Possible name change after citizenship all done

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I received my citiznship last July so done deal there.

Long story short.....my husband was adopted by a stepdad at 15 and changed his name back then (30 yrs ago) despite knowing his birth father.

He now regrets that decision (especially since the stepdad left a couple yrs later) and would like to return to his original middle and last name and of course I would follow suit with the last name.

Do I need to inform immigration of anything in particular? There would of course be 1 million other places to notify as well - I don't relish the thought.

[Dana-Mića 51]

You would have to get the nutraluzation certificate in the new name which would cost you another 600 something I think.

[grrrrreat 109]

You would have to get the nutraluzation certificate in the new name which would cost you another 600 something I think.

The application for a replacement naturalization certificate is N-565 and costs $345. You would only do this after changing your name, however. You would have to submit proof that your name was already legally changed by a court.

I am not sure it's strictly necessary to get a new certificate though. I think it would be sufficient to show your old naturalization certificate and the court order that changed your name as proof of your identity and citizenship.

[Dana-Mića 51]

The application for a replacement naturalization certificate is N-565 and costs $345. You would only do this after changing your name, however. You would have to submit proof that your name was already legally changed by a court.

I am not sure it's strictly necessary to get a new certificate though. I think it would be sufficient to show your old naturalization certificate and the court order that changed your name as proof of your identity and citizenship.

Thanks for correcting me on the amount. She might need it to be in new name due to passports (only thing that comes to my mind).

[aaron2020 11,651]

I received my citiznship last July so done deal there.

Long story short.....my husband was adopted by a stepdad at 15 and changed his name back then (30 yrs ago) despite knowing his birth father.

He now regrets that decision (especially since the stepdad left a couple yrs later) and would like to return to his original middle and last name and of course I would follow suit with the last name.

Do I need to inform immigration of anything in particular? There would of course be 1 million other places to notify as well - I don't relish the thought.

You and your husband would need to petition your state court to change your names. Once the court allows you both to change your names, you can get started on your other legal documents.

It's too late for you to change your name through the naturalization process. That door closed when you became a US citizen.

Edited April 26, 2012 by aaron2020

[grrrrreat 109]

Thanks for correcting me on the amount. She might need it to be in new name due to passports (only thing that comes to my mind).

Perhaps, but the website says to submit a court order of name change for the passport, so it's probably not necessary: http://travel.state.gov/passport/correcting/ChangeName/ChangeName_851.html

[aaron2020 11,651]

The application for a replacement naturalization certificate is N-565 and costs $345. You would only do this after changing your name, however. You would have to submit proof that your name was already legally changed by a court.

I am not sure it's strictly necessary to get a new certificate though. I think it would be sufficient to show your old naturalization certificate and the court order that changed your name as proof of your identity and citizenship.

Thanks for correcting me on the amount. She might need it to be in new name due to passports (only thing that comes to my mind).

She does not need to get a new naturalization certificate. A US citizen is a US citizen no matter how many times he/she changes his/her name.

However, I would strongly advise getting it because it is one of the easiest way to prove US citizenship. Relying on one document with the legal name is better than relying on several pieces of documents to prove your identity.

To prove that she is a US citizenship without obtaining a new document showing the US agrees that she is a US citizen is a pain in the #######. First, she needs the naturalization certificate with her old name. Second, she needs the court order to show she legally changed her name. Third, her marriage certificate will not contain her new name so she cannot rely on that like many other women to show changing her maiden name to match her husband's name. Opps, husband has a new last name too. Fourth, all her ids are in the new name. So, she would need to bring a certified copy of her court order with the new name whenever she needs to prove US citizenship.

For $345, I would get a new naturalization certificate after getting the court order. The potential problems of having it in the old name is not worth $345.

Edited April 26, 2012 by aaron2020

[freetv 7]

You would only have to show a court ordered name change with the old passport to get a new passport with the new name... There would never be a reason to get a new naturalization certificate unless you just wanted to keep everything up to date (but what is the point... you never need the certificate after you get a passport, and in the rare instance when you do just show the name change).

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I received my citiznship last July so done deal there.

Long story short.....my husband was adopted by a stepdad at 15 and changed his name back then (30 yrs ago) despite knowing his birth father.

He now regrets that decision (especially since the stepdad left a couple yrs later) and would like to return to his original middle and last name and of course I would follow suit with the last name.

Do I need to inform immigration of anything in particular? There would of course be 1 million other places to notify as well - I don't relish the thought.

One of the great things about being a citizen is you do not have to tell USCIS anything, EVER again.

You will change your name in the local court of your state that handles such things and is is usually a very simple process. Check with your local county or state court on the matter. You will get a name change certificate and use that to change your name on other documents.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The application for a replacement naturalization certificate is N-565 and costs $345. You would only do this after changing your name, however. You would have to submit proof that your name was already legally changed by a court.

I am not sure it's strictly necessary to get a new certificate though. I think it would be sufficient to show your old naturalization certificate and the court order that changed your name as proof of your identity and citizenship.

Wouldn't need it. Take your current passport and name change certificate, get a new passport. Passport is proof of citizenship. OR make a copy of the name change certificate and show it with your original citizenship certificate. If a US citizen from birth changes their name, they do not change the birth certificate.

She was naturalized as Jan Smith, Jan Smith changed her name to Jan Jones. She is still a citizen.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm aware how to go about changing my name in the state of Virginia. I just wondered about the USCIS piece.

My name change would be identical to someone getting married after getting their citizenship in their maiden name, correct? I feel fairly sure everyone who got citizenship (perhaps when they were a kid or young adult) isn't going back to get a new citizenship cert. I would of course have the necessary documentation on hand if it was ever needed to prove something

I consider my US passport the easiest way to identify myself as a US citizenship so I would obviously update it.

Thanks for the thoughts

Edited April 28, 2012 by Udella&Wiz

[grrrrreat 109]

Wouldn't need it. Take your current passport and name change certificate, get a new passport. Passport is proof of citizenship. OR make a copy of the name change certificate and show it with your original citizenship certificate. If a US citizen from birth changes their name, they do not change the birth certificate.

She was naturalized as Jan Smith, Jan Smith changed her name to Jan Jones. She is still a citizen.

There's an echo in here I think.