Worried:/ pls help

[momofscorpions 0]

Hi there! I just have some questions. When I was 17 I gave birth to my daughter then the nurse at the clinic where I gave birth registered my daughter using my last name because I'm not married to her father but when I turned 18 we got married and after few year we changed her last name to his last name.

To make the long story short we're not together anymore for more than 4 years now.

when I try to apply for passport before I found out that the name I use when i got married is not really my registered name the name that I used when I got married is Lucy santos Guzman and that is also my name on my daughters BC but on my registered name is Lucy Cruz Santos and all my documents now including my passport is on that name.

I met my husband now and we got married last year using my real registered name. We also have a 3monts old baby now.

My question is, is it gonna be a problem for applying a visa? Will they found out that I am married before with different name? And what about my daughter,is it gonna be a problem because of my name on her BC?

I hope somebody can answer my questions I'm really worried cos my husband now will start processing the papers soon.

Thanks in advance.

[canadian_wife 1,831]

Since you need to submit divorce decrees to prove that you were legally divorced, then yes - they will know about the past marriages

good luck

[caly 48]

The forms all ask about other names used.. In the I-130 question #7 "Other Names Used (including maiden name); DS-230 question #2 "Other Names Used or Aliases (If married woman, give maiden name)".

As long as you fill in those spaces with your other name(s) you shouldn't have a problem.

As mentioned above you will need to submit divorce decrees to prove you are legally divorced and could legally marry your current husband. So yes, they will know but it shouldn't affect processing.

Good luck!

Edited January 17, 2013 by caly

[NikLR 13,234]

My daughter's surname (last name) is the same as her father's. It's not unusual for children and parents to have different surnames especially if they were born out of wedlock or the mother was married before. My surname is the same as my husbands and I had my maiden name before that, never her father's surname. When you fill out the G325a (and your husband fills out the I-130) you need to put down any surnames you've used including your maiden name (the name you used as a child that is on your birth certificate) and any married surnames you used as well.

Having more than one surname is not a problem for filing. Your husband will need to send a photocopy of your final divorce decree with the petition. That will explain your multiple surnames. Also when you fill out the G325a paperwork it asks how many times you've been married and you would write 2. My husband was married once before and wrote 2. I have never been married before so I wrote 1.

The only part to me that sounds confusing is that you make it sound like the name you used BEFORE you were married wasn't your legal, birth certificate surname. You should only have 3 legal surnames. The one on your birth certificate (which should be on your daughter's birth certificate), your first husband's surname, and your current husband's surname.

[Penguin_ie 6,001]

**** two identical topics without answers removed. PLease do not post more than once on an issue. ***

[momofscorpions 0]

My daughter's surname (last name) is the same as her father's. It's not unusual for children and parents to have different surnames especially if they were born out of wedlock or the mother was married before. My surname is the same as my husbands and I had my maiden name before that, never her father's surname. When you fill out the G325a (and your husband fills out the I-130) you need to put down any surnames you've used including your maiden name (the name you used as a child that is on your birth certificate) and any married surnames you used as well.

Having more than one surname is not a problem for filing. Your husband will need to send a photocopy of your final divorce decree with the petition. That will explain your multiple surnames. Also when you fill out the G325a paperwork it asks how many times you've been married and you would write 2. My husband was married once before and wrote 2. I have never been married before so I wrote 1.

The only part to me that sounds confusing is that you make it sound like the name you used BEFORE you were married wasn't your legal, birth certificate surname. You should only have 3 legal surnames. The one on your birth certificate (which should be on your daughter's birth certificate), your first husband's surname, and your current husband's surname.

Because I grew up using the name Lucy Santos Guzman,that is also the name I used when I started going to school and got married to my daughters father. But the time I need to get a passport and need BC from the NSO Theres no record of that name and then my mom told me that its not my registered name and it is Lucy Cruz Santos. That's why all my documents now is on that name.

[Villanelle 4,123]

You need to back up slightly.

Your birth certificate is Santos

Your school records are Guzman

Are you saying you were able to marry your first husband as Guzman? so you have marriage/divorce records in that name?

daughters BC has mothers name as Guzman

current passport is Santos

new baby has mothers name as Santos

When you fill out your form G325a theres a space for all other names used, so you can list your previous name there. For your spouses 325 he would list your name under current spouse as your maiden name - meaning the name you had when you married him, so if you married him as Santos, thats what he puts. For the 130, line 1 is your current name (birth certificate and passport) line 7 is for other names youve used.

Other names includes maiden names and aliases. Im not really sure how or why you were using the Guzman name, but it happens. Sometimes parents remarry and the mother will legally assume the husbands last name, pass it on the minor children w/o legally changing the childrens names though, and the children dont discover it until they are of age and obtain their birth certificates with a different last name then what they grew up thinking it was...

