Permanent Resident marrying a citizen

[AnnaMilena]

Dear forum members,

I am a lawful permanent resident since July 2007. I met my boyfriend 3 years ago, here at the local university where I study. We live in the same household since 2 years now and he recently proposed. So we are on the best way to get married

But here are my questions:
What do I have to do to be in compliance with the law after we are getting married??
Is it enough to sent USCIS a true copy of the marriage certificate and declare that I am married?
Do I have to change my name and therefore, all the documents like Greencard, Passport etc.?

I thank you all in advance for your help.

Anna

 

[speakamericano]

Dear forum members,

I am a lawful permanent resident since July 2007. I met my boyfriend 3 years ago, here at the local university where I study. We live in the same household since 2 years now and he recently proposed. So we are on the best way to get married

But here are my questions:
What do I have to do to be in compliance with the law after we are getting married??
Is it enough to sent USCIS a true copy of the marriage certificate and declare that I am married?
Do I have to change my name and therefore, all the documents like Greencard, Passport etc.?

I thank you all in advance for your help.

Anna

Congrats on your boat to a marriage!
1. If you have a 10 year unconditional Green card then you can get married whenever you want.
2. You can send a copy of marriage certificate to USCIS to update your status on the green card records.
3. You do not have to change your name. In case you need to travel in the future, just carry a notarized copy of the marriage certificate to prove your marriage. You can change your name to your husband's last name if you want but it's not required that you take his last name

 

[Jackolantern]

Is it enough to sent USCIS a true copy of the marriage certificate and declare that I am married?
Do I have to change my name and therefore, all the documents like Greencard, Passport etc.?

As a green card holder, unless you are involved in an immigration process such as applying for citizenship or sponsoring somebody for a green card, you don't need to tell USCIS that you're married. I don't think they even have a procedure to handle your marital status change without you being involved in an immigration process.

You don't have to change your name either, but if you do change your name you would need to update your green card with the new name (this is true whether your name change is due to marriage or another reason).

 

[Jackolantern]

Since you are probably eligible for citizenship next year, if you plan to change your name it's not a bad idea to wait until the citizenship process to change it. That way you don't have to spend the time and money to change your green card, and you also wouldn't need to change your non-US passport if you're going to stop using it when you get a US passport.

 

[Triple Citizen]

A1: What law? Marriage is a state issue. As long as you are legally married (not committing bigamy) by the state where you get married, there is nothing else you need to do.

A2: You do not need to update USCIS with regards to your change of marital status

A3: You do not have to take up your future husband's surname. However if you do, then you need to update your documents.

What do I have to do to be in compliance with the law after we are getting married??
Is it enough to sent USCIS a true copy of the marriage certificate and declare that I am married?
Do I have to change my name and therefore, all the documents like Greencard, Passport etc.?