Information on Name Change During Naturalization

[JimmyHou 610]

Hi Jimmy,

I was wondering if you could give me advice. This is my situation:

-about to file my N-400

-My name on my German Birth certificate is Katharina Kloos

-I got married in the US and changed my name to Katharina Kloos Jackson (only in the US. my married name is displayed on all US documents such as social security card, permanent resident card etc. but in Germany I still have my maiden name)

-I got divorced 3 years ago but never changed back to my maiden name in the US.

-I thought that N-400 would be a good opportunity to change back to my maiden name

My question: Is this possible by just filling out the name change section on the N-400 form?

Thank you so much in advance for your kind help!

Best regards,

Katharina

You have two choices here.

It is definitely possible to go back to Katharina Kloos by filling out the name change section on your N400 form.

Normally, a name change would require a legal name change order (USCIS would get your name change request signed by a US District Court judge and you would be scheduled for a Judicial Naturalization Ceremony). You would get a name change certificate. On the N400 you would list your current legal name as Katharina Kloos Jackson and you would list Katharina Kloos as a previously used name and as the name you want in the name change section.

However, since you are just changing back to your maiden name, a formal name change is not legally required; you can use your divorce decree as proof that your legal name is Katharina Kloos. So, in this case, you would list your current legal name as Katarina Kloos, your Green Card name as whatever is on your green card, and you would list Katharina Kloos Jackson under "Other Names Used". In this case, you would leave the name change section blank. If anyone wants proof of your legal name, your divorce decree should suffice (it doesn't matter if the divorce decree doesn't list your maiden name, because that will be on your marriage certificate). In this case you would not get a name change certificate and you could be scheduled for an Administrative Ceremony. You will need your divorce decree (and maybe marriage certificate) to change your name on your drivers license, etc.

So if you want a formal name change document, follow the first approach, but you can also follow the second approach, which may be faster if your office doesn't conduct many Judicial Ceremonies.

I'm not an expert and this is just my interpretation of the rules based on cases I've read about.

Note that some interviewers aren't aware of all the rules and may insist on one approach or the other. They should be equally valid.

Even if you don't change your name through the N400 application, you can always use your divorce decree to get your passport in your maiden name.

Edited February 24, 2016 by JimmyHou

[rueni 0]

I assume that you have checked everywhere for a name change certificate? You should have got one with your naturalization certificate. The exception would be if you changed your name through marriage... in that case there was no name change order and there won't be a record of it; you would just use your old marriage certificate.

But let's assume that you didn't get a name change certificate or you lost it and you didn't change your name based on marriage.

Since the name change went through the US District Court, they are the ones who should have a copy of the judge's order. It shouldn't matter whether or not the name change was processed through a Name Change Petition or an N400 because a judge on that court would have had to sign the order. The only question may be where they keep such records. They should have all copies of judicial orders, but they may be kept somewhere else. Maybe they're looking in the wrong place (name change petitions vs. N400 judicial orders). I would try again with the court.

If that doesn't work, then you'd have to file a FOIA request, which would give you copies of your entire immigration file... that would, I assume, have a copy of the papers you filled out at your interview to change your name, which will then have been signed by a judge.

Unfortunately, an FOIA takes months and you won't know if that one document will be included or not until you get the response.

Your best bet may be to go back to the court and find someone more helpful.

If none of that works, then you're stuck... you'll have to consider something more extreme like:

- having a ceremony abroad but getting legally married when you return (you may still face the same issue, so check now)

- legally changing your name now to match your birth certificate

- filing for a legal name change in your birth country (if they allow this) so that you'll have some proof of name change

Hi Jimmy,

I will try looking for the name change certificate again, but in the meantime, I reached out to the US District Court again and they asked for the exact date of the name change. I provided them with the date stamped on my US Naturalization certificate (8/1/2000), but they weren't able to find a record for that date, or even the entire month of August 2000. Do you know where I can go to determine the date of the request? I figured it would match the date of my Citizenship but apparently, that is not the case...

[JimmyHou 610]

Hi Jimmy,

I will try looking for the name change certificate again, but in the meantime, I reached out to the US District Court again and they asked for the exact date of the name change. I provided them with the date stamped on my US Naturalization certificate (8/1/2000), but they weren't able to find a record for that date, or even the entire month of August 2000. Do you know where I can go to determine the date of the request? I figured it would match the date of my Citizenship but apparently, that is not the case...