If youre in a situation like that you can include a letter of explanation with your application as to why you have an alias, but personally I wouldnt draw attention to it, unless you get an RFE for it asking for proof that you are Guzman, or why youre submitting Guzmans divorce records, or an ID card showing you are infact both Guzman and Santos I wouldnt worry about it. Because if Im correct you dont have any paperwork showing you switched from Guzman to Santos do you? You just abandoned the Guzman name when you realized it wasnt yours. But you must disclose on the forms that youve used the name.

[momofscorpions 0]

You need to back up slightly.

Your birth certificate is Santos

Your school records are Guzman

Are you saying you were able to marry your first husband as Guzman? so you have marriage/divorce records in that name?

daughters BC has mothers name as Guzman

current passport is Santos

new baby has mothers name as Santos

When you fill out your form G325a theres a space for all other names used, so you can list your previous name there. For your spouses 325 he would list your name under current spouse as your maiden name - meaning the name you had when you married him, so if you married him as Santos, thats what he puts. For the 130, line 1 is your current name (birth certificate and passport) line 7 is for other names youve used.

Other names includes maiden names and aliases. Im not really sure how or why you were using the Guzman name, but it happens. Sometimes parents remarry and the mother will legally assume the husbands last name, pass it on the minor children w/o legally changing the childrens names though, and the children dont discover it until they are of age and obtain their birth certificates with a different last name then what they grew up thinking it was...

If youre in a situation like that you can include a letter of explanation with your application as to why you have an alias, but personally I wouldnt draw attention to it, unless you get an RFE for it asking for proof that you are Guzman, or why youre submitting Guzmans divorce records, or an ID card showing you are infact both Guzman and Santos I wouldnt worry about it. Because if Im correct you dont have any paperwork showing you switched from Guzman to Santos do you? You just abandoned the Guzman name when you realized it wasnt yours. But you must disclose on the forms that youve used the name.

Ok here's the story of Guzman,when I was born my mom was separated from my father,then she met another guy which is I thought my biological father.my mom told me that my grandma just talk to her friends so I can have a BC using Guzman but it was never registered. And when I married my first husband they didn't ask for any authenticated BC.and i dont have any ID with the name Guzman cos all of my school ID's were destroyed by the flood.And we never filled an annulment. I haven't seen him since we got separated and my daughter's with me. And yes ur right I just abandoned the Guzman and start using the Santos.

I got married to my husband now because on Santos name,I'm single.

[Villanelle 4,123]

Are the USC or the visa recipient? And if so are you trying to bring both of your children with you to the US and from which country? the Philippines?

[momofscorpions 0]

Are the USC or the visa recipient? And if so are you trying to bring both of your children with you to the US and from which country? the Philippines?

I'm the visa recipient. And yes to other questions

[Villanelle 4,123]

Yikes. You have a series of issues.

1. Your oldest child has a birth certificate in which the mothers name is listed as Guzman. You would need to show proof you are Guzman to have the child be eligible for a visa.

2. Showing you are Guzman could open a can of worms as Guzman is still legally married to someone else.

Honestly Im kind of at a loss here. If it was just you and your second child with the Santos name you would have no problem walking away from the Guzman name. (I dont even know if the marriage is legal since it was done under a false name)

This is a do it yourself site and it seems like this is not a do it yourself problem... You may have to seek assistance from a lawyer for this.

Yes.

Definitely speak to a lawyer, even a free consultation before filing, because once you file something it stays on record and you cant take it back. (like stating youre Guzman if you dont have to)

I would inquire about getting your first childs birth certificate amended to show Santos. (that could be as simple as having a DNA test done and showing your ID as Santos and having the correction made) And the second question for the lawyer would be the validity of your first marriage. Unfortunately if your first marriage is valid it may mean your second one is not valid. So you may have to get the first marriage annulled properly and then remarry your current spouse.

Im sorry there are no shortcuts.

[momofscorpions 0]

Yikes. You have a series of issues.

1. Your oldest child has a birth certificate in which the mothers name is listed as Guzman. You would need to show proof you are Guzman to have the child be eligible for a visa.

2. Showing you are Guzman could open a can of worms as Guzman is still legally married to someone else.

Honestly Im kind of at a loss here. If it was just you and your second child with the Santos name you would have no problem walking away from the Guzman name. (I dont even know if the marriage is legal since it was done under a false name)

This is a do it yourself site and it seems like this is not a do it yourself problem... You may have to seek assistance from a lawyer for this.

Yes.

Definitely speak to a lawyer, even a free consultation before filing, because once you file something it stays on record and you cant take it back. (like stating youre Guzman if you dont have to)

I would inquire about getting your first childs birth certificate amended to show Santos. (that could be as simple as having a DNA test done and showing your ID as Santos and having the correction made) And the second question for the lawyer would be the validity of your first marriage. Unfortunately if your first marriage is valid it may mean your second one is not valid. So you may have to get the first marriage annulled properly and then remarry your current spouse.

