SSNn name change and marriage timing (split)

[Teacake 76]

Hi all, sorry to jump in but I’ve read your discussion and am still confused about this process. Can someone please confirm I’m on the right track here?

 

So after arriving in the US on a K1, I apply for my SSN in my maiden name. Do I need to have it before I can get married?

 

 If not, we apply for a marriage licence while it’s processing, get married, receive my SSN with my maiden name in the mail sometime after, and I can use both of those to change my name?

 

Then if I understand correctly, I take the “old” SSN, our marriage certificate and my name change certificate to the SSA and they will issue me a new card with my new name?

[Ontarkie 13,914]

~~Post split off from another members thread, thread also moved to SSN ~~

[SalishSea 16,769]

1 hour ago, Teacake said:

Hi all, sorry to jump in but I’ve read your discussion and am still confused about this process. Can someone please confirm I’m on the right track here?

 

So after arriving in the US on a K1, I apply for my SSN in my maiden name. Do I need to have it before I can get married?

 

 If not, we apply for a marriage licence while it’s processing, get married, receive my SSN with my maiden name in the mail sometime after, and I can use both of those to change my name?

 

Then if I understand correctly, I take the “old” SSN, our marriage certificate and my name change certificate to the SSA and they will issue me a new card with my new name?

Correct.  Applying for the SSN before marriage will save you a world of red tape later on.  

 

I have heard rumors of some states/counties requiring or requesting an SSN prior to marriage - not the case for my husband.  Google getting married in your particular county, it should specify the requirements.

[Teacake 76]

1 minute ago, Jorgedig said:

I have heard rumors of some states/counties requiring or requesting an SSN prior to marriage - not the case for my husband.  Google getting married in your particular county, it should specify the requirements.

Thank you, I had a look and it seems my fiancé’s county in TN is the same and an SSN is not necessary.

 

3 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Applying for the SSN before marriage will save you a world of red tape later on. 

Sorry if this is a silly question, but do you mean that getting an SSN after marriage would lead to a ton of extra paperwork, etc.? Why is this the case?

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,078]

20 hours ago, Teacake said:

Hi all, sorry to jump in but I’ve read your discussion and am still confused about this process. Can someone please confirm I’m on the right track here?

 

So after arriving in the US on a K1, I apply for my SSN in my maiden name. Do I need to have it before I can get married?

No. Having an SSN makes dealing with a lot of things easier while living in the US, but it's perfectly fine to apply for an SSN and then get married before the card shows up (that's what we did; Anastasia applied for her SSN two days after POE, we got married the next day, her SSN didn't show up in the mail until about two weeks after she applied).

 

20 hours ago, Teacake said:

 If not, we apply for a marriage licence while it’s processing, get married, receive my SSN with my maiden name in the mail sometime after, and I can use both of those to change my name?

You can definitely apply for a marriage license and get married while your SSN is processing. In theory you should be able to get a new social security card with your new name (and with the same number) once you've got your marriage certificate, but lots of people have had problems with doing it in practice (same goes with applying for an SSN after you married but within the 90 days - two weeks for processing; it's legally fine, but some offices have given people here problems).

 

20 hours ago, Teacake said:

Then if I understand correctly, I take the “old” SSN, our marriage certificate and my name change certificate to the SSA and they will issue me a new card with my new name?

It's more likely you won't be able to get a card in your new name (you'll keep the same number; you should only get one SSN in your life, ever) prior to getting EAD or your green card. If you want to minimize trips to the local SSA office, wait until green card and your new card also won't have the "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" text.

[Teacake 76]

3 hours ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

wait until green card and your new card also won't have the "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" text.

Thank you so much! All very helpful information!