Considering Name Change, what docs need to be changed afterwards?
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1485waiter
Registered Users (C)
Also, Your employment records @ office (important to carry-over SS Benefits) and your I-9 info. I dont think you can or need to change name in Marriage Certificate or Educational Transcripts.
I am changing my name. I have a list of around 30+ instituitions where I am going to call and change my name. Financial institutions, Utility Bills, Insurance Info, School, etc. Basically all "active" accounts. I am just waiting for my DL with the new name to arrive.
I am changing my name. I have a list of around 30+ instituitions where I am going to call and change my name. Financial institutions, Utility Bills, Insurance Info, School, etc. Basically all "active" accounts. I am just waiting for my DL with the new name to arrive.
Jedi.Knight
Registered Users (C)
You Need to Change Everything.
My advice is to change everything.
I did the following:
1) SS change (in person)
2) driver's license (in person)
3) car registration (by mail)
4) car title (by mail)
5) car payments (by mail)
6) college loans
7) all undergraduate records
8) told all friends/relatives
9) ALL credit cards (in person)
10) ALL banks (in person)
11) graduate records (by mail)
12) ALL employment records (in person used certificate/name change document/passport)
13) All medical insurance records (by mail)
14) car insurance records (by mail)
15) retirement fund
16) state and federal tax agencies
17) apartment lease (had to redo in person)
18) all bills (electric; gas; telephone...etc)
In all this took 3 weeks. It is my advice to be thorough and change everything. Don't leave one stone unturned.
Best,
-jedi
My advice is to change everything.
I did the following:
1) SS change (in person)
2) driver's license (in person)
3) car registration (by mail)
4) car title (by mail)
5) car payments (by mail)
6) college loans
7) all undergraduate records
8) told all friends/relatives
9) ALL credit cards (in person)
10) ALL banks (in person)
11) graduate records (by mail)
12) ALL employment records (in person used certificate/name change document/passport)
13) All medical insurance records (by mail)
14) car insurance records (by mail)
15) retirement fund
16) state and federal tax agencies
17) apartment lease (had to redo in person)
18) all bills (electric; gas; telephone...etc)
In all this took 3 weeks. It is my advice to be thorough and change everything. Don't leave one stone unturned.
Best,
-jedi
Thank you all, thank you Jedi for the detailed list.
Wow. All that trouble. I was almost sure I wanted to change my name, but now I'm hesitating.
Problem is my college records are in my home country, I can't possibly change the name on it. And I fear for any possibly future confusions in case I need to use them.
I wonder if people who change their names through marriages have to go through the same troubles.
Wow. All that trouble. I was almost sure I wanted to change my name, but now I'm hesitating.
Problem is my college records are in my home country, I can't possibly change the name on it. And I fear for any possibly future confusions in case I need to use them.
I wonder if people who change their names through marriages have to go through the same troubles.
Absolutely. My wife will have to notify all pertinent agencies/companies of her name change as soon as we receive our marriage certificate.
I don't mean to hijack, but I keep wondering about my name change.
I am only wanting to keep my Middle name (will now be my first name) and my paternal last name.
I am married, but I have never taken on my husband's last name. He wants me to do it, and now that my kids are in school, and they question me about why I don't have their last name, I want to change my last name, to my husband's - our family name.
My question is, should I change my name as stated above, then use my marriage certificate to change my last name to my husband's last name?
Which name will the passport have, my last name in the Naturalization Cert or the one in the marriage cert and DL (after I make the change there)?
or should I just ask USCIS to change my name to my husband's last name? If I do this, what happens if there's ever a divorce, can I get my last name back, what about the Natz cert?
This name change is very confusing.....
thank you for any help.
I am only wanting to keep my Middle name (will now be my first name) and my paternal last name.
I am married, but I have never taken on my husband's last name. He wants me to do it, and now that my kids are in school, and they question me about why I don't have their last name, I want to change my last name, to my husband's - our family name.
My question is, should I change my name as stated above, then use my marriage certificate to change my last name to my husband's last name?
Which name will the passport have, my last name in the Naturalization Cert or the one in the marriage cert and DL (after I make the change there)?
or should I just ask USCIS to change my name to my husband's last name? If I do this, what happens if there's ever a divorce, can I get my last name back, what about the Natz cert?
This name change is very confusing.....
thank you for any help.
