Name change and naturalization ceremony questions

[From_SC_to_TX]

Hi,

1. I would like to know whether you guys would recommend a name change through naturalization or later through a separate court order. Which one is better and easier?

2. I heard some field offices don't even provide the opportunity to change your name through naturalization. Does anyone know how this works at the San Antonio field office?

3. I will belong to the San Antonio office but I live pretty far from there. The closest big city to me would be Austin. I read that they have naturalization ceremonies in many cities, not just where the field office is. If I want my ceremony to be held in a city other than where the field office is located, do I have to request it on the N-400 form or at the interview?

I would appreciate anyone's input. Thanks.

 

[xxhwx]

1. I heard it will take longer and cost more to change name through a separate court order. Name change through naturalization is probably easier.

2. NONE of the USCIS offices have the authority to do a name change. All the name changes are done through a federal court (or a court). If you request a name change on your N-400, your oath will take place in a federal court instead of some other public facilities.

 

[Jackolantern]

1. I would like to know whether you guys would recommend a name change through naturalization or later through a separate court order. Which one is better and easier?

Depends on what your priority is - a faster oath or a faster name change. Name change via a separate court process is expensive and requires more paperwork and takes from a couple weeks to 3 months, depending on the courts in your location.

But if you do the name change separately, your oath might be completed a few weeks sooner.

 

[Jackolantern]

2. NONE of the USCIS offices have the authority to do a name change. All the name changes are done through a federal court (or a court). If you request a name change on your N-400, your oath will take place in a federal court instead of some other public facilities.

The OP probably knows that USCIS itself doesn't perform name changes. The question, as I saw it, was about USCIS offices that do or don't arrange with the courts to tie in your name change with your naturalization process so you can simply show up at the oath instead of having to fill out more long paperwork and deal with the courts by yourself.

 

[From_SC_to_TX]

The OP probably knows that USCIS itself doesn't perform name changes. The question, as I saw it, was about USCIS offices that do or don't arrange with the courts to tie in your name change with your naturalization process so you can simply show up at the oath instead of having to fill out more long paperwork and deal with the courts by yourself.

Thank you for the clarification. This is exactly what my question is about because I heard for example, applicants at the San Francisco field office don't have the opportunity to get a name change through naturalization and I don't know how this works in San Antonio.

How much time do you think a name change through naturalization would add to the regular processing time? I'm asking this because I will have to move to another state approx. 16 months after I apply for naturalization (my husband is in the military and we know for how long we have to stay at our current duty station).

So what I'm afraid of is that if I request a name change on my application, I will not be able to complete the whole process and I don't want to get transferred and wait extra months. At the same time, I would really like to change my name to my married name and I've been waiting for so long to become a citizen because I had spent a lot of time overseas and I couldn't apply before.

 

[Jackolantern]

The name change would delay your oath date by anywhere from nothing at all, up to as much as 3 months, depending on your location and how often they schedule name-change oaths. These days the whole natz. process normally takes 3-6 months without a name change. So 3 months extra is still well within the 16 months you are concerned about.

However, if the only change you are doing is to take your husband's last name, you don't need a name change oath. All you have to do is show the interviewer your marriage certificate and say that you want the natz. certificate to have your husband's last name. Then you will take a regular oath along with people who aren't doing a name change (so there would be no delay for your name change). After the oath, when you need to change your driver's license, Social Security card, etc. just show the marriage certificate and they will accept that as evidence of the name change.

 

[From_SC_to_TX]

Thank you. It's good to know that all that would fit my time-frame. I'm going to change my whole name and take my husband's last name and Americanize my first name. So I think I need a name change, which I don't mind. It is just unbelievable that it is "free" through naturalization while it's so expensive at court.

 

[Jackolantern]

Thank you. It's good to know that all that would fit my time-frame. I'm going to change my whole name and take my husband's last name and Americanize my first name. So I think I need a name change, which I don't mind. It is just unbelievable that it is "free" through naturalization while it's so expensive at court.

You're also changing your first name? Then you will need the official name change oath.

I think it's "free" through naturalization for a number of reasons:

1. some or all of the cost is embedded in the naturalization fee

2. when you take the naturalization oath, usually there will be several people doing it with you at the same time. So the court cost is divided up amongst the crowd, whereas in a separate court process you would be facing the judge one-on-one.

3. name changes generally involve a background check, to see if you're changing your name to make it easier to get away with a crime. Naturalization already involves a background check, so the courts can accept the background check results from USCIS instead demanding another one.

 

[From_SC_to_TX]

Thank you for your explanation. I get it now. Yes, I'm going to change both my first and last names so I'll definitely need to do this on form N-400.