It's probably not the date of your oath ceremony; I would assume that it would have been signed before that, but maybe officially filed after that.

It has to be after the date of your interview because that's when you would have singed the request.

It should be before the date of your oath, but maybe it was signed a few days late.

So I'd check between those two dates. If your interview was in June, then check June (after the interview and July).

Again, this only matters if you made a change that was not simply taking your spouse's last name (in that case there would be no name change certificate).

The only way to get the exact date of the request would be an FOIA request for your immigration file.

Edited February 24, 2016 by JimmyHou

[Katyk1986 0]

Hi Jimmy,

thank you so much for your quick reply! I think I will go for the second, faster option. Thank you :-)

However, since you are just changing back to your maiden name, a formal name change is not legally required; you can use your divorce decree as proof that your legal name is Katharina Kloos. So, in this case, you would list your current legal name as Katarina Kloos, your Green Card name as whatever is on your green card, and you would list Katharina Kloos Jackson under "Other Names Used". In this case, you would leave the name change section blank. If anyone wants proof of your legal name, your divorce decree should suffice (it doesn't matter if the divorce decree doesn't list your maiden name, because that will be on your marriage certificate). In this case you would not get a name change certificate and you could be scheduled for an Administrative Ceremony. You will need your divorce decree (and maybe marriage certificate) to change your name on your drivers license, etc.

[Penny Pincher 11]

Ok got it. So really, it's cheaper for me to get the Citizenship (before he is 18) and THEN he can change his name in court, which is something like $150.00. He is 18 in January so I should, fingers crossed, have it all done and dusted by then.

Thank you!

Oh wow, now I have to decide through naturalization or I will pay $150 through court for a name change.

Thanks JimmyHou for 2nd time around.

[JimmyHou 610]

Oh wow, now I have to decide through naturalization or I will pay $150 through court for a name change.

Thanks JimmyHou for 2nd time around.

You're welcome!

Costs vary from place to place. $150 was quoted by another member for Atlanta. In Houston it costs over $400. The last time I looked, it was $65 in New York City. Requirements also differ, in some places you have to place a public announcement in a Sunday paper. In other places you have to wait a month or two.

You don't have to do any of this or pay extra if it's taken care of during naturalization.

Edited March 20, 2016 by JimmyHou

[nikkikl 2]

I'm right at the tail end of the whole process now. I got my Citizenship before my son turned 18 years old. Then I got my passport sorted... that as easy and fast. Then we went to court to get my sons name changed. It's a very easy administrative process although it threw them through a loop as they had never had an English immigrant ask for a name change before! We had to have it listed in the local newspaper for two weeks and then went to court with the affidavit signed by the newspaper company confirming it had been listed. The cost with newspaper listing and court was around $400. Name changed, sent off for my sons passport with my naturalization certificate, his name change document and expedited it. We should have it all back next week. I've not heard anything from the passport people so I assume everything is in order. No news is good news.

I just thought I should convey what happened as people generally don't tell the end of their story which could be useful for others.

Next is getting my 23 year old daughter here somehow. Ugh. More money

[mapsb 0]

One more thing (prompted by a question on another thread):

If you need or want additional copies of the name change certificate (the original will be stapled to your naturalization certificate) you can contact the clerk of the district court through which you were naturalized at your judicial oath ceremony. You should be able to purchase additional copies of the name change order for around $10 or $20.

Jimmy,

Do you know which district court presides over the Houston judicial oath ceremony (held in M.O. Campbell)? And do you know how soon after the ceremony one would be able to purchase additional copies of the name change order? Thanks.

[JimmyHou 610]

Jimmy,

Do you know which district court presides over the Houston judicial oath ceremony (held in M.O. Campbell)? And do you know how soon after the ceremony one would be able to purchase additional copies of the name change order? Thanks.

Houston is part of the Southern District of Texas. The federal courthouse is on Rusk Street, Downtown in the Theater District. I don't know how soon copies would be available, but I wouldn't think it would be more than a few days. And remember that you will get one copy at the ceremony.

[itsnilay 0]

Hello Jimmy,

I am surprised how many times there can be unique name change situation, but I would appreciate if you can guide on this situation.

My wife had oath ceremony today and we requested her name change in N-400 form itself. San Francisco location. We knew San Francisco location does not do Name changes but we thought no harm in trying.

