Name in Passport

[DDT 65]

I was planing sending in my first package (I-130) to my local office in Moscow (DCF) right after we are married with a copy of the fresh marriage certificate but the thought just occurred to me, it will still have my Russian spouses maiden name in it. Will this be a problem? I don't want to take the time for her to go through getting a new Passport because I am afraid that it will put me too close to the date of the expiration of my Russian visa and I hear that if I file DCF too close to that date it may be rejected. Any thoughts?

[payxibka 10,044]

I was planing sending in my first package (I-130) to my local office in Moscow (DCF) right after we are married with a copy of the fresh marriage certificate but the thought just occurred to me, it will still have my Russian spouses maiden name in it. Will this be a problem? I don't want to take the time for her to go through getting a new Passport because I am afraid that it will put me too close to the date of the expiration of my Russian visa and I hear that if I file DCF too close to that date it may be rejected. Any thoughts?

If the marriage certificate will only have your future spouses maiden name on it, then how is the name change documented then?

FWIW, My wife's Ukrainian marriage certificate had the before and after names on it...

[DDT 65]

If the marriage certificate will only have your future spouses maiden name on it, then how is the name change documented then?

FWIW, My wife's Ukrainian marriage certificate had the before and after names on it...

I meant that her passport will have her maiden name in it...........unless she takes the time to get a new passport. Time, that we don't really have!

[payxibka 10,044]

If the marriage certificate will only have your future spouses maiden name on it, then how is the name change documented then?

FWIW, My wife's Ukrainian marriage certificate had the before and after names on it...

I meant that her passport will have her maiden name in it...........unless she takes the time to get a new passport. Time, that we don't really have!

I honestly do not think that this situation is all that unusual....

[PJB 0]

Trying to renew or change names on a Russian passport is the ultimate nightmare. After spending endless days in lines and trying to get the right forms and info it will take 3-6 months before the new passport arrives (if it doesn't get lost in the Russian Black Hole system). Also any papers that don't match in terms of names, dates or whatever can end up stuck or delayed in the immigration process. It's easier to keep the maiden name on both marriage certificate and passport then change her last name in America.

[DDT 65]

Wow. can she travel on her old passport and carry the marriage certificate as proof of name change?

[PJB 0]

Wow. can she travel on her old passport and carry the marriage certificate as proof of name change?

DON'T change her last name. When you go to ZAGS for the wedding they call you to various desks before the ceremony so they get all the paperwork done before the actual ceremony. They will ask you what names to put on the marriage certificate, tell them your name and the bride's maiden name. they will also ask you if you want your certificate laminated. It will be easier to copy if you DON'T get it laminated (it will also save you quite a few rubles). When you come to America she can change her last name to yours at the citizenship ceremony.

[DDT 65]

DON'T change her last name. When you go to ZAGS for the wedding they call you to various desks before the ceremony so they get all the paperwork done before the actual ceremony. They will ask you what names to put on the marriage certificate, tell them your name and the bride's maiden name. they will also ask you if you want your certificate laminated. It will be easier to copy if you DON'T get it laminated (it will also save you quite a few rubles). When you come to America she can change her last name to yours at the citizenship ceremony.

Hmm......Well, this may present a small problem for me then because she wants to take my name, right away!

According to the official Russian domestic passport office they say that it only takes 2 weeks to change her domestic passport and a little longer for the international one. I suppose it is the "black hole" that is the wild card here!

I am worried that if she keeps her own last name that US Moscow at the time of the interview will want to ask questions about it.

[PJB 0]

DON'T change her last name. When you go to ZAGS for the wedding they call you to various desks before the ceremony so they get all the paperwork done before the actual ceremony. They will ask you what names to put on the marriage certificate, tell them your name and the bride's maiden name. they will also ask you if you want your certificate laminated. It will be easier to copy if you DON'T get it laminated (it will also save you quite a few rubles). When you come to America she can change her last name to yours at the citizenship ceremony.

Hmm......Well, this may present a small problem for me then because she wants to take my name, right away!

According to the official Russian domestic passport office they say that it only takes 2 weeks to change her domestic passport and a little longer for the international one. I suppose it is the "black hole" that is the wild card here!

I am worried that if she keeps her own last name that US Moscow at the time of the interview will want to ask questions about it.

Your bride may be old fashioned but the US consulate in Moscow is used to modern women keeping their maiden names after marriage. Even if they do ask all you have to do is say you will be changeing her name after your church wedding in America. ( Russians consider church weddings to be a more serious demonstration of your love and commitment than a ZAGS wedding)

As for any promises given by a Russian government office........шутка!!!!

