Name Change

[appledrop 0]

Hi all, sorry if this post is in the wrong forum, I honestly have no clue where to ask this.

My fiance is in the process of getting his Fiance Visa so he will be coming to the US soon and we'll be getting married. During this entire process he is wanting to change his name.

I'm wondering how can he go about doing this without his immigration stuff getting all messed up? When we marry we both want to take a different last name than the one he has.

Can anyone tell me at what point in this entire process is best for a name change to happen? What paperwork must be filled out? Are there any fees? Who must be notified?

If anyone knows anything please help as I have no clue about any of this.

Thanks!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi all, sorry if this post is in the wrong forum, I honestly have no clue where to ask this.

My fiance is in the process of getting his Fiance Visa so he will be coming to the US soon and we'll be getting married. During this entire process he is wanting to change his name.

I'm wondering how can he go about doing this without his immigration stuff getting all messed up? When we marry we both want to take a different last name than the one he has.

Can anyone tell me at what point in this entire process is best for a name change to happen? What paperwork must be filled out? Are there any fees? Who must be notified?

If anyone knows anything please help as I have no clue about any of this.

Thanks!

Life is complicated enough without shooting yourself in the foot. YEs a name change can definitley cause problems with the visa process as it takes them 45 days to respond to anything. It is worse than turning a battleship. He should cool his jets and wait until later to do that name change stuff.

[Dakine 26]

He can change his name with USCIS when adjusting status. The GC will come in his new name.

[Rings 10]

I honestly do not see any point in making things more confusing and hard on both of you by sticking a wrench in an already gruelling process. If he wants to change his name he should do that after immigration in my opinion. No sense in making the already complex immigration process even worse.

[Allie and Nigel 2]

Why cant he change his name like the women do and just take her's for the the time being...its common for women to change, why not the guys take the girls name?? I think if the girls can do it legally just by marrying, why cant they? I know when I became a US citizen, it gave me the option to change my name too...maybe one should wait till they do that a few years down the line?

Edited September 13, 2009 by Allie and Nigel

[appledrop 0]

Thanks for all the responses.

I see that pretty much everyone is wanting us to wait. Thanks for the input, but that's not what I'm asking.

What I'm asking is how can he go about changing his name?

Here's the deal. He has 2 last names. He only wants to use one.

There are tons of people on this website and all of you must know some things because there's no way any of us could've gotten through this visa process if we didn't. I've googled, I've searched, I've done as much as I can possibly do. Now I'm trying to ask for help and there's not even a stupid phone number I can call to get some clarification.

I'd rather be shooting myself in the foot right now.

[Rings 10]

Ok well I am American and I will offer you only what I know from the laws here in Colorado. As far as I know you can't change your name without a court order to do so. If you get married a woman is legally allowed to change her name becuase ensures the heritage of the male by being able to pass the name onto his children. If women could not change their name in marriage then the last males of the family would not be able to pass their name on. If you get a divorce the judge asks you if you would like to change your name back to your maiden name and he puts in the court order to do so. You cannot change your name (as a woman) without that court order even in divorce... you have to have it. I am not sure how a man goes about changing his name, but I would start with the county clerk in the county he resides. They probably have legal stipulations on name changes in his country I am not sure. Most places do have stipulations because changing your name raises a flag on if you are running from debt collectors or crimes you may have committed in the past. He will have to go to the courts to request the information. None of us can help you here unless we are male and from his country and have done it before I am sorry to say.

Edited September 15, 2009 by Rings

[appledrop 0]

Ok well I am American and I will offer you only what I know from the laws here in Colorado. As far as I know you can't change your name without a court order to do so. If you get married a woman is legally allowed to change her name becuase ensures the heritage of the male by being able to pass the name onto his children. If women could not change their name in marriage then the last males of the family would not be able to pass their name on. If you get a divorce the judge asks you if you would like to change your name back to your maiden name and he puts in the court order to do so. You cannot change your name (as a woman) without that court order even in divorce... you have to have it. I am not sure how a man goes about changing his name, but I would start with the county clerk in the county he resides. They probably have legal stipulations on name changes in his country I am not sure. Most places do have stipulations because changing your name raises a flag on if you are running from debt collectors or crimes you may have committed in the past. He will have to go to the courts to request the information. None of us can help you here unless we are male and from his country and have done it before I am sorry to say.

Alright, thank you so much for taking the time to reply.

As much as we'd like to get this done it looks like we're just going to have to deal with it how it is until times are easier to deal with. It's not fun dealing with a long distance relationship, a pending k1 visa, preparing for marriage and travel expenses, and also saving to move houses AND moving. I give up on name changes. They can wait.