During interview, interviewer told her that new name will now come in Certificate of Naturalization and she signed with her new name. (We assumed name change will be done in Judicial Oath Ceremony)

But when we reached the location we realized that it was not Judicial Ceremony. And we received Certificate of Naturalization with her new name.

We already applied for Voter's registration and Passport with her new name.

What are our options to get Certificate of Name Change now? Do it legally via court as a separate procedure? Or is there any other way we can request for it from USCIS or court?

Mistakes we made (May be helpful to others):

• Did not notice that Interviewer accepted name change based on Marriage certificate but name change is not in Last name its in Middle name. I think in this case Marriage Certificate will not suffice as name change.
  • e.g. Piu Yash Shah to Piu Niel Shah (In our culture after marriage father's name used as middle name is replaced by husband's first name)
• We thought that current DL with old name and Certificate of Naturalization together will suffice as name change in future, but on reading Forums got to know that it has to be 1 Certificate of Name change.
• We could have reverted her name change on Certificate since USCIS guys were there. Guess we missed that chance now and already applied for Passport & Voter's reg with new name.

[JimmyHou 610]

Hello Jimmy,

I am surprised how many times there can be unique name change situation, but I would appreciate if you can guide on this situation.

My wife had oath ceremony today and we requested her name change in N-400 form itself. San Francisco location. We knew San Francisco location does not do Name changes but we thought no harm in trying.

During interview, interviewer told her that new name will now come in Certificate of Naturalization and she signed with her new name. (We assumed name change will be done in Judicial Oath Ceremony)

But when we reached the location we realized that it was not Judicial Ceremony. And we received Certificate of Naturalization with her new name.

We already applied for Voter's registration and Passport with her new name.

What are our options to get Certificate of Name Change now? Do it legally via court as a separate procedure? Or is there any other way we can request for it from USCIS or court?

Mistakes we made (May be helpful to others):

• Did not notice that Interviewer accepted name change based on Marriage certificate but name change is not in Last name its in Middle name. I think in this case Marriage Certificate will not suffice as name change.
  • e.g. Piu Yash Shah to Piu Niel Shah (In our culture after marriage father's name used as middle name is replaced by husband's first name)
• We thought that current DL with old name and Certificate of Naturalization together will suffice as name change in future, but on reading Forums got to know that it has to be 1 Certificate of Name change.
• We could have reverted her name change on Certificate since USCIS guys were there. Guess we missed that chance now and already applied for Passport & Voter's reg with new name.

Your initial instinct was correct: no legal name changes in San Francisco, and the reason is, as you found out, that SF doesn't hold judicial ceremonies.

So let's start with "I'm not a lawyer" :-)... but based on the limited amount I've read, your wife's legal name never changed. A Naturalization Certificate is not a valid name change... what I mean is that if your name is Alex Win and they print Alex Gin on your Naturalization Certificate, your name is still Alex Win and legally (as far as I understand) all your other documents would have to say Alex Win. So I'm not really sure if your wife registered to vote in her legal name or not... what a headache!

The only legal basis for what the interviewer did (as far as my limited understanding goes) was to assume that he considered this a marriage-based name change and accepted your country's marriage naming convention. This was nice of him; but will be a headache for you.

Easiest solution at this point: file for a name change in court for a change from the original name to the name on the Nat Certificate. That way you get a nice legally-binding name change order and your wife can get all her documents changed over to the new name. There's no way to get a name change certificate from USCIS because they don't have the authority to change names. There's no way to get a copy from a court, because no name change order was eve issued. So it's basically a new name change application. It'll be odd that the certificate will have a later date on it than the nat certificate, but I doubt (although I'm not sure) that anyone will care.

Edited March 31, 2016 by JimmyHou

[itsnilay 0]

Thanks for quick response Jimmy. Yea, I think it would be best to get the name change through court now.

But based on what we noticed that when we registered for Voter id they did not take a single document. And for passport they just took Original Naturalization Certificate so looks like her new name will be on voter Registration and Passport now. My guess is this will be sufficient to change SSN as well as DMV.

The only problem I see is her old documents like Degree Certificate, Birth Certificate etc. which still has old name would be difficult to prove that its hers only in future. And for those, having Name Change Certificate would become crucial.. What do you think?

[JimmyHou 610]

Thanks for quick response Jimmy. Yea, I think it would be best to get the name change through court now.

