Name change during naturalization is causing problem with OCI processing

Name Change in India and USA

Steps you need to follow if the name in the US passport does not match the name in the Indian passport - and you wish to apply for an OCI.

DISCLAIMERS :

a.) This process worked for me and my spouse as of Q2-2009. In the future, the Consulate General's office may change their requirements
b.) Our applications were made to the SFO Consulate General's Office.(As part of the process, I contacted the NY office - and found to my surprise - that the process was not consistent.)

STEPS:

a.) After your legal name change - via a court order or part of the naturalization process, place a newspaper announcement of the name change in a local US newspaper (where you live today) as well as a newspaper in India (preferably in the city where your Indian passport shows you were domiciled)

b.) I used the following template "Vide certificate <Certificate #> issued by the <County-Name> County District Court in <City> <State>, I hereby announce that I have changed my name from <Old Name> to <New Name> on MMM, DD YYYY."

c.) Submit your application / passports / applicable fees, the two newspaper (one US and 1 from India) pages alongwith the notorized "Change in Name" Affidavit (link found on SFO/CGI website under OCI / The Process)


NOTES :

1.) The first time I sent in the application, I did not place the ads but sent in the certified copy of the name change document (County Court Order). While this may be (cant say for sure) acceptable to the NY CGI, the folks in SFO sent my application back requesting I place newspaper ads.

2.) The next time around, I placed the ads and the local newspaper gave me a notorized "Affidavit of Publication". I included that as part of my application, but that did not meet the requirements either. They wanted the physical copy of the newspaper - with the announcements marked. So the second application was returned as well.

3.) The third time was lucky (or they got tired), when I included the newspaper announcements.

4.) When placing the ad in the US, the local newspaper placed it based on my email to them with no requirement of any supporting document. However when placing the announcement in India, Indian Express/TOI agreed to place the announcement only after a copy of the court order document was shown to the agent. So to avoid any hassle - you may want to simply scan and send a copy of the name change court order to the folks in India placing the ad for you.

5.) This process works even if you entirely changed your name i.e. <First Name> and <Last Name>

Good Luck !

Starwars,

I like know how to change the name in India by advertising in local newspaper. I have already submitted petition for name change in US and advertised in US local news paper. I am changing my first name so I need to advertise in the news paper. I have the following questions.

1. Is the US newspaper ad and court document is enough to get the name change document notarized in India?

2. Can I advertise in Indian local newspaper while I am here in US. If 'YES' what is the procedure and how long it will take to complete the procedure?

I appreciate any suggestions.
 
From what I have read/heard, during US citizenship process, you can revert to your name as it was in your Indian Passport (without any questions asked). If you do that, obviously there won't be any issues when you apply for OCI.

akgarg, Thank you.It's very comforting to here. Do you know anyone who did this?
 
Folks,

I completed the citizenship interview with a name change request and awaiting on the oath ceremony invitation date. My questions are

a) Assuming my requested name change goes through, are there are any special steps (such as publishing the name change in India etc) that I need to take during the OCI application process. ? OR Is it just sufficient to apply the OCI application with my "name change" certifcate received here at US.
b) I also have a PAN card currently with my original (old) name on it that I received before the N400 process, does it need to be changed as well..?

Thanks
 
Name Change and OCI

I found the following information regarding name change in India on Indian Embassy website. I appreciate if you can answer my questions or offer any suggestions.

"IMPORTANT

IF YOUR NAME IN YOUR US PASSPORT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE IN THE INDIAN PASSPORT, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO ADVERTISE CHANGE OF NAME IN A NEWSPAPER IN YOUR LOCALITY IN USA, AND IN INDIA. COMPLETE AND NOTARIZE THE CHANGE OF NAME (pdf file) AFFIDAVIT"

1. Do I need to advertise in local newspaper in India where town name mentioned in the passport?

2. Can I advertise in any English Daily Newspaper published from a big city or it has to be in local newspaper only?

3. What if the English Newspaper is not published from a town that shown on the passport?

4. If NO English Newspaper is published from a town, Can I advertise in local language Newspaper (is it acceptable) or needs to be translated to English?

5. Can I use name change court document obtained from USA for notarizing name change affidavit?
 
Hi All,

Please tell me how much time is it taking to get oath letter ceremony for a name change?
I am very much interested in Atlanta region, but I am curious for other regions too just to
get an idea. My wife is scheduled for citizenship interview with name change.
 
Hi Folks:

After obtaining my US Citizenship, i applied for my OCI. In my India Passport i had a middle name that inadvertently did not get carried over to my Naturalization Certificate or my US passport (Not sure if i filled in or not, but this is the current state). When i applied for my OCI i got back my entire package from CGISF asking me to file an name change affidavit along with a copy of my Naturalization certificate.

However what i am not clear about is - since my first name & last name are still the same - does this require any kind of advertisements in USA & India newspaper?

Has anyone had a situation of the middle name not getting carried over & related issues? Can someone please share their experiences?

Thank you very much
 
My wife has the same issue.. She had her father's middle name in the Indian passport, but she decided to drop it in the Naturalization certificate and hence the US passport does not have the middle name. We went ahead and sent the OCI applications earlier this month without any affidavits or newspaper advertisements since there was no first/last name change.. Hopefully it will go through fine.. Will let you guys know how it goes when I hear something back from the Indian Embassy
 
You are right Why-R2.
I sent an email to SF consulate and got the response that I only need a copy of marriage certificate and change of name affidavit - no advertisement in newspapers are needed.

thanks for your insights.


