Changing wife's name.

[whatdoyouwant 0]

My new wife got a SS card in her maiden name.   We now want to get her a corrected card with her new name.
1.  Do we need the marriage certificate when we go back to the Social Security office?
2.  I think she signed the marriage certificate with her maiden name.  Will that be a problem?
3.  Here is some text from the SSA

 

If you legally change your name because of marriage, divorce, court order, or any other reason, you should tell Social Security.

If you are working, you also need to tell your employer. If you do not tell us when your name changes, it may:

• Prevent your wages from being posted correctly to your Social Security record, which may lower the amount of your future Social Security benefits.
• Cause delays when you file your taxes.

You must show us proof of your legal name change. Documents Social Security may accept to prove a legal name change include:

• Marriage document;
• Divorce decree;
• Court order approving the name change; or

If the document you provide as evidence of a legal name change does not give us enough information to identify you in our records or if you changed your name more than two years ago (four years ago if you are under 18 years of age), you must show us an identity document in your prior name (as shown in our records). We will accept an identity document in your old name that has expired.

If you do not have an identity document in your prior name, we may accept an unexpired identity document in your new name, as long as we can properly establish your identity in our records.

If we assigned you a Social Security number for non-work purposes, special rules apply. If DHS did not authorize you to work, we will change your name on our records but we cannot issue you a corrected card. If you do not have permission to work, but need a Social Security card for other reasons, see "If you do not have permission to work" for further information. Remember that you cannot use a Social Security number assigned for non-work purposes to work. If you use it to work, we will inform DHS.

 

This is very confusing to me.  Her cards says "Valid for work only with DHS authorization"  Does this mean she cannot get a SS card in her new name until she has received approval to work (presumably via the I-765)?

 

4. Is it OK to go ahead and file her I-765, I-485, etc. with her new name even though we don't yet have any documents in her new name?  And if the SS department won't issue her a card in her new name, what can I use to verify the name change?

 

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

13 minutes ago, whatdoyouwant said:

My new wife got a SS card in her maiden name.   We now want to get her a corrected card with her new name.
1.  Do we need the marriage certificate when we go back to the Social Security office?
2.  I think she signed the marriage certificate with her maiden name.  Will that be a problem?
3.  Here is some text from the SSA

 

If you legally change your name because of marriage, divorce, court order, or any other reason, you should tell Social Security.

If you are working, you also need to tell your employer. If you do not tell us when your name changes, it may:

• Prevent your wages from being posted correctly to your Social Security record, which may lower the amount of your future Social Security benefits.
• Cause delays when you file your taxes.

You must show us proof of your legal name change. Documents Social Security may accept to prove a legal name change include:

• Marriage document;
• Divorce decree;
• Court order approving the name change; or

If the document you provide as evidence of a legal name change does not give us enough information to identify you in our records or if you changed your name more than two years ago (four years ago if you are under 18 years of age), you must show us an identity document in your prior name (as shown in our records). We will accept an identity document in your old name that has expired.

If you do not have an identity document in your prior name, we may accept an unexpired identity document in your new name, as long as we can properly establish your identity in our records.

If we assigned you a Social Security number for non-work purposes, special rules apply. If DHS did not authorize you to work, we will change your name on our records but we cannot issue you a corrected card. If you do not have permission to work, but need a Social Security card for other reasons, see "If you do not have permission to work" for further information. Remember that you cannot use a Social Security number assigned for non-work purposes to work. If you use it to work, we will inform DHS.

 

This is very confusing to me.  Her cards says "Valid for work only with DHS authorization"  Does this mean she cannot get a SS card in her new name until she has received approval to work (presumably via the I-765)?

 

4. Is it OK to go ahead and file her I-765, I-485, etc. with her new name even though we don't yet have any documents in her new name?  And if the SS department won't issue her a card in her new name, what can I use to verify the name change?

 

1. Yes, you need the marriage certificate before you can change it with the SSA. 

2. No, not a problem. 

4. Why not just wait until they give her a new SS card before you do AOS? 

Edited January 11, 2019 by Cyberfx1024

[geowrian 22,335]

26 minutes ago, whatdoyouwant said:

This is very confusing to me.  Her cards says "Valid for work only with DHS authorization"  Does this mean she cannot get a SS card in her new name until she has received approval to work (presumably via the I-765)?

SSA is supposed to accept a marriage certificate to update the name and issue a new card. Many times the staff are not aware of this and will request an EAD or green card in the new name as well. It took my wife 3 visits last year to find somebody who could do it before having an EAD.

She must also have at least 14 days of legal status on her I-94 remaining to get a new card issued.

 

26 minutes ago, whatdoyouwant said:

4. Is it OK to go ahead and file her I-765, I-485, etc. with her new name even though we don't yet have any documents in her new name?  And if the SS department won't issue her a card in her new name, what can I use to verify the name change?

Yes. A marriage certificate is a legal name change document.

Many people do AOS without even having an SSN.