Double last name on Greencard.

D

david13579

New Member
In my country it is the norm to use first our father's last name followed by our mother's. When my parents applied for a visa they obviously used that format so my green card has 2 last names. The problem is that since I've been in the US I use just my dad's last name as it is normally done here (School, College, Medical records etc all have 1 last name except for my bank account which for some reason has 2 despite me saying just one) but my green card and I think my social security card have my 2 last names.

I'm gonna apply for citizenship soon (actually I've been eligible for more than a year but this whole name thing had me too confused and I didn't apply) and I wonder if I should put the second last name when it asks for the current legal name or just one. It says to write the name as it appears on my birth certificate but the thing is that the certificate treats the 2 last names as separate not a compound last name and since the custom here is to have just one last name I fear it treats the 2 last names on the GC as a double-word compound last name.

I know that on the "print your name exactly as it appears on the GC" section I should write it completely but I'm not sure about the rest.
 
I have never officially changed my name, I just omit my second last name. What do other Hispanic people usually do (double last names is a Hispanic custom)?. I just checked and even my selective service registration was made with just 1 last name. My federal financial aid also went through with just one last name.
 
USCIS will not have any problem dropping the second last name. They will not force you to complete a name change petition. If you have problems or anticipate problems dealing with others who are not well acquainted with foreign naming conventions, you might opt to complete a name change petition as part of naturalization just to make it easier to deal with the idiots you will encounter in the future.
 
But in that case wouldn't it seem odd if I just write "Name X" on my current legal name and then "Name X Y" on the part where I have to write it exactly as it is on the green card??
 
david13579 said:
But in that case wouldn't it seem odd if I just write "Name X" on my current legal name and then "Name X Y" on the part where I have to write it exactly as it is on the green card??
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No, do you think you are the only one who ever had to deal with this? INS/USCIS has a century of experience with this. Have you ever read through any BIA or Immigration-related court cases? Try it. Often a name will first be identified as a dual surname "papa-mama" then just as a single surname "papa".

Example: http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisio...b701ea0-9f15-4b84-9ec6-0f6254045c91/1/hilite/
 
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