Name Change during Citizenship Interview

B

bos2009

Registered Users (C)
My spouse has applied for citizenship (submitted N-400 application). On the N-400, we did not choose the option to change the name. We wanted to know if we will have an opportunity to change the name (essentially the last name) during the citizenship interview.

My questions -

1) Can we still change the name during the interview even though we did not indicate/select the option on N-400? I understand that the Petition to Change Name needs to be filed. Who prepares and when it is submitted - does the USCIS officer do this during the interview or do we need to pre-fill it and bring it to the interview? I would appreciate if anyone has details on these process steps. Separately, should we ask about changing name during the biometric (fingerprinting) date?

2) It seems that the Oath ceremony needs to be done in the Court in order for the name change to be approved (and reflected on the Naturalization certificate). Is that a long waiting time between the interview date and the oath ceremony (if it needs to be done in the court)? Does anyone have general timelines for Boston DO (and the court that will likely be the location)?

Thanks in advance! Appreciate your responses.
 
bos2009 said:
My spouse has applied for citizenship (submitted N-400 application). On the N-400, we did not choose the option to change the name. We wanted to know if we will have an opportunity to change the name (essentially the last name) during the citizenship interview.

My questions -

1) Can we still change the name during the interview even though we did not indicate/select the option on N-400? I understand that the Petition to Change Name needs to be filed. Who prepares and when it is submitted - does the USCIS officer do this during the interview or do we need to pre-fill it and bring it to the interview? I would appreciate if anyone has details on these process steps. Separately, should we ask about changing name during the biometric (fingerprinting) date?

2) It seems that the Oath ceremony needs to be done in the Court in order for the name change to be approved (and reflected on the Naturalization certificate). Is that a long waiting time between the interview date and the oath ceremony (if it needs to be done in the court)? Does anyone have general timelines for Boston DO (and the court that will likely be the location)?

Thanks in advance! Appreciate your responses.
Click to expand...

Bumping up to request responses from folks who may know more about this issue.
 
Yes, you can change the name during the interview. IO will take take of care of forms and petitions so don't worry about it. At the conclusion of interview, IO will show you a form that will have your new name and date of birth and ask you if everything is correct. And those information will be printed on your certificate :)
 
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