Legal Name

[Highmystic 234]

There are some questions on "legal name"  AFTER marriage.  We are completing the I-485 and stuff,  but that one question  comes up.  After marriage, is a legal name anything she wants it to be or the maiden name until she gets AOS and GC..  Should she use her married name or maiden name as "legal name" and then sign it with the signature of what she put as legal name?   She already has a SS# in her married name, that was easy, but... it is her "legal name"?  What have others (who had filed and recieved  the GC without problems) used for their names?

 

Edited March 9, 2018 by Highmystic
additional info

[DrEllaNJ 288]

If she wants her married name to be her legal name (and it sounds like she does), file AOS with her married name, and list her maiden name under 'other names used'. 

If she files under her maiden name, she'll receive a GC in her maiden name. Changing it is expensive.

With the marriage certificate, she is legally entitled to using her married name.

 

Someone from the Philippines should weigh in about changing legal name there.

 

I actually filed everything in my maiden name since it's a hassle to change names. My SSN uses my maiden name, as well as my Green card. Socially I hyphenate with my husband's name. In my Dutch passport, I now have an annotation that says 'spouse of [husband's last name]'. However, in the Netherlands it's pretty much impossible to legally change your name. 

[Highmystic 234]

1 hour ago, DrEllaNJ said:

Yeah, she wants the married name, and she will have a lot to change over eventually in the Philippines as she has bank accounts, mortgage, other real estate, her passport, utilities, etc  Eventually she will have to notify PH embassy in the US to update her cenomar and her passport once it expires.  Thanks for the info!

 

Someone from the Philippines should weigh in about changing legal name there.