Green Card travel and middle name dilemma

[diverdon 0]

We were married in NY 0n 8 August 2009. The clerk who issued our marriage license told us that my wife could not change her middle name by marriage only her last name. My wife told me that this was going to be a big problem because in the Philippines your former last name becomes your new middle name. Sure enough when we went to the Philippine embassy to renew my wife’s passport they would not accept her legal name, and they issued her new passport as Jane B Doe not Jane A Doe.

So my wife has two different names Jane B Doe on her green card and Jane A Doe on her passport. This caused a lot of worry in our house. So I came up with a good solution, I hired a lawyer to help my wife legally change her middle name from A to B. $2000 later it is done. We go to the NYS DMV and the Social Security office and report the name change and get new documents. Then we go to the USCIS to get a new Green card, and that is where the trouble starts.

USCIS received this application 04 Nov 2010, and sent us a receipt number LIN**********. Subsequently my wife was scheduled for Biometrics on 20 December, 2010. We were on time and completed the Biometrics that day. We expected the new green card to arrive shortly thereafter. Alas this has not happened.

When we go to the USCIS website and attempt to check our case by putting our case number (LIN**********) into their system the only reply we get is:

[Your case can not be found at this time in My Case Status. Please check your receipt number and try again. If you need further assistance, please call the National Customer Service Center at 1.800.375.5283.]

My Wife and I and our infant son have tickets to visit her family in the Philippines 10 February, 2011 and returning home to NY 13 April, 2011.

As our travel date approaches I needed to find out what was going on with this. So I called the number. The agent we spoke with (Jonathan) was uniquely unhelpful. The only useful information he was able to give us was that the USCIS in Nebraska was having computer trouble with all case numbers beginning with LIN. He seemed to enjoy inferring that it might take years to solve this problem.

As my wife and I are traveling with our son John (a US citizen) who at the time or our return home will be less than six month old we cannot chance some bureaucratic snafu separating our family. I do not know what to do. We have really been looking forward to this trip, further John’s grandmother would be crushed if we had to cancel this trip.

Is there any way to ascertain for certain that my wife will be able to use the green card she currently has to be able to return home with us even though this green card does not have her current legal name and may have been replaced by mail while we were gone? If this cannot be determined we will have to cancel the trip.

I emailed our congressman yesterday, but as yet we have not received any reply

[Inky 1,110]

Replacement/corrected green cards take 6 months or longer to be processed generally.

[diverdon 0]

Replacement/corrected green cards take 6 months or longer to be processed generally.

Thank you for your reply, but I am not sure how this information helps us.

Generally, after biometrics it takes only a few weeks to get an new green card. Our Biometrics were done on 20 Dec,2010 so generally we should have a new card by now. Generally, you should be able to see where your case is by putting your number into the USCIS site. We can not. Generally, when you call the USCIS they can at least tell you where your case is. In our case they can or will not.

What we need to know is if my wife's green card will be good for a trouble free return on 13 Apr 2011. Or if someone has a method by which that can be discovered.

[Inky 1,110]

Where is your replacement being processed at?

[chinky_amanda 1]

Thank you for your reply, but I am not sure how this information helps us.

Generally, after biometrics it takes only a few weeks to get an new green card. Our Biometrics were done on 20 Dec,2010 so generally we should have a new card by now. Generally, you should be able to see where your case is by putting your number into the USCIS site. We can not. Generally, when you call the USCIS they can at least tell you where your case is. In our case they can or will not.

What we need to know is if my wife's green card will be good for a trouble free return on 13 Apr 2011. Or if someone has a method by which that can be discovered.

Try to go to your local USCIS and talk to them about your concern.

[~happyndinlove~ 540]

Thank you for your reply, but I am not sure how this information helps us.

Generally, after biometrics it takes only a few weeks to get an new green card. Our Biometrics were done on 20 Dec,2010 so generally we should have a new card by now. Generally, you should be able to see where your case is by putting your number into the USCIS site. We can not. Generally, when you call the USCIS they can at least tell you where your case is. In our case they can or will not.

