Adding a middle name after getting married

[Dawn&Igor 2]

Hi all,

 

I came to the US on K1, we've gotten married and I'd like to add a middle name to my name since I have none.

My wife will use my last name (that's another story) and I'd like to use her original last name as my middle name - meaning going from <first name> (no middle name) <last name> to <first name> <wife's last name> <family name>.

 

I can not find any legal instructions / obligations of what to do. Can I just file for SSN and AOS with my "new" middle name in the forms? Do I have to report it anywhere? 

Marriage certificate has our "original names" without any changes and the state we are in is PA.

 

Thanks.

 

[K1visaHopeful 2,662]

2 minutes ago, Dawn&Igor said:

Hi all,

 

I came to the US on K1, we've gotten married and I'd like to add a middle name to my name since I have none.

My wife will use my last name (that's another story) and I'd like to use her original last name as my middle name - meaning going from <first name> (no middle name) <last name> to <first name> <wife's last name> <family name>.

 

I can not find any legal instructions / obligations of what to do. Can I just file for SSN and AOS with my "new" middle name in the forms? Do I have to report it anywhere? 

Marriage certificate has our "original names" without any changes and the state we are in is PA.

 

Thanks.

 

In most states you cannot change your middle name as part of a marriage based name change. You would have to request a legal name change to do that. Contact your local county clerk for the details in your county/state.

[millefleur 5,035]

Nope, it's not that simple. If you want to legally add a middle name, you must do it via court ordered name change.

 

This varies depending on the state. I've done a court ordered name change myself (USC here), fees and processes will vary depending on the state.

 

https://www.rocketlawyer.com/article/how-to-get-a-legal-name-change-in-pennsylvania.rl

 

Since it's a middle name you are adding to the name, marriage doesn't cover that kind of name change. There are a lot of steps to doing a court ordered name change, so be prepared for that. You'd also need to order all new documents to match, not sure how that would go with an immigrant, sounds like you'd need to update a ton of documents to make sure it is all matching in the system, including your passport. I think court order name changes are only open to GC holders and USC's, and if there's a conditional GC that complicates things....and then, if you are not a US but a citizen of another country, you'd need to report the name change back home and update your passport, so that also adds a whole new layer of paperwork.

 

If you successfully manage to change your name, you'll be issued a legal document court order with that name change on it. You'll need to keep this paper the rest of your life to prove that you changed your name legally.

Edited February 6, 2019 by millefleur

[Dawn&Igor 2]

Thanks for quick answers.

I see that's a whole new level of headache on top of paperwork for AOS. I guess this name change is not that urgent after all and we can do without 

[millefleur 5,035]

2 minutes ago, Dawn&Igor said:

Thanks for quick answers.

I see that's a whole new level of headache on top of paperwork for AOS. I guess this name change is not that urgent after all and we can do without 

Good luck with AOS! If you're planning to become a US citizen down the road, I've heard there is a name change option that comes along with naturalization that is much easier and more straightforward, however I do not know if that also includes adding a middle name.