[DDT 65]

I have been discussing this, at length, with my fiance and she will do anything to get rid of her maiden name. We know that she will have another problem if she tries to change her Russian passport after she has left Russia. Anyway I made several calls on this. The last one to that "pay 12 dollars for the call" center in Moscow who told me that if she files the I-130 in her new married name sending along a copy of her Russian passport still in her maiden name, she can then change her Russian passport into her new married name and fax them a copy of this passport reflecting the name change. They said all this would take about a month and that that would not be too long that it hindered the process. But of course I know that may or may not be accurate information even though I paid $12 for it!!

Homeland Security in Moscow told me that I will not need to have the Marriage Certificate legalized or apostillized.

So, well see! ....Ain't bureaucracy a wonderful t'ing?

[PJB 0]

I have been discussing this, at length, with my fiance and she will do anything to get rid of her maiden name. We know that she will have another problem if she tries to change her Russian passport after she has left Russia. Anyway I made several calls on this. The last one to that "pay 12 dollars for the call" center in Moscow who told me that if she files the I-130 in her new married name sending along a copy of her Russian passport still in her maiden name, she can then change her Russian passport into her new married name and fax them a copy of this passport reflecting the name change. They said all this would take about a month and that that would not be too long that it hindered the process. But of course I know that may or may not be accurate information even though I paid $12 for it!!

Homeland Security in Moscow told me that I will not need to have the Marriage Certificate legalized or apostillized.

So, well see! ....Ain't bureaucracy a wonderful t'ing?

You are kidding right? Who is on the other end of this $12 phone line? What do they know about changing a name in a Russian passport? My husband applied for his new Russian passport last April, was told it would be ready in a month, received it in Sept. A Russian friend just applied for his passport renewal last month. He spent 2 weeks of pain and frustration going from one end of Moscow to the other, being given the wrong forms, being sent to the wrong banks, being sent to the wrong desks in the wrong offices, and being yelled at by every government worker in each and every place! Maybe St. Pete is more user friendly, but I've found Russian government offices to be pretty consistant in their lack of organization and efficiency. Now your bride will probably walk into the passport office and get quick service with a smile, at which point you can call me an idiot. But don't forget to calculate your processing time frame to include summer vacations, otpusk, prazniki, and sanitary days!

P.S. Renewing or changing a Russian passport at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco is easily done by mail.......

[DDT 65]

P.S. Renewing or changing a Russian passport at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco is easily done by mail.......

Oh! I thought that she would have to return to Russia to do that. I thought that she could not change her International Passport until she changed her Domestic passport and that she has to change her Domestic passport to her married name IN Russia. In that case couldn't she just change her name in the Domestic passport before she went abroad and then just change/renew her International passport at her leisure at the consulate in San Francisco? Thereby allowing her to receive the visa in her maiden name in accordance with the maiden name still in her International passport?

Now the question comes to mind: Can she leave Russia having her Domestic passport with maiden name and International passport with married name? Does she even need to show the Domestic passport to officials on the way out of Russia? The last time I went to Finland, from St Petersburg, with a bus full of Russians, at the border they only showed one passport.

[PJB 0]

P.S. Renewing or changing a Russian passport at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco is easily done by mail.......

Oh! I thought that she would have to return to Russia to do that. I thought that she could not change her International Passport until she changed her Domestic passport and that she has to change her Domestic passport to her married name IN Russia. In that case couldn't she just change her name in the Domestic passport before she went abroad and then just change/renew her International passport at her leisure at the consulate in San Francisco? Thereby allowing her to receive the visa in her maiden name in accordance with the maiden name still in her International passport?

Now the question comes to mind: Can she leave Russia having her Domestic passport with maiden name and International passport with married name? Does she even need to show the Domestic passport to officials on the way out of Russia? The last time I went to Finland, from St Petersburg, with a bus full of Russians, at the border they only showed one passport.

Why do you want to make your life so complicated? Mrs. DDT can get all the answers on how to change her name on both passports by calling the passport desk at the SF Russian consulate www.consulrussia.org . In any event she won't need her internal passport to leave the country, only her travel passport which of course must match her ticket. Now when you two turn in your passports before the ZAGS ceremony hers will be stamped with a marriage registration that may have her new name if she has elected to change it at ZAGS. We foreigners do not get a marriage stamp so I'm not sure if the new last name is included along with the date, spouse's name, etc.

Why is she so dead set on changing to your name now? Is her last name so awful that she's willing to risk being apart from you if the process doesn't go smoothly? If she can only change her internal passport in Russia it's still no big deal because she won't need it until she returns to Russia for a visit, at which time she can plan to spend a summer with Mum and Dad while waiting for the new married name internal passport. Also if she has any college degrees or whatever documents she may need for her career in the US then she should be sure to make several copies of her maiden name passport so she can show that she is the same person who got that diploma. When you turn in an old passport the government does not return it like they do in America.