What we need to know is if my wife's green card will be good for a trouble free return on 13 Apr 2011. Or if someone has a method by which that can be discovered.

I'd say call the airlines asap to see if having a different names on your wife's passport and GC won't cause her any problem of being able to return home.

[rheanick 42]

We were married in NY 0n 8 August 2009. The clerk who issued our marriage license told us that my wife could not change her middle name by marriage only her last name. My wife told me that this was going to be a big problem because in the Philippines your former last name becomes your new middle name. Sure enough when we went to the Philippine embassy to renew my wife’s passport they would not accept her legal name, and they issued her new passport as Jane B Doe not Jane A Doe.

So my wife has two different names Jane B Doe on her green card and Jane A Doe on her passport. This caused a lot of worry in our house. So I came up with a good solution, I hired a lawyer to help my wife legally change her middle name from A to B. $2000 later it is done. We go to the NYS DMV and the Social Security office and report the name change and get new documents. Then we go to the USCIS to get a new Green card, and that is where the trouble starts.

USCIS received this application 04 Nov 2010, and sent us a receipt number LIN**********. Subsequently my wife was scheduled for Biometrics on 20 December, 2010. We were on time and completed the Biometrics that day. We expected the new green card to arrive shortly thereafter. Alas this has not happened.

When we go to the USCIS website and attempt to check our case by putting our case number (LIN**********) into their system the only reply we get is:

[Your case can not be found at this time in My Case Status. Please check your receipt number and try again. If you need further assistance, please call the National Customer Service Center at 1.800.375.5283.]

My Wife and I and our infant son have tickets to visit her family in the Philippines 10 February, 2011 and returning home to NY 13 April, 2011.

As our travel date approaches I needed to find out what was going on with this. So I called the number. The agent we spoke with (Jonathan) was uniquely unhelpful. The only useful information he was able to give us was that the USCIS in Nebraska was having computer trouble with all case numbers beginning with LIN. He seemed to enjoy inferring that it might take years to solve this problem.

As my wife and I are traveling with our son John (a US citizen) who at the time or our return home will be less than six month old we cannot chance some bureaucratic snafu separating our family. I do not know what to do. We have really been looking forward to this trip, further John’s grandmother would be crushed if we had to cancel this trip.

Is there any way to ascertain for certain that my wife will be able to use the green card she currently has to be able to return home with us even though this green card does not have her current legal name and may have been replaced by mail while we were gone? If this cannot be determined we will have to cancel the trip.

I emailed our congressman yesterday, but as yet we have not received any reply

It would be a lot safer to cancel your trip and wait for her greencard. USCIS might have processed your wife's paper and possibly cancelled her old greencard. It would be hard to guess your wife's status with USCIS not telling you anything. Be on the safer side.

The normal approach in your case, passport married name different greencard married name, is just to have a document from Philippines consulate indicating "one and the same person". And just bring all supporting documents (i.e birth certificate, marriage certificate, driver's license) in case someone asked for them.

Or just fly to the philippines even though passport and green card names are different, and just bring all supporting documents such as birth certificate, marriage certificate and US driver license. Me and my friend, been there done that. Me using passport with my maiden name and greencard in married name following philippines rule while my friend has her passport in her maiden name and her green card in her married name following US rule. We both had no problem in the POE.

And as per USCIS consul, change of name is free after naturalization.

[diverdon 0]

Thanks to all for the advice. We got a infopass appointment in Buffalo USCIS and spoke to an office there who assured us there would be no problem so long as we took all the legal name chance papers along with us.

[xxyyzz 0]

Could you please update if your wife did end up going and if she had to go through any trouble while returing to US?

[Hank_ 9,173]

Could you please update if your wife did end up going and if she had to go through any trouble while returing to US?

That person hasn't been on the VJ in almost a year.

[xxyyzz 0]

Is there a way to know what happened in this case?