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JimmyHou

Information on Name Change During Naturalization

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
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Thank you so much for this info, was curious about this since I was debating between name changing or not to take on my husbands name. Very helpful and informative.




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Is there the ability for my son to change his name at any point during the naturalization process. I am about to send in my N-400 and while I'm unsure about the nuts and bolts of how he is processed, I'm curious as to whether he has this same option at any stage? He is 17 years old and wants to change his last name to mine.

TIA

Nikki

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Egypt
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Is there the ability for my son to change his name at any point during the naturalization process. I am about to send in my N-400 and while I'm unsure about the nuts and bolts of how he is processed, I'm curious as to whether he has this same option at any stage? He is 17 years old and wants to change his last name to mine.

TIA

Nikki

Since minors cannot file an N400, they cannot change their names through the naturalization process.

The following is assuming your son is a permanent resident and living with you in the US.

If you become a citizen before your done turns 18 then he will become a citizen automatically too. He can then change his name in court after he turns 18.

If your son turns 18 before you take the oath of citizenship, he will not become a citizen. He will have to file his own N400 when he is both over 18 and has been a permanent resident for 5 years. He can then change his name through the naturalization process.

For a review of each step of my N-400 naturalization process, from application to oath ceremony, please click here.

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Ok got it. So really, it's cheaper for me to get the Citizenship (before he is 18) and THEN he can change his name in court, which is something like $150.00. He is 18 in January so I should, fingers crossed, have it all done and dusted by then.

Thank you! :D

Edited by nikkikl
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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Egypt
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One more thing (prompted by a question on another thread):

If you need or want additional copies of the name change certificate (the original will be stapled to your naturalization certificate) you can contact the clerk of the district court through which you were naturalized at your judicial oath ceremony. You should be able to purchase additional copies of the name change order for around $10 or $20.

Edited by JimmyHou

For a review of each step of my N-400 naturalization process, from application to oath ceremony, please click here.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Filed: FB-4 Visa Country: Australia
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Please Help.

Dear Forumers,

My sister has changed her name during citizenship oath ceremony and says there was no court order given and it was held in immigration office at Los Angeles. Now am planning to apply for f4 sibling visa and it requires evidence of name change for my sister.Can you please guide what documents required and how do i get them?

Thanks

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Egypt
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Please Help.

Dear Forumers,

My sister has changed her name during citizenship oath ceremony and says there was no court order given and it was held in immigration office at Los Angeles. Now am planning to apply for f4 sibling visa and it requires evidence of name change for my sister.Can you please guide what documents required and how do i get them?

Thanks

It sounds like she had an administrative ceremony not a judicial ceremony. That means she did not do a legal name change. Did she just change her name to take her spouse's last name, to revert to her maiden name, or to hyphenate the two names? If so, then she can use a marriage or divorce certificate as proof of her new name.

So:

1- What change did she request?

2- Does her naturalization certificate show the new name?

For a review of each step of my N-400 naturalization process, from application to oath ceremony, please click here.

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Filed: FB-4 Visa Country: Australia
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Thanks for your reply Jimmy,

My sister has added her Husband first name to her name . Her maiden name is now her Husband"s first name.

1.If a marriage certificate is not available what other documents will be treated as evidence?

2. Is there any way that she can get evidence or certificate from a file where the judicial ceremony has taken place to show the name change ?

Please advice.

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Egypt
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Thanks for your reply Jimmy,

My sister has added her Husband first name to her name . Her maiden name is now her Husband"s first name.

1.If a marriage certificate is not available what other documents will be treated as evidence?

2. Is there any way that she can get evidence or certificate from a file where the judicial ceremony has taken place to show the name change ?

Please advice.

It doesn't sound like she did a legal name change through the N400 process. If that's the case then there is no evidence or certificate of any kind because there was no name change and perhaps no judicial ceremony.

I'm still not clear on what her name was and is now. Maybe you can explain with fake names.

But if she just changed her name due to marriage then she can use her marriage certificate as proof. See the first post on this thread. That would explain why there was no official name change... She didn't need one.

For a review of each step of my N-400 naturalization process, from application to oath ceremony, please click here.

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Filed: FB-4 Visa Country: Australia
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Dear Jimmy,

Before name change:

My sisters name : SUE + Maiden name

Her Husband name : DAVID

After name change:

My sisters name : SUE DAVID NIVEN

Her Husband name : DAVID NIVEN

Both my sister and her husband added NIVEN during name change. Where "NIVEN" relates to a specific religion/caste.

Thanks Jimmy.

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Egypt
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Dear Jimmy,

Before name change:

My sisters name : SUE + Maiden name

Her Husband name : DAVID

After name change:

My sisters name : SUE DAVID NIVEN

Her Husband name : DAVID NIVEN

Both my sister and her husband added NIVEN during name change. Where "NIVEN" relates to a specific religion/caste.

Thanks Jimmy.

If she husbands name is David Niven and she became Sue Niven then she wouldn't need a formal name change; she can just use her marriage certificate. Since she added the "David" that complicates things. I think this would require a formal name change but I'm not sure. So here's what she can do:

1- Find out if she had a judicial ceremony or an administrative ceremony. Does she remember having a judge at her ceremony or was it a. USCIS official who administered the oath? Did she sign additional name change documents at her interview (the interviewer would have printed these and had her check the old and new names and sign the papers at the interview)? If there was no judge or if she didn't sign those extra forms then she didn't do a legal name change.

2-a- if she had a judicial ceremony, she can go to the clerk of the federal district court and request a copy of the name change certificate. These should cost $10-$20.

2-b- If she had an administrative ceremony or a judicial ceremony without a formal name change then she has two options.

2-b-i- She can try to use her marriage certificate as evidence of the name change. This may not work because she is doing more than taking her husbands last name.

2-b-ii- She may have to go to court and get a legal name change so that her name matches the name on her naturalization certificate.

In short, she needed a legal name change and USCIS messed up. Either they forgot to give her the name change certificate or they never requested one from a judge because they thought it was just a marriage name change. Adding the husband's first name makes this (I think) more than a marriage name change which would have not required a certificate.

So first step would be to check with the court (if she remembers the things mentioned above).

Second step would be to use the marriage certificate as evidence of name change.

Third step would be to go to court and request a name change. This won't be free.

For a review of each step of my N-400 naturalization process, from application to oath ceremony, please click here.

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Egypt
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I posted this information a few months ago, but I thought I'd repost the relevant section on this thread for completeness. This has to do with whether or not you should excpect a delay due to a name change request. Sorry if some of this is repetition of the information above.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/500304-info-on-same-day-ceremonies-name-changes/

Although the N400 form has a place where you can request a name change, only a judge can approve a name change. USCIS offers two types of ceremonies: Administrative and Judicial. Name change requests can only be accommodated at Judicial ceremonies. Some people automatically assume that a name change request will delay your application, but this depends on the local office (see link in the first post of this thread). Judicial ceremonies can also be carried out by the Federal District Court. Here are three examples:

1) Houston offers monthly Judicial ceremonies and "rarely" offers Administrative ceremonies - so a name change request is very unlikely to cause a delay.

2) Seattle conducts Judicial ceremonies once per year, but regularly offers Administrative ceremonies - so a name change request can cause a significant delay unless the District Court holds its own ceremonies (you would have to check the court's website).

3) San Jose conducts an Administrative ceremony 2 to 3 times per month, but does not offer Judicial ceremonies - so a name change request will not be accepted if your N400 goes through San Jose (this is a recent change, but if you search, you'll find interview experiences describing this).

Edited by JimmyHou

For a review of each step of my N-400 naturalization process, from application to oath ceremony, please click here.

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