After Green Card - Last name change

C

Charanyabs

New Member
I currently hold Indian passport. I live in US and I have acquired Green Card through marriage.
My Indian passport expires end of 2013. I plan on applying for US citizenship in 2014.

I want to take this opportunity to take up my husband's last name. Can someone please help me with step by step process? How do I change my last name in my Indian passport and in my Green Card? I believe I can change my last name on my passport while renewing my passport. Then there would be a mismatch between my passport and my GC. Is that ok? I also know that we can change the last name while getting naturalized. Till then, will it be ok to have such a name mismatch between passport and GC. I am especially worried when I travel out of country.

Please advice on the most effecient way to do this.
Once I get those figured out, I can change my name on SSN and my rest of my financial statements.
 
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Once you become a US citizen, you can't use the Indian passport again, so the renewed Indian passport will be useful for only about a year or less if you naturalize in 2014. So to keep things simple, put your original name on the renewed passport so it will match your GC and other documents until you naturalize.

After naturalization, you won't have the GC and the Indian passport will be useless, but then you'll have the naturalization certificate in your new name and can use that to obtain a US passport in your new name. Then you can use the marriage certificate and naturalization certificate (or US passport) to get your name changed on your driver's license (or state ID) and Social Security card.
 
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The Indians are finicky about this, and almost ALWAYS demand a name-change certificate, so try to get your name changed through naturalisation so that you get this piece of paper.
 
Thank you! That really helps. I was also of the same impression but did not know for sure which would be the most simple and effective way to achieve all this.
 
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