Hi CS8103,

I am in similar situation as you were for OCI. My wife's last name changed to mine during naturalization and now am ready to apply for OCI. Do I need to advertise in local paper/India? I believe you had some other affidavit which seems to have worked. Appreciate any inputs.
/SM
 
NY-OCI. Changed Last Name. Did not get Court order. Will it be an issue for OCI?

Hi, I changed the LAST name during the Naturalization process. Newark NJ, USCIS did not give the name change certificate/court order along with the Nat. Certificate. I'm getting ready to apply OCI.

Last Name is different in Indian passport and US passport.

Will it be an issue for OCI? Please input your experience.

As back-up, I prepared Name Change affidavit and got it Notarized to send along with the OCI application.

Thanks for Input.

Regards.
__________________
Rams
 
Hi, I changed the LAST name during the Naturalization process. Newark NJ, USCIS did not give the name change certificate/court order along with the Nat. Certificate. I'm getting ready to apply OCI.

Last Name is different in Indian passport and US passport.

Will it be an issue for OCI? Please input your experience.

As back-up, I prepared Name Change affidavit and got it Notarized to send along with the OCI application.

Thanks for Input.

Regards.
__________________
Rams

I am in the same boat, after getting notarized, did you advertise in the local news paper in India. The OCI process instructs to do so. I changed my first and last name through court order.
 
I am in the same boat... how did it go?

Changed wife last name to mine during naturalization. They did not give name change letter.
 
Name change at interview is your choice..you can write your name as xyz. So your marriage certificate does not make any difference. Name change introduces court into the process for oath..what that means is you will not be able to carry a camera and take a picture and may have some delay as they schedule name change naturalzation at court only on certain days..about twice a month...where I live.

This is not true from my experience. My wife wanted to change her lastname to mine (XYZ). They officer came out looking for me to get copy of marriage certificate (Made in India).
 
Format and Address to use for Newspaper Ad in India

I changed my name during naturalization (cut short my first name) like from Jonathan Doe to Jon Doe. I am thinking of using the following format for the Newspaper AD in India for OCI (as required by the CGISF)

I, Jonathan Doe son of <Dad's Name> born on xx-xx-xxxx, residing at No. 7G, Rainbow Colony, Kodambakkam, Chennai - 12, shall henceforth be known as Jon Doe.

My question here is, should I use my local address here in US or my parents's address in India where I used to live (my indian address in the passport) for the Ad. I'm asking this since the name change certificate given by the court (supporting document) has my local US address.

And, also is the format OK?
 
Urgent Q about Newspaper Ad in India for OCI

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guys,

I changed my name during naturalization (cut short my first name) like from Jonathan Doe to Jon Doe. I am thinking of using the following format for the Newspaper AD in India for OCI (as required by the CGISF)

I, Jonathan Doe son of <Dad's Name> born on xx-xx-xxxx, residing at No. 7G, Rainbow Colony, Kodambakkam, Chennai - 12, have changed my name on <Oath date> and shall henceforth be known as Jon Doe.

My question here is, should I use my local address where I live now in US or my parents's address in India where I used to live (my indian address in the passport) for the Ad. I'm asking this since the name change certificate given by the court (The Newspaper may need a supporting document for the Name Change Ad) has my local US address.

Also, is the format OK? Am I missing anything?

Waiting for ur valuable suggestions.
 
dropping middle name and newspaper ad

While I was preparing for OCI paperwork, I read washington DC website and it says

IF YOUR NAME IN YOUR US PASSPORT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE IN THE INDIAN PASSPORT:

a. In case of name change due to marriage please submit notarized copy of the marriage certificate and first 2 pages of spouse passport

b. Otherwise YOU ARE REQUIRED TO ADVERTISE CHANGE OF NAME IN A NEWSPAPER IN YOUR LOCALITY IN USA, AND IN INDIA.


My question is: this seems to be time consuming and expensive thing. Is there a quick/cheap way to do this? Is there a way to do this online or do I have to write letters and send checks in Indian rupees? Would any newspaper do, like a local city newspaper?

Thanks for helping
P.S.: I dropped my middle name only. No other change.
 
I chnaged my middle name during Naturalization and my wife changed her middle and last name. Will this be a problem? We have the supporting document of Court Order along with Nat Cert.


While I was preparing for OCI paperwork, I read washington DC website and it says

IF YOUR NAME IN YOUR US PASSPORT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE IN THE INDIAN PASSPORT:

a. In case of name change due to marriage please submit notarized copy of the marriage certificate and first 2 pages of spouse passport

b. Otherwise YOU ARE REQUIRED TO ADVERTISE CHANGE OF NAME IN A NEWSPAPER IN YOUR LOCALITY IN USA, AND IN INDIA.


My question is: this seems to be time consuming and expensive thing. Is there a quick/cheap way to do this? Is there a way to do this online or do I have to write letters and send checks in Indian rupees? Would any newspaper do, like a local city newspaper?

Thanks for helping
P.S.: I dropped my middle name only. No other change.
 
Something is wrong. They must give you a court order for name change. Both myself and my wife changed names and we bother were given the court order. The clerk attached the court order to the NC and said that they both go together. You can go back and ask for the name change court order.

Hi, I changed the LAST name during the Naturalization process. Newark NJ, USCIS did not give the name change certificate/court order along with the Nat. Certificate. I'm getting ready to apply OCI.

Last Name is different in Indian passport and US passport.

Will it be an issue for OCI? Please input your experience.

As back-up, I prepared Name Change affidavit and got it Notarized to send along with the OCI application.

Thanks for Input.

Regards.
__________________
Rams
 
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