Name change after GC

[GC_Ki_Talashi]

Hello all,

I got my GC in Sept 2004. When I came to this country on a H1-B, my then employer and his attorney screwed up on my name and interchanged my first and last names. When I asked to make the change at that time they refused saying that it was a big deal to do so. I believed them and let it go. By the time I realised it was not as big a deal as it was made to be, my GC was in process and my lawyer advised that I don't change it at that point of time. This was all before 9/11. My Indian passport was expiring a few months before I got my GC. The initial passport I had didn't have seperate columns for family name and given name. It used to be simply "Name". I come from AP where we write the family name first followed by given name. But when I applied for the passport renewal these two columns were mandatory. So to avoid any further complications, I reversed my name (to comply with the GC application) and got the passport. Now that I have GC in hand for 4 years, how big a deal is it to change the name? I know that I will be able to do it when I get the citizenship, but for now I am thinking of not applying for citizenship. Please advise on any complications that may arise due to opting for a name change with GC.

Your responses are highly appreciated.

Sincerely
GC_Ki_Talashi (but not anymore )

[Jackolantern]

You have not gone through any court process to change your name, correct? So you have not legally changed your own name, all that has been done is the changing of names printed on your passport/green card. Legally your name is still what it was when you first arrived in the US.

If/when you apply for citizenship, getting the name on the naturalization certificate in the way you want it would not be a matter of changing your name, it would be about straightening things out with USCIS to ensure your name in the correct order goes there. Once you become a US citizen you have to give up the green card.

If you don't plan to apply for citizenship in the foreseeable future, it is advisable to get the name straightened out on the GC by filing the form I-90 and paying the fee. You will need to send in the old card and wait a number of months for the new one to arrive. If you need to travel or change jobs while waiting for the card, you can make an Infopass appointment and get an I-551 stamp in your passport.

If you leave the name on the GC wrong, you could run into trouble when changing jobs, which has happened to a poster here. If the employer uses e-Verify, they will probably get a mismatch when entering your SSN and the name on your green card (this has happened recently to a poster on the board), unless the SS office also has the order of your name similarly mixed up. But you probably won't have trouble traveling, as the GC will match the name that USCIS has in their system, and I figure you have traveled a few times already with the card, right?