for my Daughter

[umam]

Hello,

Me, my spouse & my daughter have GC & we will be applying for US Citizenship by next year(2006) as we are completing 5 years after GC...

My daughter is born in INDIA & so her initial or last name is my husbands first name... --->
Aishwarya K(India Birth certificate)
Aishwarya Kumaran(India Passport & GC)

As per new rule opened by Ms. Jaya Lalitha states that mothers inital or first name can be added to childs name.. I want to add my name to her name to appear as

Aishwarya U.K or Aishwarya Uma Kumaran

May i know the procedure to change her name in INDIAN Passport & Green Card? so that she will be identified as Aishwarya Uma Kumaran??

Thanks
Uma

[sg_orl]

I assume that your daughter is < 18 yrs old so only you and your husband will apply for citizenship. On the day you or your husband take US citizenship oath and your daugher is < 18 yrs old on that day, your daughter will automatically become US citizen. You will be able to get your daughter US passport along with your and your husband's passport.

If you want to change the name of your daughter NOW, you will do it in the local county court in the area of your residence. After that, you will apply for getting her Indian passport with the new name. There is a Misc Service Form on the Indian consulate's website. This can be done by mail, although will take time and money. You will then have to file I-90 with the USCIS to get a new green card with the new name for your daughter.

To keep it simple and less expensive, you may want to wait until your or your husband becomes US citizen, then change your daughter's at the local county court house and apply for US passport for your daughter with the new name!

[umam]

Thanks for the reply...

My daughter is 5yr old now... Few questions...

1. Do we need to complete the exact 5 years after GC (starting from date mentioned in GC) to apply for Dual Citizenship?

2. If we are applying for Dual Citizenship,
Do i need to change my daughers name in local court House in INDIA as well as in USA court house before applying for new INDIA & USA passport?

[sg_orl]

Originally Posted by umam

Thanks for the reply...

My daughter is 5yr old now... Few questions...

1. Do we need to complete the exact 5 years after GC (starting from date mentioned in GC) to apply for Dual Citizenship?

You can apply for US citizenship up to 3 months prior to completing 5 yrs as PR. Law is a little vague and mentions up to 90 days prior to completing 5 yrs as PR also. So just be sure that you may want to apply say 87 or 88 days before 5 yrs as PR. There is NO Dual Citizenship with India at the moment. Once you take an oath as a US Citizen, your Indian citizenship becomes invalid and void. You are supposed to send your Indian passport to the Consulate/Embassy for cancellation. If you get the US passport and apply for Indian visa for the first time, you will need to send the Indian passport along with the US passport to the Consulate/Embassy. They will issue the visa in the US passport and stamp the Indian passport "Cancelled" and return both the passports to you. At that point your "Cancelled" Indian passport in just a proof of your former citizenship. You should save the "Cancelled" Indian passport if you want to apply for PIO card, or if and when India implements so much talked about "Overseas Indian Citizenship" in future. You can follow the disscussion on Overseas Indian Citizenship at the following thread:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/sho...d.php?t=140033

Originally Posted by umam

2. If we are applying for Dual Citizenship,
Do i need to change my daughers name in local court House in INDIA as well as in USA court house before applying for new INDIA & USA passport?

Once you are a Citizen of US, you only need to change your daughter's name in local courthouse in USA. She will have a US passport with the new name, court record/certificate indicating the chnage of name in the US, and the birth certificate from India with an old name. Based on what the Indian bureaucrats and politicians are about the "Overseas Indian Citizenship", she will NOT get a FULL Indian passport. They are planning to issue a either a certificate/booklet/smart card as a proof of "Overseas Indian Citizenship", which is not really a travel document and can ONLY be used to enter or exit India. Agian, this is just a talk, nothing has been implemented yet!

[sairam03]

Thanks sg_orl;

That is a relevant info for me too as I am going to complete my 5 years soon. Only difference is that I dont have my Indian Passport current. Is it a must to surrender the Indian Passport after US Citizenship? Is there an alternative to that?

Also, is it a must show the Indian passport at the time of citizenship? Meanwhile can I travel outside of the US without my passport? I appreicate your input.

[ginnu]

Originally Posted by sairam03

Thanks sg_orl;

That is a relevant info for me too as I am going to complete my 5 years soon. Only difference is that I dont have my Indian Passport current.
----------- you can renew the Indian passport from any nearest Indian consulate
Is it a must to surrender the Indian Passport after US Citizenship?
------------------ Yes, and they will stamp it CANCELLED
Is there an alternative to that?
----------NO, once you have US US Citizenship, apply for US passport and Visa for India or POI card
Also, is it a must show the Indian passport at the time of citizenship?
------- I dont think they need your Indian passport, experts may give you better answer
Meanwhile can I travel outside of the US without my passport?
----------- you need your Valid passport if you want to visit india. why dont you renew the Indian passport??
I appreicate your input.

