Washington DC field office interview yesterday , i passed.......... but not without a FIGHT!!!

[fcat 79]

 

For this post my wife with be Miss Doe and i will be Mr Smith.

 

In 2013, i got married to my US wife in Arlington, VA. I then returned home to the UK and started the CR-1 Visa process.

We filed the I-130 and everything else needed to get the CR1 Visa, early on in the process we decided between the two of us that i would be taking my wife's surname, i would no longer be Mr Smith but become Mr Doe and we filed accordingly, putting my name down as Mr Doe on the DS230. I sent our marriage certificate to the UK passport office, the UK DMV and the UK tax office and received my new passport and drivers license back under the name Mr Doe.

In Feb 2014 i moved to the USA, My visa was under the name Mr Doe in my passport that was in the name of Mr Doe, I've been in the US 7 years, my name is Mr Doe, my state driving license, my passport, my mortgage, my bank accounts, insurance and everything else is as Mr Doe, i AM and have been for the past 7 years Mr Doe after legally changing my name through marriage.

My interview at the DC field office (Fairfax, VA) was yesterday at 12:15pm, at 12:45pm a lady (Who we will call Karen 1) came out to the waiting room and called my name. She was polite, asked how i was and led me to an interview rooms. We sat down, she explained she would be conducting the interview and doing my civics test, she said the process shouldn't be more than 30 minutes. She started with the civics test which i passed by answering the first 6 questions correctly. She then asked me to read a sentence on the iPad screen and then to write a short sentence on the screen, which i did correctly. She then opened what looked like my immigration file, a thick brown folder full of paper documents. She started to go through my N400 application, asking several questions like was my address correct, how long i had lived at that address, confirming my wife's name etc etc She then asked when i got married and i said Jan 2013. She looked at the papers and then looked at me and said " So you returned to England for 12 months after you got married ?" I said " yes, i did the CR-1 visa process, that's the correct process to go through after being married in the US, the petition was then filed from the UK" to which she replied, "mmmm that's unusual, most people come over and get married then apply for their Visa here"  i told her i didn't do a K1 but a CR-1. It was at this time that i realized i maybe knew more than she did about the process! She said she had never heard of the CR1 process!!!

She kept looking through my file and reading out aloud, " ok, your I-130 is here, you marriage certificate, your divorce certificate (from previous marriage in the UK) and as she was doing this I'm thinking, what has this to do with things? all this has been checked out and was part of the Visa application process not my N400.

She then stopped at my birth certificate and flipped backwards and forwards between that and my marriage certificate. She then said to me " why is your name now different to your birth certificate?"  I said because after we married i took my wife's surname.  She immediately said back to me, "oh, you cant just do that, that's not allowed,  where is the official paperwork that you changed your name?"  She then said "you should have filled in a DS30" to which i replied, " i did fill in a DS230 and you should have a copy of that in your file"  after looking through the file for several minutes she said there was no DS230 in my file. I said "well the process is the same for the Husband taking the wife's name as it is vice versa, the marriage certificate is proof enough of my name change".  she then started rambling on how DC, Maryland and VA and all the other states have different rules about surnames!! She said " its fine though, she could fill a few forms in on her computer and all i would have to do was get an appointment at the Arlington courthouse, get the papers signed and stamped and then return them in the mail to USCIS and we'll give you another interview!! i KNEW this wasn't correct and i said " I'm sorry but this is not needed, my name has already been changed legally already" She then said she would go speak to her supervisor.

She returned 15 minutes later and said  "yes, its as i thought you will have to do a name change through the courts" by this time my palms were sweating and  i was becoming frustrated trying to explain that she had it wrong, i was polite but firm. I then asked to speak to her supervisor (whom we'll call Karen 2), she said "certainly, I'll go get her". Karen 1 disappeared for 5 minutes and came back saying Karen 2 would be in in 10 minutes. We both sat there in silence until Karen 2 arrived about 15 minutes later.

 

Karen 2 said she had spoke to one of her colleagues and that no one knew exactly what the situation was and should be, i said " there is one person that knows, me!!" between Karen 1 and 2 they agreed that i had to do a name change. I then started to show Karen 2 a copy of my DS230 from 7 years ago on my cell phone, she would not look at it and snapped back at me " I'm not interested in your DS230, that's a Department of State form, nothing to do with this and they have been known to make mistakes"  I was like #######!!! i told her that Karen 1 had mentioned that there was no DS230 in my file and she had been looking for it but Karen 2 was not having anything to do with it!  I then asked what if my wife had taken my name would she have had to go through the courts? She said "no that's normal when 2 people get married, what you have done is not normal and is not really allowed" At this point i was still very calm but inside i was fuming and i thought F**k it, I'm gonna fight my corner and if i piss them off then so be it. She then said, "you will have to change your name through the court",  i said " so what name am i changing it from? Mr Smith does not exist anymore, he hasn't done for 7 years, my passport, green card, bank accounts, mortgage state ID are all in the name Mr Doe and it was changed to that legally in the UK and on the DS230, so how can i change my name and what do i change it to?" she just stood there looking confused and didn't know how or what to say. I then asked her how my Visa and all the correspondence from USCIS was issued and addressed to Mr Doe, where had they got that name from ? again, she couldn't answer and didn't know how to respond.

