Ok, so I'm getting a little paranoid. I'm filling out the I-130 and the I-864 and my question is should I put my legal middle name or the name I use for everything? I don't like my legal middle name and do not use it. I use my maiden name as my middle name and that is what is on my passport and my driver's license. Thanks for any help.

I'm afraid I don't know the answer but I had a thought - is your birth certificate the only thing your 'real' middle name is on? Will you be submitting this during your application process at all? I would say if the answers are yes and no respectively, you should use your maiden name. If your passport is in that name and it's a copy of that you're filing as proof of citizenship with the I-130, I don't think you can really use any other name than that on the passport.

Good luck!

My legal middle name is on my birth certificate which is to be submitted when I file the I-130 in person at the Embassy here. Also my legal middle name is on my marriage certificate as the clerk issuing it said I had to use my legal middle name and not my maiden surname on it, that also goes with the I-130.

I have a similar but not totally the same problem with my name. My problem is that my first name and middle names were switched around in my baptismal certificate. And growing up I used the name that appears on my baptismal cert and not birth cert. Birth and marriage certificates both say, for example, Christine Marie. But all other identification cards like citizenship cards, medicard, and passport say Maria Christina. BTW, that's not my real name.

Anyway, my husband and I filed the I-130 and I-129F with my birth name but then realized that they will probably issue the visa in the name that appears on my passport. So on separate occasions, we asked NVC what to put in the DS-230 form, and both times they told us to put the name that appears on my passport and the name that I go by. They also told us that it's okay because we reported both names on the forms and they both appear in their system. We had put the other name under the line that says "Other Names Used or Aliases".

I also emailed the consulate in Montreal (we are also trying to do K-3) to do a name change (to switch it to my passport name) and they sent back an email saying they will do the correction during the interview.

And just so we covered as much as we could on this name issue, I had an affidavit made saying that Christine Marie and Maria Christina are one and the same person. I signed one, my mom signed one, my dad and my grandmother also signed one each... probably an overkill and we probably won't need it at the end. But it's better to be overprepared.

Hope this helps...
Good luck!

It does help, thanks I pretty much thought it would be as you say you were advised. If it is in my passport and I have signed legal documents using my maiden name as my middle name, then I will use it on my I-130 & I-864 and it should be ok as long as I have documented all names used.

Candace, thanks for your help too!

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I doubt that they would change your name on the visa.. they have to use the name that is on the passport to issue the visa, which is your legal name.

If you want to change your legal name, you should find out what is required in your Province to do a legal name change.

I had a middle name on my birth certificate that I never used.

When I went for my final interview they told me they needed an official paper trail of a name change, so I had to go to the registry and get that done pronto. It didn't matter that it wasn't on either of my passports, the fact that it is on your birth certificate meant that they saw it as official.

It was an extra week or so holdup so I would definitely recommend getting it changed legally.

Oh yes, I understand that they will use the name that's on my passport and I have no problems with that. Changing my legal name ... well, not sure about that. I mean, I wouldn't know what to change it to. Back to my birth certificate name or back to my passport name?

See this is my problem:

Birth certificate & Marriage certificate: Christine Marie Surname

Passport, baptismal certificate, citizenship card, medicard and all other ID cards: Maria Christina Surname


In order for me to get a passport in the name that appears on my birth certificate, I need to show 2 photo ID's. The problem is, I don't have any in that name.
Growing up my mom always presented my baptismal certificate, and so I've always gone by that name.

So, what should I do? Try changing my name legally to my birth certificate name? Will this cause a lot of problems with US Immigration?
BTW, I wasn't born in Canada and so changing the name on my birth certificate may not be possible at the moment as it would require me going back to my country of birth and apparently, it takes awhile to get it done.





Thanks for your input. What kind of paper trail were they looking for?

Thanks, everyone!

Your legal name is the name that is on your BC... unless you have a court order that changed it.... However, did you get a legal name change when you naturalized in your home country. That may take care of it for you...

However, the fact that they used your BC name on your marriage certificate may complicate things a bit....

You do not need to go back to the country that you were born it to get it changed... You can get it changed in the country that you live in..in a Canadian Court of Law.

Here's what needs to be done in Ontario

http://www.cbs.gov.on.ca/mcbs/english/change_name.htm

Thanks, Zyggy!
Am definitely looking into this. However, I moved from Ontario to Quebec in July 2005. In both provinces, they require a 12-month residency period to do the name change. Anyway, that's just something else...

Well, at least I've been warned... might have more delays on my end.

Thanks, again!