Changing my name

[mingus_drake 0]

hi all, maybe a stupid question but handy to know for SSN etc... we plan to get married as soon as possible after landing in the usa so we can do the AOS and i can start working asap. so i'll apply for a SSN after the marriage so i don't have to change my name on it. however- how and where do i have to change my name? can i do it in the usa or do i have to legally do it in australia where i was born?

also we're having a wedding ceremony in australia before we go to the usa, but we won't sign a marriage certificate so it won't be legal. i assume that's kosher?

[M. 0]

(Disclaimer: IANAL)

I have *no* idea how marriages work in Australia, but in the US you apply for a marriage license before the wedding; at the wedding it's signed by the officiant, the couple, and two witnesses, and then it's a legal marriage (once it's mailed in, natch.)

IF it's a similar system in Australia, you won't apply for the marriage license/certificate AT ALL.

For the name change, I could be wrong, but I believe that ID in your maiden name will suffice to get a SSN in your married name as long as you bring the marriage certificate (which you have to do as a K-1 holder anyway). Depending on what state you'll reside in, you may or may not need your passport to be in your married name as well for a license to be issued in your married name.

Hope that helps!

[mingus_drake 0]

thanks! i'll do some googling on how it works here. as far as i know it's the same as the usa.

state will be wisconsin.

[Slightly Bonkers 0]

bear in mind that some counties in the states (and I know a couple in WI) 'officially' require a SSN for a marriage license. You should have your FI call his local office to ensure that your county doesn't need one. Many say they require it on websites but when you call they don't actually need one, and won't actually accept one with 'DHS work authorisation required' written on it (which yours will, if you're a K1), so calling is the best option.

[mingus_drake 0]

bear in mind that some counties in the states (and I know a couple in WI) 'officially' require a SSN for a marriage license. You should have your FI call his local office to ensure that your county doesn't need one. Many say they require it on websites but when you call they don't actually need one, and won't actually accept one with 'DHS work authorisation required' written on it (which yours will, if you're a K1), so calling is the best option.

thanks a lot for the tip. if makes a difference, the county is milwaukee

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

hi all, maybe a stupid question but handy to know for SSN etc... we plan to get married as soon as possible after landing in the usa so we can do the AOS and i can start working asap. so i'll apply for a SSN after the marriage so i don't have to change my name on it. however- how and where do i have to change my name? can i do it in the usa or do i have to legally do it in australia where i was born?

also we're having a wedding ceremony in australia before we go to the usa, but we won't sign a marriage certificate so it won't be legal. i assume that's kosher?

Yes to the "unofficial" marriage in Australia. You can pretend to get married all you want.

When you arrive, apply for the SSN immediately, on the way home from the airport. AFTER you are married, at your leisure, go back to the SS office and change your name. They will go into convulsions and have infarctions and have to figure out what to do....again. But YOU will have your social security card while THEY pull their head out of their ####### for the 2 millionth time that day.

If you wait until after you are married and want to get a social security card AND change your name all at one time, YOU will wait while they pull their head out of their #######. Never allow the government to bother you with their inefficiencies if it can be avoided.

[Jasman0717 9]

It seemed to me to be a bigger headache to get the SSN card after marriage because social security requires proof from the USCIS. You can get a card after being here about two weeks. Claudeth's Filipino passport was going to expire so we got her a new one and also registered her marriage with the Filipino consulate so her name was changed with the Filipino records in Manila. Maybe your country would do the same.

[Badgerella 5]

hi all, maybe a stupid question but handy to know for SSN etc... we plan to get married as soon as possible after landing in the usa so we can do the AOS and i can start working asap. so i'll apply for a SSN after the marriage so i don't have to change my name on it. however- how and where do i have to change my name? can i do it in the usa or do i have to legally do it in australia where i was born?

also we're having a wedding ceremony in australia before we go to the usa, but we won't sign a marriage certificate so it won't be legal. i assume that's kosher?

I can't tell you about Australia, but I learned, just today, how it works in Croatia, where I come from.

Apparently, the wedding certificate the US will issue will not say anything about name change. As a Croatian citizen (I will, of course, keep this citizenship, as well), when I come here, I have to register the marriage with the authorities here (same you'd go to if you were to marry in Croatia). If I change my name, which I'm going to because I'm taking my fiance's last name when we marry, I have to register that with the Croatian authorities as well, in order to have it in the books, and in order to have my Croatian passport, ID and other documents re-issued with the right name on them.

The Croatian authorities told me to bring the original wedding certificate with an apostille on it (Hague convention stamp that makes various documents valid internationally), translated to Croatian in order to complete any of the forementioned steps.

As for the wedding ceremony you plan to have - I would avoid. Even though no documents will be signed, I still wouldn't do it just for extra safety. Once we're legally married in the US, we might have, at some later date, a church ceremony here in Croatia, just for my relatives and friends who won't be able to attend the real wedding in the States.

[mingus_drake 0]

thanks for the responses. hard to know what to do about the "wedding" here in australia... but i've already bought the dress and made a bunch of preparations. maybe we should have a reception and no ceremony, i don't know.

[Chocolot 0]

How about an **Engagement** celebration, or pre-marriage celebration, its simply the official part of the wedding that is a no-no

Its all about not doing anything to confuse your status of Fiancee/fiance, because a married person is unable to use a K1 visa

thanks for the responses. hard to know what to do about the "wedding" here in australia... but i've already bought the dress and made a bunch of preparations. maybe we should have a reception and no ceremony, i don't know.