Changing my first and second name - at what point in the process is best?

[Troggy 6]

My adjustment of status is pending, I did K-1.

 

I want to change my surname to match my husband's, but I also want to do a switcheroo and ditch my first name and use my middle name instead. I simply don't like my current first name, and prefer my middle, plus want to take my husband's name.

 

Can anyone offer any advice on which point in time would be best to do this? Hold off and do it when the green card comes? Also, will it look bad, will they think I'm doing something dodgy with my identity? Will they even care so long as the paperwork is correct and in place?

 

And then, how do I do it? Have any of you here done the same?

Many thanks!

[Villanelle 4,123]

When you filed your AOS you should have put your husbands last name on the application. Example he is John Smith and you are Mary Jane Black. The proper way to fill out the AOS packet would be as Mary Jane Smith. (this will give you his last name on the GC). You CAN NOT change your first name through the AOS process. You must go down to your local court house and file paperwork there to make you just Jane instead of Mary Jane. 

 

Honestly you should have done this before applying for AOS. If you can get the name change done quickly(before your GC is approved) send in the name change paperwork to the service center and a letter explaining you changed your name so the card can be issued as Jane Smith. If you dont get the name change done and or the letter doesnt reach USCIS in time you will be getting a GC as Mary Jane Smith (if you filled out AOS using his name) or Black if you used your maiden name. You will then have to send the form for a new card with the name change paperwork and pay the 500 dollar (apx) fee for a new GC and wait many months for it. 

[geowrian 22,339]

It doesn't seem dodgy to me...it's fairly common with some immigrants.

You can change it at any time, but if it doesn't match existing records, you have to get those updated and/or provide proof of the name change. For instance, if you file for AOS under your current name but later change your name, the green card would be issued under the name as filed at that time and you would need to  carry proof of the name change until you get a new green card in the updated name (via an I-90).

 

Normally, people change their name when they marry. A marriage certificate acts as a legal name change document. However, the exact name changes permitted via a marriage vary by state, and I don't know any states that let you change a first name.

Another other would be via a legal name change via a court order. You would need to check your local laws on the process for this.

Another option is to change it during naturalization.

[milimelo 4,757]

Or, you can go as most people in the US do when they don’t like their first name: use middle name only and just use initial from first name. 

 

Example: Patrick Allan doesn’t like Patrick so he goes by P Allan. 

[Troggy 6]

Many thanks for the replies. 

 

I had read before we did our AOS that the time to take on your married name is at AOS, but when we sent off our AOS packet I thought then that I was going to keep my original name forever - I had some feminist notion that I shouldn't change my identity just because I've married a man.  But lately I've realized that I do want the same name as my husband, plus I suddenly thought I could change my whole name at the same time and ditch my granny first name I've always hated. Feminist ideals gone out the window at the prospect of having a fresh start with a prettier name  

 

So let me try and get this straight in my mind. It's too late now to change to my married name through AOS, I should have done it before. So I wait for my green card to come. Then look into how to legally change my name in Texas (I just looked online, it seems easy enough). Go to the courthouse and do a legal change of name, they'll give me paperwork showing I did it and then I get the I-90 from USCIS, send that with my proof of legal name change and USCIS will send me a replacement green card with the name I want. Suck up the fees this incurs for not doing my homework sooner. Am I on the right lines? 

 

 

[geowrian 22,339]

[Troggy 6]

^  thanks!!

 

Ack, I just thought of something. My British passport expires next year. With Britain leaving the EU (I believe that involves everyone getting a new passport without EU on it, and blue instead of red) me changing my entire name, AOS, green cards... I need another coffee. 

Edited February 15, 2018 by Troggy
Missed a bit