Need some suggestions please

[bassagitator 1]

Today we received a request for additional evidience.

The problem is is we do not know what to send.

Sorry in advance that this is so confusing.

Here is a little bit of back ground.

My wife was in foster care for the majority of her life. During that time the foster care system mixed up her last name. And told her that her last name was h_____ when in actual reality it was D_____. Her birth certificate had the D____ name listed as her legal last name, but she was not allowed access to it.

So with this confusion my wife went and got a drivers license under the H____ name (unbenyonst to her), and was able to obtain a Social Insurance number under the H________ name as well. As far as we could tell their was NO legal name change, there was just confusion on the social workers part as to what her last name was.

Once she realized what had happened, she was able to quickly change her documents all over to her actual legal name of D_____. She had no problems, doing this and was able to do it rather quickly.

Now the INS is requesting information which verifies legal name change for all names used. Well since there was NO legal name change done to show that she had changed her name to H______, how can we show that one was done??

What can we do to get this sorted out??

Edited February 20, 2010 by bassagitator

[VanessaTony 3,567]

First I need a bit more info.

1. When did she change all this over? Was it during the immigration process that she changed her name?

2. When you married her, what was her maiden name? Does your marriage licence list her D name as the person you married? Or H?

I'm assuming that for the WHOLE process she had to obtain her birth certificate, and that was when she discovered the error.

Are you sure this is regarding her surname? And not that you forgot to include the marriage cert?

How did she explain it to the SSA and DMV? Perhaps she could explain it in the same way. Perhaps she could also obtain a document from the foster agency verifying it was their fault?

Personally I think you might need to make an infopass appointment to discuss this in person. You can book online here: https://infopass.uscis.gov/info_en.php To me it's kinda like explaining a clerical error.. but you need to find someone that will ADMIT it's their fault...

Edited February 20, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[Brit Abroad 166]

If there was no legal name change to support it, you cannot provide anything but a letter confirming that the situation arose from confusion within Social Services.

Tracking down someone from the past who can verify it and attest to it's veracity would be useful, but that's probably going to be difficult. Are there any records of her having both names active at the same time, maybe during the changeover period when she knew what had happened?

Edited February 20, 2010 by Brit Abroad

[bassagitator 1]

First I need a bit more info.

1. When did she change all this over? Was it during the immigration process that she changed her name? As soon as she aged out of the foster care system when she was 18 years old.

2. When you married her, what was her maiden name? Does your marriage licence list her D name as the person you married? Or H? I married her as the D name which was on her birth certificate.

I'm assuming that for the WHOLE process she had to obtain her birth certificate, and that was when she discovered the error. Correct

Are you sure this is regarding her surname? And not that you forgot to include the marriage cert? Nope it states that we need to provide all ducumentation for legal name change from H to D.

How did she explain it to the SSA and DMV? Perhaps she could explain it in the same way. Perhaps she could also obtain a document from the foster agency verifying it was their fault? She didn't have to show any additional documents because the foster care system got those documents for her.

Personally I think you might need to make an infopass appointment to discuss this in person. You can book online here: https://infopass.uscis.gov/info_en.php To me it's kinda like explaining a clerical error.. but you need to find someone that will ADMIT it's their fault...

If there was no legal name change to support it, you cannot provide anything but a letter confirming that the situation arose from confusion within Social Services.

Tracking down someone from the past who can verify it and attest to it's veracity would be useful, but that's probably going to be difficult. Are there any records of her having both names active at the same time, maybe during the changeover period when she knew what had happened?

The only person we would be able to track down is a supervisor that handled her case. But that could take forever to do, and we only have 4 weeks to submit this.

Not sure about the documents in both names.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

The only person we would be able to track down is a supervisor that handled her case. But that could take forever to do, and we only have 4 weeks to submit this.

Not sure about the documents in both names.

Some suggestions:

Perhaps an affidavit signed by your wife? Stating that while in foster care they didn't show her a birth certificate and that on aging out you saw it and that the name was wrong?

Perhaps you could speak with the SSA about what they have on file for a name change? I don't know if that's possible but it's an idea 'cause I'm sure THEY have something and it's her file so she should have access to it.

Could you contact the foster agency? Maybe call and speak to someone and express the urgency and get them to fax you a document explaining what happened?

I'd try all that while waiting for an infopass appointment. At the infopass you can explain to them what you have or don't have and explain it in person to see what they think you need.

Hope that helps and good luck. Keep us posted.

Edited February 20, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony