Changing name with citizenship application

[Jaci&J 4]

Word to the wise...if you are planning to change your name during this process, there are some things you need to know:

Pro: Financially it is a great time to do it, since the cost is included in your citizenship fees.

 

Cons/Potential issues:

1. It delays your oath ceremony, sometimes significantly.  You have to appear before a judge and those ceremonies are not offered as often.  Luckily our area was once a month, and it was local, however some more rural places may only have them once every 3 or 4 months.

 

2. If you plan to travel close to your oath ceremony, the process to get a passport gets more complicated and longer. 

                 A. You need to make copies of the naturalization certificate, at least 3 or 4

                 B.  You have to go to social security office.  They will mail your card to you, although you CAN ask for proof that you changed it so that you can change your license. Be aware that you cannot get your new license the same day. 

 

[Jaci&J 4]

continued: (hit the wrong button and wouldn't let me edit the post)

 

                    They (SS) told us it would show up in system at midnight but the DMV said it had to be 24-48 hours and tried to turn us away,  but we told them we were told it would be available after midnight.

                 C. DMV, always helps to have an appointment or turn up first thing in the morning, and get in the virtual line with your smartphone on their website (if available).  Even though you have your old license, they still want 2 more proofs of residence/address.  They took our proof of ss change, but not happily.

                 D. FINALLY, passport acceptance facility.  I suggest going to a courthouse, they will do your passport pictures for you and there is less chance they will be rejected.  You can request expedited processing and 1-2 day delivery for them to send back the passport to you by courier rather than USPS.  With it being the holidays, we paid for the extra shipping.  Other choice is driving 4 hours to Miami for a passport agency, but I could not get a straight answer about when/how I would actually get the passport and even with losing 4 business days (holidays) over the 2 weeks between the first available appointment and the travel dates, they would not allow an appointment earlier than the 2 weeks.

 

I wish I had known this before, although we didn't know we would need the quick turnaround time when we first did the application 9 months ago.  Just putting this out there for anyone considering a name change and what to expect.

Best of luck.  These details relate to my experience in Florida, other states may be better/more efficient, but any knowledge helps.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Jaci&J
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[Amadia 711]

Thank you for sharing your experience!

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

30 minutes ago, Jaci&J said:

Word to the wise

To me, the wisest advice is "Don't do it". Whatever your name is, just keep it. It will save you much headache over nothing. 

[de-vi 1]

I really appreciate you sharing your experience with this.  This is something we are considering and I was just looking this information up last night.   

[JeanneAdil 6,289]

Judge always does the oath

and USPS also takes photos for passport and will verify the naturalization document as seen

the immigration officer who conducts the business for USCIS for the process asks the judge for the name changes 

anyone looking for Court dates for your state can visit that state's site for dates and places

just because you live close to place where oath is given ,  doesn't mean you will get a notice for that place

here some were sent to Chattanooga and others were sent to Knoxsville / depends on # of oaths and availability