Let's see.
I received my green card (and the visa stamp in my passport) on July 18th of this year. My green card had an error on it so I had to send it back to be replaced, I'm currently waiting on the replacement. My question is, I have a stamp in my passport that reads as follows. "Processed for I-551 Temporary Evidence of Lawful Admission for Permanent Residence Valid until July 17 2007" with my A# and it also says "CR6 as of 7/18/06" along with my full married name.

I'm going to Canada for Christmas, if I do not recieve my correct green card, this stamp in my passport should still be valid, right?!?! I didn't think much of it but after buying non-refundable plane tickets I'm starting to wonder....



Probably worrying about nothing.

Also, does anyone know offhand if the Canadian Consulate in Houston (or anywhere, but houston specifically) would be able to attach my married name to my passport? I'm thinking it should be on there officially

thanks for all your help!

I crossed the border to Canada on that very stamp and had no problems.

Have a great Christmas with your family.

Not sure if I can help you with this as my POE was SFO. I received my I-551 stamp and left USA prior to receiving my GC. Hence, at the POE, I just showed them the stamp in my passport.

They requested for me to go to a "Secondary Inspection" room where they confirmed that I did indeed receive a genuine I-551 stamp, as it is pretty easy to counterfeit the stamp. This process took less than 5 minutes.

Anyway, my husband was *supposed* to wait outside with my GC in case anything happened (He did not travel with me). I was paranoid about this but it turned out to be unnecessary. =)

Have good holiday!

Sincerely,
Miwa's wife

Thank you both very much!

Going to Canada for Christmas, huh? I'm from Houston and I'm traveling to Canada for Christmas as well! Where are you headed? For all we know, we might be on the same flight!

Now...as far as the Canadian Consulate in Houston goes, I don't know if they can do that or not. Your best bet is to call them, e-mail them, or drive there and ask in person. Whichever you feel most comfortable with and you feel would get the best results.

For all the necessary info on the Houston Canadian Consulate, click here and that should take you to the right spot.

I've read the passport and consulate websites until I went cross-eyed and as near as I can tell it should be a simple procedure. I'm going on December 19th on Air Canada flying to Saskatoon via Calgary it'll be an early morning but I'm looking so forward to it.

What name did you put on your tickets?

Legally, the name on the ticket has to match the name on your passport or they probably won't let you on the plane. You'd better make that trip to the consulate quick. If they have to send it out anywhere for the amendment, it'll take a couple of weeks.

Well it would take 20 business days to add the name to my passport and I just don't have that time. So we called Air Canada and she made a note of my maiden name in the file, and she insists we'll be alright if we bring a copy of our marriage license. I NEED that passport because it's the only proof I have of my visa right now, so I guess we'll have to cross our fingers and hope for the best.

For the record, I would need to send my passport to Quebec! ridiculous!

Oh for goodness' sake. QUEBEC?!!! Sigh. Is it 20 business days from when you send the passport till when you receive it back?

oh I don't know, probably. I asked in my email if there was any fee to speed up the process but apparently there isn't. So we're just gonna have to grit our teeth and get through it. I don't know if it will be a huge deal in customs if I have all the documents, but I think the ticket booth might be the biggest hassle.

how long are you going to be there for? If you're there for 2 weeks or so, you can just go into any passport office and hand over your passport, birth certificate and marriage certificate and they'll amend with your married name. You could have it back in 7 to 10 business days if you go back and pick it up.

do they still do that? I thought the rules had changed and you need a whole new passport now, I could be wrong though..

mmm, I just looked it up and it is kind of confusing....



http://www.ppt.gc.ca/can/personal_information.aspx?lang=e

only for a week

Oh well.

Marilyn, it depends on what you want to do with it. You have both choices. If your current passport is valid for a few years yet, you can just have it amended and they add your married name to one page (they type it in and stamp the gov't seal on the page). Or, if your passport is near expiry, you can get a new one with your married name instead of your maiden name.

When I first changed my name, I just had my passport amended, but before I got my K3 I applied for an entirely new one with just my married name because my old one would have expired a year after I arrived, and with a year still on my visa.

either or....