Change on Naturalization Certificate

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Pam_Doleo

Registered Users (C)
All, I have one more question before I can officially say that I'm done with USCIS. I wanted to change my last name during my citizenship process. When I say change, I mean drop my last name and take my husband's. At the moment of my interview, I told my IO that I didn't want to do it bc I knew that this could represent a delay on my oath and she agreed and proceed to cancel my request. However, she told me that she could add my husband's last name and I said ok but in the heat of the moment I didn't realized that she would add it to all my existing names. I am from latin-america and it's the normal to have 2 names and 2 last names (mother's and father's) so now i have a very long name: 2 names and 3 last names. My oath will be held and the National Archives in GA and I want to know: is it possible to at least drop one last name and if so, do i need to pay a fee for that? can that be done on premises or would it take a long time? I'm afraid that my name will be too long for SS, ID's and passport.

Thank you for your time and help. Pamela
 
Whenever you request a name change, you should write it down exactly as you want it, otherwise you risk ending up with something you don't want.

Make an Infopass appointment, bring your marriage certificate, green card, oath letter or N-400 receipt, and write down on a separate paper exactly what you want your name to be changed to. If you are only replacing a last name with your husband's last name, it should not require a judicial oath, however the change request could still cause a delay because you're requesting it after the interview.
 
I know, I should have been more careful. Keeping all the names is not that bad, after all, those are mine. I thought about your infopass suggestion but I would hate to delay my process any longer.

Thank you Jackolanter for your response!
 
Do you already have an oath letter? If not, there might not be any delay if you intervene to request what you wanted. They don't order the printing of the certificates before you've been scheduled for the oath, so if you make the request before the certificate is printed it doesn't necessarily create a delay.

If you don't want to do that, another thing to try is to ask for it at the oath ceremony itself. When you receive the naturalization certificate they give you a chance to review it and tell them if there are any mistakes. Explain that it doesn't have the name as you wanted it because the interviewer must have misinterpreted your request, tell them the name you really want, and they may be able to reprint it as requested without requiring you to attend another oath. Some places can do the reprinting on the same day.
 
Yes, I already have the oath scheduled for the 22nd. I contacted the place where my ceremony will be held and they told me that they only host the ceremony.... But I'll give that a try and see what happens. I'll keep u posted ;)
 
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