My questions to Karen 2 went on for over 15 minutes but what seemed like an hour! she was very arrogant and ignorant and didn't want to talk to me, just to Karen 1. 

Then Karen 1 turned to Karen 2 and said ( and this is verbatim i kid you not) "I've just googled it and it says its OK"  Karen 2 said, "what website does it say that on ? is it the courthouse website?" Karen 1 said " no it just says it on google that a man can take the wife's name"  Karen 2 then said to Karen 1, ' OK put it through" and walked off!!!!

 

I was in there just over 2 hours, LOTS of questions and conversations between me and both Karens that I've forgotten and I cant even remember the amount of times i asked things and they didn't know what to say. I left the office happy but totally frustrated and shaking!

if i had just left it and taken their word for it or not stood up for myself i would have not been approved!!

 

So my Oath is next Tuesday and I'm looking forward to it but the whole things left a real bad taste in my mouth:( My wife says i should write a letter of complaint, im just gonna move on but i wanted to vent through this forum that has been a great wealth of information over the past 7 or 8 years,

 

Thanks

K & S DOE!!!

 

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

I'm sorry you had such incompetent people but thats great you passed and stood up for yourself. It's your choice if you write the letter but I would wait until after your ceremony lol. At husbands biometric appt there was a survey box and he made sure he completed the survey because they were very rude there. 

[fcat 79]

15 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

I'm sorry you had such incompetent people but thats great you passed and stood up for yourself. It's your choice if you write the letter but I would wait until after your ceremony lol. At husbands biometric appt there was a survey box and he made sure he completed the survey because they were very rude there. 

Thanks, yeah i was even reluctant to post it here before the ceremony but just needed to get it out!

[Dashinka 23,243]

It is amazing how ignorant people can be when something is a little out of the norm.  Sure the man changing their surname based on marriage is not very common, but it is certainly allowed.  
 

Congrats on finally passing your N400 interview, and I am glad you stood your ground.

 

Good Luck!

[millefleur 5,035]

2 hours ago, fcat said:

So you returned to England for 12 months after you got married ?" I said " yes, i did the CR-1 visa process, that's the correct process to go through after being married in the US, the petition was then filed from the UK" to which she replied, "mmmm that's unusual, most people come over and get married then apply for their Visa here"  i told her i didn't do a K1 but a CR-1. It was at this time that i realized i maybe knew more than she did about the process! She said she had never heard of the CR1 process!!!

That is insane. She was chiding you for doing it the right way!

 

 

 

[TeamMcGregor 21]

God it's so sad to see that a) more often than not applicants know WAY more about regulation than the USCIS employees that decide our cases, and b) how two women can be so small-minded to accept that someone may want to do things in a different way than what they know and that different way being totally okay and awesome. 

 

You should complain. I would find out who the director for that field office is and complain my ### off. 

Edited August 14, 2020 by TeamMcGregor

[zochu 255]

Oh my goodness! The ignorance! Way to go breaking social norms though! Love that you took your wife’s surname 🙌🙌🙌

 

[Letspaintcookies 2,207]

Oh boy that's unbelievable 🙈🙈

Glad that you stand your ground and congratulations 🥳🥳

[Diane and Chris 651]

Congratulations on passing the interview and exam!  My husband also took my surname when we married over 3 years ago. When we went to the county courthouse to get the marriage license, they were amazed that we chose to do that. They said they had never had a husband take the wife’s name. They thought it was pretty neat. We had no problems with the drivers license, social security, bank, etc. I hope we don’t have problems with his naturalization. 

[JacobP 185]

2 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

Congratulations on passing the interview and exam!  My husband also took my surname when we married over 3 years ago. When we went to the county courthouse to get the marriage license, they were amazed that we chose to do that. They said they had never had a husband take the wife’s name. They thought it was pretty neat. We had no problems with the drivers license, social security, bank, etc. I hope we don’t have problems with his naturalization. 

Judging by OP, you can just tell them to check Google if they have any problems.

[pablo2752 106]

Oh wow, I have a friend in Australia who used to live in the US as Withholding of Removal...now I see that he wasn't kidding when he complained how miserable and demeaningDC field office employees are.

[user555 195]

I'd write a letter to complain. If Karen 1 didn't know and the supervisor corrected her, that'd be ok. But if the supervisor, Karen 2, didn't know, this level of incompetence needs to be corrected. 

[Joiedevivre 38]

Good lord and people like this decide over our future and lives 🤦‍♀️

[Mollie09 1,543]

18 hours ago, fcat said:

 

For this post my wife with be Miss Doe and i will be Mr Smith.

