I-130: Middle name spelled differently on US passport and UK marriage certificate!?

[WorriedInEngland 0]

Hi there,

I am a dual UK/US citizen living in the UK. I am marrying an EU citizen in the UK in just under 2 months. I would like to file a I-130 petition for my new husband as soon as we are married but I have a potential problem.

My middle name is spelt very slightly differently on my US and UK passports and as we are living and will marry in the UK, my name on the marriage certificate will be taken from my UK passport. To give an idea of the difference in spelling it is like having Catherine on my US passport and Catharine on my UK passport (these are not my real names). The spelling has always been different due to one of my folks making a mistake when applying for my UK passport when I was a baby, and I never bothered to change it.

I have heard how strict USCIS can be and I am wondering if anyone knows how big of a problem I should expect this to be! If it is relevant I have tons of official documents with my full UK name (bank statements, degree certificate, mortgage) and some with my US name (mainly my passport, old passports, birth certificate) so I think I can easily prove that both names belong to me...

Thanks so much in advance for anybody's $0.02 on this.

[BigDaddy28 228]

I would advice you to fix the name before filing. USCIS will probably want all names to confirm each other. I guess you will have to go to a court or vital records office and see how you have to start your process.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Why don't you apply for a name change in your UK passport and get it right before you get a second document with a wrong spelling?

There are expedited services available. https://www.gov.uk/get-a-passport-urgently

Name change info here https://www.gov.uk/changing-passport-information/minor-name-changes

Edited December 31, 2015 by Nich-Nick

[zeeeeeeek 9]

save yourself a future headache and possibly a USCIS RFE. Fix the error once and for all and then start the process.

[WorriedInEngland 0]

Thanks very much all but the area in which we live requires us to register our marriage 28 days in advance of the wedding and as I am abroad for another week this does not leave time for me to change my name by deed poll, then get a new passport on fast track, and then allow 28 days notice...

Any other ideas of how to fix this would be greatly appreciated. What about change the name on my US passport instead? I am not sure how easy this would be. If it is important, when i last lived in the US it was in Massachusetts.

Thanks!

[NikLR 13,220]

To change you US passport you'd have to apply in court to change your birth certificate. How you go about this depends on the state in which you live. As you do not live in the US, I would think fixing the issue in the UK would be better. Either do it now, or do EVERYTHING before sending the I-130?

[WorriedInEngland 0]

I think the following from the London US embassy page may apply to me but only if they accept UK versions of the documents, e.g. UK passport, UK drivers license, etc - I cannot tell whether the documents they request are supposed to be from the US?

Change of Name Through Usage

An applicant may obtain a U.S. passport in a new name provided he/she has been known exclusively by that name for at least five years. The applicant must submit at least three public documents that show exclusive usage of the name for at least five years including one government issued ID with photograph. Acceptable documents include but are not limited to:

Drivers License

Non-Driver State Issued ID

Employment Records

Tax Records

School Records

Census Records

Hospital Birth Record

Baptismal Certificate

Medical Card/Records

Foreign Passport

Military Records

The applicant must submit their application in person at the Embassy and should follow the instructions on this page.

Edited January 1, 2016 by WorriedInEngland

[NikLR 13,220]

Since you will need your US passport or birth certificate to prove who you are for the I-130, this sounds like a very viable manner in which to change your US passport so that everything correlates with your UK name.

Edited January 1, 2016 by NLR

[WorriedInEngland 0]

Thanks NLR! I have been living in the UK under my UK name for more than 5 years so can easily prove I am also known by this name. I will try applying for the name change this way. Cheers!

[NikLR 13,220]

Before I run off though, have you been filing taxes with the US? As a US citizen you are required to file US taxes every year you make over the threshold to file. There is a foreign income exclusion form (form 2555) that will make it so you don't have to pay taxes on anything under about $97k if you qualify. But you still have to file.

This is something you'll want to do before you get to the affidavit of support during the NVC part of the process.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

Thanks NLR! I have been living in the UK under my UK name for more than 5 years so can easily prove I am also known by this name. I will try applying for the name change this way. Cheers!

Why not just fill out your I-130 forms in the name on your birth certificate? Mary Catherine Smith. That will be your proof that you are a U.S. Citizen and are eligible to petition.

And where a form asks for other names used write Mary Catharine Smith. You have claimed both names and there shouldn't be a problem with that.

Also a minor middle name change to a UK passport does not require a deed poll. It is correcting a mistake. Show them your birth certificate or US passport, which you must send in photocopy anyway when you are dual national. You can start the application online today.

[NikLR 13,220]

Thanks Nich-Nick for the info!

[WorriedInEngland 0]

NLR - funny you should ask; no I am not up to date (I did not realise I should have been filing since age 18!). I have contacted some US tax attorneys in London to help me sort this out. I was a full time student paying no tax until 2014 and have been working since (under the taxable limit for the IRS perspective), so I am hoping it should not be too tough to sort out. Thanks for pointing out that I need to sort this before filing an I-130!

Nich-Nick, thank you! My birth certificate matches my US passport, and if they accept that I go by both names (as evidenced by my UK passport I suppose) that would make everything easy! I think I can make a minor change to my UK passport as you say but I believe I cannot do this in time to re-register my marriage in my corrected name by the 28 day deadline before the wedding. As well as that this will mean various important UK documents will no longer match my UK passport (I am thinking particularly of my degree certificate), and I am not sure how much of a problem this would be...

I have also emailed the USCIS London Field Office for a verdict on whether this is a problem (I may also try to call them as they open for public calls for 2 hours a week).

Finally the local council where we will get married have said it MAY be possible on the marriage certificate to write: "Mary Catharine Smith (also known as Mary Catherine Smith)", which might in itself solve the problem if they can indeed do this?

Thanks again everyone!!

[NikLR 13,220]

You don't need it sorted before the I-130, just before the NVC stage.

To give you an idea of the flow of everything read here:

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/EZGuideSpouse

[WorriedInEngland 0]

You don't need it sorted before the I-130, just before the NVC stage.

To give you an idea of the flow of everything read here:

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/EZGuideSpouse

Thanks very much once again, this is super useful!!