name change

L

lonelysoul

New Member
I will have dual citizenship. When I file for citizenship, I can request to have my last name legally changed to that of my husband. That means my US passport will have my husband's last name. Now what happens to my native country's passport? Do I have to legally change my last name in that passport? I am asking because we got married in the US, and our marriage was never registered in my home country. Will the name change only be in effect in the US, or in my country as well? Is it ok to keep my maiden name in my country's passport, or do I have to change it? Anybody with the same experience? Thank you all.
 
A number of cultures, many as 'enlightened' as the US and many not quite as enlightened do not traditionally change name.

Of course, we could always do it like some even more enlightened cultures where BOTH husband and wife change their last name to something in-between or hypenated (Sweden)...

Keeping the names in sync could come in handy down the road if you, say, want to buy property in your country of birth and there are tax issues (foreign vs local), if your kids want to get your country of birth citizenship, etc.
 
Depending your presence and existiing business/residential affairs in US, you may want to think about changing and amending other docs (mortgage, property title documents, etc).

Also, for the country of origin, it could be a tricky issue...There is a good likelihood that they may not accept your name change since it happended after the marriage ...(again you may want to check with your country's consulate..in some instances, it could be simple as validating and notarizing /legalizing the change via the consulate/embassy.. i know few do those services for small fee).
 
Thank you all. What I am asking is whether it is legal to change my last name to my husband's last name and get a US passport with my husband's last name, and at the same time keep my maiden name in my home country's passport? Somebody must have had a similar experience or did you all just keep your maiden names? Anybody with dual citizenship?
 
What I am asking is whether it is legal to change my last name to my husband's last name and get a US passport with my husband's last name, and at the same time keep my maiden name in my home country's passport?
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You'll have to talk to that country's consulate to find out their rules and procedures surrounding that. But given that you will be legally changing your last name, I don't think they will find it acceptable to continue using the passport with the old last name. I expect they will ask for your marriage certificate so they can record the marriage and issue an updated passport.
 
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