This is actually a very good question. To get the easy part out of the way, the name on your U.S. passport will be the name that's printed on your naturalization certificate. There are no exceptions to this.
As far as taking your husband's last name goes, here's an example from my personal experience that'll help answer your question. It just so happened that my interview (where I would be requesting a last name change) was scheduled a month prior to my wedding. Since NYC doesn't do same day oaths, I didn't have much hope to get my oath before the wedding. Since my wife would be hyphenating her last name (using both her own last name and my NEW last name), we inquired with the marriage bureau as to what would be the best way to approach this. They suggested that she hyphenate her name with my new last name, even if my oath doesn't take place before the wedding. The reason for this is because, according to a New York State law, we would have to get married again(!!!) if she kept her original last name and hyphenated it after the wedding. Also, if my name was legally changed AFTER the wedding, this would require us to marry again as well. I advise that you check the requirements of your state of residence.
As far as the actual name change goes, it's a lot easier to change it through naturalization, as it won't involve any additional fees or hassles, such as having to publish your new name in a local newspaper for several weeks before the name change is granted.
Others have provided a thorough list of official places that you have to notify about your name change but what you brought as examples: diploma and marriage certificate cannot and should not be changed. When you change your name, you will still have documents to prove you are the same person. If you are female, your new passport will contain your maiden name/old name also and you will receive an official document about your name change too so when you apply for a job and you have to show your transcripts, they can see you are the same person under a new name.
name change after naturalization
Hi 1485waiter,
Please I have a question about the name change and your experience.
First, did you have the name changed through the naturalization or after through a court order of name change?
I am not changing the name through the naturalization, but I am thinking to change it after and I need to know when and how to apply for my first US passport.
Somebody told me to do so I need to have the Nat certificate changed first. Is this true?
Other told me that I need the original Nat certificate along with the court order only.
Other told me to apply for the US PP first, and the reapply for a new one for the name changed with the court order.
Confused
Thanks much!
Hi 1485waiter,
Please I have a question about the name change and your experience.
First, did you have the name changed through the naturalization or after through a court order of name change?
I am not changing the name through the naturalization, but I am thinking to change it after and I need to know when and how to apply for my first US passport.
Somebody told me to do so I need to have the Nat certificate changed first. Is this true?
Other told me that I need the original Nat certificate along with the court order only.
Other told me to apply for the US PP first, and the reapply for a new one for the name changed with the court order.
Confused
Thanks much!Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
You have been misinformed, or you misunderstood something.
Any adult living in the US can choose to change their legal name at any time, regardless of marriage, and regardless of naturalization. There is no need to marry again.
Now some jurisdictions have an arrangement where they facilitate both the marriage and name change under one combined process. She would not have been able to use that combo process if she waited until after your oath to change her name. But she still would be able to use the standalone name change process, even though it might be more expensive and tedious, without having to marry again.
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I wouldn't be surprised if I was misinformed in the matter. The employees at the NYC Office of the City Clerk are about as competent as USCIS CSRs. They explicitly stated that we'd have to marry again, because an after-marriage name change would render the existing marriage certificate invalid.
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Citizen_Dec2007
Registered Users (C)
My name on Green Card, Passport, SSN : John Smith Major.
Every where else ( IRS,Employement, Driv L, Banks)
it is : Smith John Major.
Should i change my name in N400 at the time of interview or it does not matter.
Every where else ( IRS,Employement, Driv L, Banks)
it is : Smith John Major.
Should i change my name in N400 at the time of interview or it does not matter.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
That's odd. It is quite common for women to delay the name change for several months after getting married, and I personally know several women who did so, not just for immigration reasons (including US citizen co-workers who went on vacation to get married, then 6-12 months later they announce they have a new name). Changing the name post-marriage doesn't invalidate the marriage certificate, it just means the name change documentation has to be produced along with the certificate.
Common sense would indeed dictate so. Perhaps NYC needs to invest a bit more money in training its employees.
Jackolantern
Registered Users (C)
What is your intention? To actually change the ordering of your actual legal name? Or just to get the names on your DL, bank account etc. to match your passport and SSN?
If it is just a matter of the ordering on the DL etc., then go ahead and get those documents fixed; no need to change your legal name to do that.
Note that on some documents like the green card they will deliberately put your surname first, followed by your first name. So analyze each document carefully to determine where they put the surname; the different orderings may just be the design of how they display it, not a matter thinking your surname is different.
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