Using maiden name vs. new last name on all forms?

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Nightlifer

Registered Users (C)
Another quick question - mainly for the ladies (gentlemen, feel free to chime in if you feel qualified).

A friend of mine recently got married to a USC and is applying for AOS. Her intention is to assume her husband's name as her last name, and keep her maiden name as her middle name. Using an example, she was Vera Ivanovna Portnova prior to the marriage, and now she is Vera Portnova Smith. Of course, she doesn't have any documents with the new name on them. However, she did put the new name (Vera Portnova Smith) on the marriage license application. The marriage certificate (state of CA) should be in the mail, but she doesn't know if the new name will appear on it.

Question is this: should all of AOS forms be filled out using the new name (Vera Portnova Smith)? Presumably, the green card information will be based on that contained in the forms. The hesitation is due to the fact that, again, all of my friend's supporting documents (birth certificate, passport, etc.) have the maiden name on them. Could filling out the forms using the new name cause a problem?

Thanks a lot for your help.
 
I don't have any experience with AOS, but with the CP there are provisions for such situations on form ds-230 among others. This isn't a problem at all. On form G-325 for example, there is a box that states, "ALL OTHER NAMES USED." If your friend prefers to use her married name, then use it.
 
Nightlifer said:
she was Vera Ivanovna Portnova prior to the marriage, and now she is Vera Portnova Smith.
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that's exactly what I did. I was Ludmila Ivanovna "Pupkina", and when I applied for AOS, I filled all the forms with Pupkina in the middle name section, and with "Smith" in the last name.

Then I went to SSA and changed my SSN card to read Ludmila Ivanovna Pupkina Smith. No hyphens. THat's all she needs to do (she needs to bring her marriage certificate as well) - then she needs to gradually start using her married name: official documents, work, credit cards, insurance, etc.

AOS was successful, and now my GC reads: Ludmila P. Smith. I changed my driver's license after I got my GC since I also changed states.

In GA the marriage certificate simply states: John Smith and Ludmila Pupkina have entered into a matrimony yada-yada-yada. It does not state that the new name will be Smith.
 
Thank you all for weighing in. LucyMO, does your GC only list the middle name (former last name) as the initial? My friend is concerned that traveling out of the country, with the AP or post-AOS, may be an issue, if the GC reads "Vera P. Smith" and the passport reads "Vera Ivanovna Portnova". I suppose if I were a border control officer at an airport, that would give me pause.

Thanks again.
 
I don't mean to interrupt but my friend Yuri had the same issue when he brought over his bride from the old country. She couldn't fit her whole name on the form so she just used her intial in the same way your friend Vera Ivanovna Portnova did. She has never had a problem since the CBP officers just look at her passport photo and her green card photo and see it is the same person.
 
Nightlifer said:
My friend is concerned that traveling out of the country, with the AP or post-AOS, may be an issue, if the GC reads "Vera P. Smith" and the passport reads "Vera Ivanovna Portnova". I suppose if I were a border control officer at an airport, that would give me pause.

Thanks again.
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it doesn't give anybody a pause, if the person has her marriage certificate with her. Lots of people travel like that.
 
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