Im sorry there are no shortcuts.

Just a question. So you mean if it's just me and my second child will apply for a visa I wouldn't have any problems??? (I'm not planning on leaving my daughter, just asking a question)

And how will I know if my first marriage is valid or invalid since I used a false name??

Thanks!

[Villanelle 4,123]

Well theres the 'right' thing to do. Youre suppose to disclose every name youve ever used so they can run a background check on you. Theoretically if you posted I was enrolled in elementary school as Guzman because my mom mislead me into thinking that was my name when I was a child, but I have no school records to back it up, but then when I turned 18 I discovered my name was Santos and began using it on all my legal documents, well thats one thing. So your childhood was as a Guzman, so what. Omitting that is no big deal. If your BC says Santos and all your legal adult documents say Santos- the fact that your childhood records were under the name Guzman and you fail to disclose that- meh. Thats not background check material.

But you lived an adult life as Guzman, you were married as Guzman, you had a child as Guzman. You need to disclose you were Guzman during the visa process.

So if you had abandoned the Guzman name when you were under 18 or didnt use it when you were 18 you probably could have walked away from it with out issue. And you wouldnt have to disclose it on the forms now.

On paper yes, your Santos name is clear for both you and your second child to obtain visas with now, however the catch is you have to disclose your previous names and the Guzman name is not clean- its married to someone else. So you would have to lie (commit fraud) and omit the fact that you used the name Guzman in the past and leave your first child behind, or (if at all possible-because again I dont know if it is possible since this is a very strange situation)amend the firsts childs birth certificate to show Santos as the mothers name, obtain the visa and omit the fact that you used the Guzman name in the past (fraud), or disclose the fact that you are both Guzman and Santos. Get Guzmans marriage annulled. There would be no need to alter the childs birth certificate in that case. Remarry your spouse. File for your visa for yourself and both children.

Also I dont know much about processes for annulments or altering birth certificates in the Philippines. I would suggest giving this thread a day or two for some additional input from some more knowledgeable VJers

[momofscorpions 0]

Well theres the 'right' thing to do. Youre suppose to disclose every name youve ever used so they can run a background check on you. Theoretically if you posted I was enrolled in elementary school as Guzman because my mom mislead me into thinking that was my name when I was a child, but I have no school records to back it up, but then when I turned 18 I discovered my name was Santos and began using it on all my legal documents, well thats one thing. So your childhood was as a Guzman, so what. Omitting that is no big deal. If your BC says Santos and all your legal adult documents say Santos- the fact that your childhood records were under the name Guzman and you fail to disclose that- meh. Thats not background check material.

But you lived an adult life as Guzman, you were married as Guzman, you had a child as Guzman. You need to disclose you were Guzman during the visa process.

So if you had abandoned the Guzman name when you were under 18 or didnt use it when you were 18 you probably could have walked away from it with out issue. And you wouldnt have to disclose it on the forms now.

On paper yes, your Santos name is clear for both you and your second child to obtain visas with now, however the catch is you have to disclose your previous names and the Guzman name is not clean- its married to someone else. So you would have to lie (commit fraud) and omit the fact that you used the name Guzman in the past and leave your first child behind, or (if at all possible-because again I dont know if it is possible since this is a very strange situation)amend the firsts childs birth certificate to show Santos as the mothers name, obtain the visa and omit the fact that you used the Guzman name in the past (fraud), or disclose the fact that you are both Guzman and Santos. Get Guzmans marriage annulled. There would be no need to alter the childs birth certificate in that case. Remarry your spouse. File for your visa for yourself and both children.

Also I dont know much about processes for annulments or altering birth certificates in the Philippines. I would suggest giving this thread a day or two for some additional input from some more knowledgeable VJers

What's going to happen if I don't put the Guzman's name on the visa paper works?

[Villanelle 4,123]

Not putting the name would be fraud.

The last post was a lot of speculation on my part.

The basics are:

1 You need to disclose any names youve used- not doing so is fraud.

2 To bring a child with you on a visa, you need to prove you are the childs parent- so your name will have to be on the birth certificate in one form or another. Either you'll need proof your Guzman or it will have to show Santos.

3 You need to speak to a lawyer and determine if your first marriage is legal or not, because it will determine if your second one is valid which effects if you can get the visa, so get is resolved.

Thats it. Dont stress yourself out thinking about what if and dont try to find ways around the system. Its a tough situation, but its resolvable. Like I said I dont know the laws there. In the US, if you were married under a false name you could contact the court and have it declared a nullity rather easily. I dont know the procedure there. For a child with the wrong mothers name on a BC, you can obtain a DNA test and have the BC amended. That may be the solution, or showing proof you are Guzman may be the resolution. Again, a lawyer would have an answer for you.