Hey all,

I'm a K1er, and my fiance would like me to take his last name after we get married. I know that you can change your name to whatever when you get married (pls correct me if I'm wrong), so I was thinking to drop my original name and add my American name. For e.g. as below:

Original Name: Hee Jin (first name) Park (last name)
Hubby-to-be's Last Name: Lee
Desired New Married Name: Jane Park Lee

So, I'd like to drop my first name entirely, use my last name as middle name, and take on my hubby-to-be's last name, as my new married name. My question is, I know whatever US IDs I'll have in future, will be in my new married name, but not in my foreign passport. Is that ok? Will it pose any potential problems when I travel internationally with my passport? And also, my K1 visa is in my original name, will my new married name give me problems too when I apply for AOS?

Thanks guys!

I'm not sure whether you can change your first name with your marriage certificate. You will possibly require a legal name change document for the first name. As for the middle and last name, that's what I did when I got married, and I haven't had any issues applying for a SSN. Filing for AOS also won't be an issue if you're intending to take your husband's name.

I've heard that some states are slightly strict about name changes, so you may want to check when you apply for your marriage license in the state you're marrying in. Correct me if I'm wrong about this.

If you aren't able to get your passport changed (or don't want to pay the cost of getting it changed into your married name) just be sure to bring a copy of your marriage certificate when you're traveling, and book the ticket with the same name as it is in the passport. Otherwise you will most likely get into a bit of hassle at the airport.

bump

You can take your husbands last name after your wedding.... as for changing your first name you can do this if you become a citizen.... until then you would have to do it through the courts....

Kez

Ditto what Kez said. A good thing is that a lot of people from Asian countries 'adopt' a Western name and use it daily for all things (at least that's how it was in Canada) with no problems. Example: you apply for a job with an employment agency, they will ask you what your preferred name is.
Good luck, L. (who kept her first name as is just to piss people off and test their spelling skills ....)

Hi everyone

I m an Indian Citizen and my husband is a US citizen

We got married in August 2007 in India

My husband has filed all the paper work needed for wife immigrant visa and he got NOA-1 with my new last name (his last name) but I have a valid passport with my old name as single will that be a problem for issuing the visa?

Question – 1:- Is it necessary that PASSPORT MUST MATCH EXACTLY WITH THE NAME ON THE VISA?
Question - 2:- Do I have to make a fresh passport with my new last name and marital status?

Please reply