Name change

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Glorya

Registered Users (C)
Hi everyone,

I'm just courious.. I haven't changed my last name yet, we thought it would be too complicated with all the legal paperwork (birth certificate, passport, green card application etc...) containing my last name. I will travel home soon so I though it would be good idea to have the same last name on my passport and AP document. Do u think that is a factor at the interview? When should I change my last name? Anybody in similar position? Thanks
 
It's a personal choice. But I don't get something if you have everything in your maiden name why you want to change your passport to what name?
 
Glorya said:
I'm just courious.. I haven't changed my last name yet, we thought it would be too complicated with all the legal paperwork (birth certificate, passport, green card application etc...) containing my last name. I will travel home soon so I though it would be good idea to have the same last name on my passport and AP document. Do u think that is a factor at the interview? When should I change my last name? Anybody in similar position? Thanks
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Hi..my wife is a US citizen and this is actually something we were debating over -- if she should change her last name now or should just wait and even though she probably will change her last name sometime before the interview, I do not really think it makes a defference if there is enough proof that the marriage is bona-fide. I think people get sort of too focused on specifics, like name change, or joint lease, while I think its really about the impression that you make and plus the IO from what I read can "smell" fraud and easily distinguish between a marriage that was made in good faith or a marriage that was made for the wrong reasons. So the bottom line, prepare very well for an interview, but wether you change your last name or not should not be a determening factor if your marrige is real...
 
I don't want to change my passport. It expires in a year anyway. I was just wondering if I could hurt myself if I legally take my husband's last name and my passport is still in my maiden name when I go across the border. So what I am really wondering is when is the best time to change the name?
 
If you change your name and have all your docs to support your name change when you travel (like marriage certificate) you will be fine going in and out of the US
 
Glorya said:
I don't want to change my passport. It expires in a year anyway. I was just wondering if I could hurt myself if I legally take my husband's last name and my passport is still in my maiden name when I go across the border. So what I am really wondering is when is the best time to change the name?
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Oh no problem at all!!, many people cannot even change their last name in their passport because their consulate do not offer that service abroad and to keep your maiden name or use it or change it...does not matter, as I said it's a personal choice. If you want to change it when your passport is going to expired it's perfectly normal as well. Actually there are people who never change their name in their passport because it's too complicated in their countries (tell me about it :rolleyes: ) and no problem at all keeping their married name in other stuff.

The only issue is when people is ready to file the forms and are not sure to change it at the moment or later...knowing that all the documents issue by USCIS will have the last name that you are providing. If you decide to change it later and then you want your US resident card with the name change...then it's another issue. But if you want to keep your maiden name there is nothing wrong/bad with it. They are use to it.

Hope it helps! good luck,
 
My wife and I had the same questions and decided from the advise of an attorney, to put all the forms in Her new Married name,
In Japan when a lady gets married she can chose to keep her maiden name as her her middle name. We filled out all the USCIS forms with her new Married last name,

cherr1980 said:
many people cannot even change their last name in their passport because their consulate do not offer that service abroad and to keep your maiden name or use it or change it...does not matter, as I said it's a personal choice. If you want to change it when your passport is going to expired it's perfectly normal as well. Actually there are people who never change their name in their passport because it's too complicated in their countries
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Although it is a personal choice and as long as you have marriage liscense to show new name change it shouldn't be a problem But changing name on passport is not that difficult for those who have a foriegn Consulate near them.

We went to the Japanese Consulate Los Angeles and had them ammend her passport with the new married name change it cost us $7.00 all they did was put a stamp with name change & official seal on the page following her bio page of her passport process was very quick. Now her Photo ID passport reflects her new name and serves as official ID for things like the Biometrics Appt.!


I would file all forms with the new married name as it establish evidence and proof of new life as married couple, thats my opinion.
 
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hello there,that,s not true, in japan u can either keep ur maiden name or changed it to ur married name,japanese don,t have 3 names or middle name,this days foriegners having babies with japanese are kinda getting away with it, but it depends which (ku) or city u live in,>>>>>i lived in tokyo 8 years.??????????????
 
I should say it is an option and many Japanese ladies chose to keep their maiden name and in stead of having a hyphenated last name they use their maiden name as a middle name, it is A choice, In Japan people do not have middle names, However even though they may have the same name as someone else the Kanji characters used to write vary, the spoken name may be the same but the characters used to write their name have different meanings.

It has become a trend in Japanese / western marriages for the Japanese wife to have a adopt the new western last name but keep her maiden name as well usually as a last name or will reserve them both as legal names and not ever change the passport.

When registering the new family name the Japanese wife will add her foriegn husband to her Koseki Tohon or family/ Birth registry. It is a legal record of her family and birth of any children. Her last name on the Koseki Tohon will be that of her Husbands.
 
I just decided to change my last name as soon as I got married so I could have all the documents under my new last name. I just didn't want to go through getting another card after a name change. It seems easier (based on posts I've read in this forum) to change your passport, license, credit cards, bank, etc than to change ANYTHING with the uscis.
 
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