when can name be changed after arriving US on K1 visa?

[freddybros 1]

Hi there!

My fiancee just landed last week. She would like to change her first name and last name ( to my last name ) when and how can she change it? Also does she needs to marry 1st to get my last name? Her foreign passport is with her present unchanged name which has spelling mistakes. can she travel back home with same passport if she change her name with correct spelling and my last name with changed name on green card SSN ?

[MariaLD 8]

first, yes she can change her name, after u two get married she has to go back and change her last name on her ssn, the proof will be ur marriage certf, she can travel but after she gets the travel permit along with work permit from uscis( after she sends her documents for aos,( she should fill the papers with her new name) the uscis will send the travel permit and work permit after 3 weeks or more, depends)

Edited November 24, 2014 by MariaLD

[freddybros 1]

thanks for reply. but Can we just get married 1st and then apply for her SSN with her changed 1st and last name?

[JimmyHou 610]

Hi there!

My fiancee just landed last week. She would like to change her first name and last name ( to my last name ) when and how can she change it? Also does she needs to marry 1st to get my last name? Her foreign passport is with her present unchanged name which has spelling mistakes. can she travel back home with same passport if she change her name with correct spelling and my last name with changed name on green card SSN ?

To change her last name, your marriage certificate is sufficient. No additional application is required, but in this case she can only change her last name to your last name.

To change her first name,or to change her last name to anything other than your last name, she needs to apply for a legal name change under the laws of your state.

If she is changing her first name, she may as well go ahead and change the last name at the same time.

The cost of a legal name change carries wildly from state to state. I don't know about California, but for example, in New York City the cost would be $65 and in Houston the cost would be $400.

The alternative, which most immigrants choose, is to wait until it's time to apply for citizenship. At that time, you can apply for a name change for free.

One major consideration is that for the next few years, she will have different names on her passport and green card. For the last name, this isn't usually a problem. She will need to travel abroad with her marriage certificate to show that she has taken your name. Otherwise, airlines may not let her board because the name on her green card does not match the name on the passport and the airline ticket. The change of first name is more complicated because when she is traveling she will have to carry around her name change certificate from the court and hope that it will be understood by airlines, embassies, and foreign airport officials. Changes of first names are less common, so this may take some explanation. For example, if your wife needs to go to Germany and she goes to the German consulate in LA to apply for a visa, they will want to see her green card and her passport. They'll have to see copies of all the name change documents too. This is another reason many immigrants wait until it's time to apply for citizenahip to change their first names.

If the change to the first name is just a shortening or a change in spelling of the name, then it's usually not as problematics when traveling. But she'll still need to travel with her name change certificate. If the new first name is totally different, for example a change from Sandra to Anne, then it's more likely that it'll confuse someone like an Air France check-in agent in Dubai.

[freddybros 1]

thank you very much. I will wait until she get citizenship.

[NikLR 13,220]

thanks for reply. but Can we just get married 1st and then apply for her SSN with her changed 1st and last name?

Yes but it's actually harder to get the SSN in married name before the EAD arrives.

If you want the SSN right away, do it in VISA name. Then go back after the EAD (or green card) and marriage and change it. Then changing your name is easy.

[freddybros 1]

I haven't applied for SSN yet for my fiancee. My friend told me to get married 1st and then apply for my fiancee SSN. And during the time of her US citizenship we can change her 1st name. is this easy???

[freddybros 1]

*after marriage my fiancee can change her last name to my last name on SSN with marriage license.

[NikLR 13,220]

*after marriage my fiancee can change her last name to my last name on SSN with marriage license.

Correct. It's much easier to do it first in visa name then change it afterwards. The staff at the SSA are not necessarily th best trained and so you need to keep it simple for them.