[sg_orl]

Originally Posted by sairam03

Thanks sg_orl;

That is a relevant info for me too as I am going to complete my 5 years soon. Only difference is that I dont have my Indian Passport current. Is it a must to surrender the Indian Passport after US Citizenship? Is there an alternative to that?

You need to renew your Indian passport from the nearest Consulate. It can be done by mail and if hasn't been more than 6 mos since your passport has expired, it will done in 2 to 3 weeks and the Consulate will return the new Indian passport and old expired passport with cancelled stamp on it.

By Indian law you HAVE to surrender the Indian passport once you take the citizenship of another country. There is no other way around it. Besides, you have to leave and enter US with a US passport. So you will need a visa to go to India and in order to get an Indian visa, they ask for previous Indian passport and at that time the Indian Consulate will cancel the Indian passport and give you an tourist visa in your US passport. If someone lies to claim that the Indian passport was lost, or not surrender the Indian passport, it's still just a souvenier not a travel document. Whether it's a "cancelled" and expired passport or just expired passport, it does not matter.

Originally Posted by sairam03

Also, is it a must show the Indian passport at the time of citizenship? Meanwhile can I travel outside of the US without my passport? I appreicate your input.

You will need to carry your Indian passport at the time of citizenship interview, along with the green card, drivers license, etc. Since you have to fill in all the travel dates that you were out of the US, the officer may go thru' your passport stamps to verify it.

Yes you can travel outside of the US without your passport, but ONLY to Canada and Mexico. In order to travel anywhere else, you will NEED an unexpired Indian passport.

Renewing the Indian passport is quite easy, just follow the steps outlined on Consulates' website, e.g. http://www.cgihouston.org and send it by an overnight mail or at least a certified mail, both ways. If the passport has been expired for over 6 mos, then they have to get some clearance from the Passport Issuing authority in Indian and that takes a little bit more time. If not for any other reason, just for a peace of mind that in an emergency you can leave for India with no hassles, would be a good enough reason to renew the passport.

[umam]

Originally Posted by sg_orl

You can apply for US citizenship up to 3 months prior to completing 5 yrs as PR. Law is a little vague and mentions up to 90 days prior to completing 5 yrs as PR also. So just be sure that you may want to apply say 87 or 88 days before 5 yrs as PR. There is NO Dual Citizenship with India at the moment. Once you take an oath as a US Citizen, your Indian citizenship becomes invalid and void. You are supposed to send your Indian passport to the Consulate/Embassy for cancellation. If you get the US passport and apply for Indian visa for the first time, you will need to send the Indian passport along with the US passport to the Consulate/Embassy. They will issue the visa in the US passport and stamp the Indian passport "Cancelled" and return both the passports to you. At that point your "Cancelled" Indian passport in just a proof of your former citizenship. You should save the "Cancelled" Indian passport if you want to apply for PIO card, or if and when India implements so much talked about "Overseas Indian Citizenship" in future. You can follow the disscussion on Overseas Indian Citizenship at the following thread:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/sho...d.php?t=140033



Once you are a Citizen of US, you only need to change your daughter's name in local courthouse in USA. She will have a US passport with the new name, court record/certificate indicating the chnage of name in the US, and the birth certificate from India with an old name. Based on what the Indian bureaucrats and politicians are about the "Overseas Indian Citizenship", she will NOT get a FULL Indian passport. They are planning to issue a either a certificate/booklet/smart card as a proof of "Overseas Indian Citizenship", which is not really a travel document and can ONLY be used to enter or exit India. Agian, this is just a talk, nothing has been implemented yet!

Hi SG_Orl,

Thanks for the reply. I changed my daughters name in Indian Birth certificate. She is 6yr now.

How to change her name in Indian Passport? Her Indian passport is getting expired by this month.
How to change her name in GC now?
I can apply for US citizenship prior to 90 days will be Aug'06.
I saw Dual Citizenship process is started & they yet to receive applications - i saw in cgisf.org website. Do i need to apply US citizen before applying for Dual Citizenship?
How can i change my daughters name in GC or USA/INDIA passport if applying for Dual citizenship?
Shall i request for my daughters's name change when i go for Naturalization/Oath Ceremony?

Can you give me your options.
Uma