But based on what we noticed that when we registered for Voter id they did not take a single document. And for passport they just took Original Naturalization Certificate so looks like her new name will be on voter Registration and Passport now. My guess is this will be sufficient to change SSN as well as DMV.

The only problem I see is her old documents like Degree Certificate, Birth Certificate etc. which still has old name would be difficult to prove that its hers only in future. And for those, having Name Change Certificate would become crucial.. What do you think?

I know that in Texas, the DPS (what other states call the DMV) will insist on a name change certificate. They won't issue a new DL in the name on the Naturalization Certificate without the name change certificate.

Most organizations will have the same rule... the Nat Certificate may show the person's current name, but doesn't prove that it's the same person who used to be known by the old name. A name change certificate does show this.

At some point you're going to need the name change certificate; I wouldn't think twice about applying for one now.

[bellaling 6]

I thought this might help those of us considering a legal name change.

The N400 application is (in most cases) a great time to legally change your name. It's fast and it's free. Outside of the N400 process, a name change requires a visit to your local courthouse, may require a public announcement in a newspaper (depending on your state and local laws) and will cost you money. In New York City, the cost is about $65 while on Houston it is over $400, so cost varies from city to city.

You can change your name to anything you want within certain limitations. You can't change your name to impersonate someone or in an attempt to hide your identity for illegal purposes. Other than that, it's up to you. If you are Arthur Robert Wilkinson, you can become Geraldo Mohamed Leibowitz.

It's important to note that if you are just changing your last name to take your spouse's last name or to revert to your maiden name, then a legal name change is not required. This is because a marriage certificate or a divorce certificate acts as proof of legal name change. This is true EVEN IF your certificate does not show the new name that you want to take. For example, if Anita Mary Harrolds marries Geraldo Mohamed Leibowitz, she can legally be known as Anita Mary Leibowitz even though that name does not appear anywhere on the certificate. In fact, she can also hyphenate both last names without a legal name change. However, if she wanted to change her middle name from Mary to Margaret, she would need a legal name change.

Hi again Jimmy! I was going to go with a hyphenated version of my surname with my husband's for official documents but I was thinking for all stuff - bank cards and other things that need names, I'd just write my first name and husband's name.

In your example, I would be "Anita Mary Wilkinson-Leibowitz". I was thinking of using that for my naturalization application but then just identify myself as "Anita Leibowitz later". I was initially thinking of dropping my maiden surname but I'm just afraid that if I do that, it would be harder to identify myself later on for whatever processes I may still need to do for my country of origin. I'm still in the process of wrapping up my father's affairs. He passed away and I imagine having a totally different surname may add more complications to the process.

Do you think that's okay? I don't know why I'm having so much trouble with this! My forms are all ready, if I can just decide on how to write my name. I imagine that's how most women have done it for generations anyway.

Again, thank you for your invaluable insight!

[JimmyHou 610]

Hi again Jimmy! I was going to go with a hyphenated version of my surname with my husband's for official documents but I was thinking for all stuff - bank cards and other things that need names, I'd just write my first name and husband's name.

In your example, I would be "Anita Mary Wilkinson-Leibowitz". I was thinking of using that for my naturalization application but then just identify myself as "Anita Leibowitz later". I was initially thinking of dropping my maiden surname but I'm just afraid that if I do that, it would be harder to identify myself later on for whatever processes I may still need to do for my country of origin. I'm still in the process of wrapping up my father's affairs. He passed away and I imagine having a totally different surname may add more complications to the process.

Do you think that's okay? I don't know why I'm having so much trouble with this! My forms are all ready, if I can just decide on how to write my name. I imagine that's how most women have done it for generations anyway.

Again, thank you for your invaluable insight!

Let me know if I didn't understand the question...

Any time you use a name other than your legal name, you run the risk of complications.

It really depends on the bank... some will insist on the name exactly as it appears on your ID, some will be more flexible.

Honestly, I would just legally use the name that you want to use going forward. If anyone wants proof that you're the same person, a name change order or a marriage certificate is enough.

Now, your country of origin is a totally different matter; some don't recognize name changes at all. So if you have lots of future business to conduct in your home country, you may want to rethink a change or at least make sure that they're going to recognize it. Some people just end up with two legal names in two countries, which adds new complications. You can also wait and change your name later.

Edited April 4, 2016 by JimmyHou