 

In 2013, i got married to my US wife in Arlington, VA. I then returned home to the UK and started the CR-1 Visa process.

We filed the I-130 and everything else needed to get the CR1 Visa, early on in the process we decided between the two of us that i would be taking my wife's surname, i would no longer be Mr Smith but become Mr Doe and we filed accordingly, putting my name down as Mr Doe on the DS230. I sent our marriage certificate to the UK passport office, the UK DMV and the UK tax office and received my new passport and drivers license back under the name Mr Doe.

In Feb 2014 i moved to the USA, My visa was under the name Mr Doe in my passport that was in the name of Mr Doe, I've been in the US 7 years, my name is Mr Doe, my state driving license, my passport, my mortgage, my bank accounts, insurance and everything else is as Mr Doe, i AM and have been for the past 7 years Mr Doe after legally changing my name through marriage.

My interview at the DC field office (Fairfax, VA) was yesterday at 12:15pm, at 12:45pm a lady (Who we will call Karen 1) came out to the waiting room and called my name. She was polite, asked how i was and led me to an interview rooms. We sat down, she explained she would be conducting the interview and doing my civics test, she said the process shouldn't be more than 30 minutes. She started with the civics test which i passed by answering the first 6 questions correctly. She then asked me to read a sentence on the iPad screen and then to write a short sentence on the screen, which i did correctly. She then opened what looked like my immigration file, a thick brown folder full of paper documents. She started to go through my N400 application, asking several questions like was my address correct, how long i had lived at that address, confirming my wife's name etc etc She then asked when i got married and i said Jan 2013. She looked at the papers and then looked at me and said " So you returned to England for 12 months after you got married ?" I said " yes, i did the CR-1 visa process, that's the correct process to go through after being married in the US, the petition was then filed from the UK" to which she replied, "mmmm that's unusual, most people come over and get married then apply for their Visa here"  i told her i didn't do a K1 but a CR-1. It was at this time that i realized i maybe knew more than she did about the process! She said she had never heard of the CR1 process!!!

She kept looking through my file and reading out aloud, " ok, your I-130 is here, you marriage certificate, your divorce certificate (from previous marriage in the UK) and as she was doing this I'm thinking, what has this to do with things? all this has been checked out and was part of the Visa application process not my N400.

She then stopped at my birth certificate and flipped backwards and forwards between that and my marriage certificate. She then said to me " why is your name now different to your birth certificate?"  I said because after we married i took my wife's surname.  She immediately said back to me, "oh, you cant just do that, that's not allowed,  where is the official paperwork that you changed your name?"  She then said "you should have filled in a DS30" to which i replied, " i did fill in a DS230 and you should have a copy of that in your file"  after looking through the file for several minutes she said there was no DS230 in my file. I said "well the process is the same for the Husband taking the wife's name as it is vice versa, the marriage certificate is proof enough of my name change".  she then started rambling on how DC, Maryland and VA and all the other states have different rules about surnames!! She said " its fine though, she could fill a few forms in on her computer and all i would have to do was get an appointment at the Arlington courthouse, get the papers signed and stamped and then return them in the mail to USCIS and we'll give you another interview!! i KNEW this wasn't correct and i said " I'm sorry but this is not needed, my name has already been changed legally already" She then said she would go speak to her supervisor.

She returned 15 minutes later and said  "yes, its as i thought you will have to do a name change through the courts" by this time my palms were sweating and  i was becoming frustrated trying to explain that she had it wrong, i was polite but firm. I then asked to speak to her supervisor (whom we'll call Karen 2), she said "certainly, I'll go get her". Karen 1 disappeared for 5 minutes and came back saying Karen 2 would be in in 10 minutes. We both sat there in silence until Karen 2 arrived about 15 minutes later.

 

Karen 2 said she had spoke to one of her colleagues and that no one knew exactly what the situation was and should be, i said " there is one person that knows, me!!" between Karen 1 and 2 they agreed that i had to do a name change. I then started to show Karen 2 a copy of my DS230 from 7 years ago on my cell phone, she would not look at it and snapped back at me " I'm not interested in your DS230, that's a Department of State form, nothing to do with this and they have been known to make mistakes"  I was like #######!!! i told her that Karen 1 had mentioned that there was no DS230 in my file and she had been looking for it but Karen 2 was not having anything to do with it!  I then asked what if my wife had taken my name would she have had to go through the courts? She said "no that's normal when 2 people get married, what you have done is not normal and is not really allowed" At this point i was still very calm but inside i was fuming and i thought F**k it, I'm gonna fight my corner and if i piss them off then so be it. She then said, "you will have to change your name through the court",  i said " so what name am i changing it from? Mr Smith does not exist anymore, he hasn't done for 7 years, my passport, green card, bank accounts, mortgage state ID are all in the name Mr Doe and it was changed to that legally in the UK and on the DS230, so how can i change my name and what do i change it to?" she just stood there looking confused and didn't know how or what to say. I then asked her how my Visa and all the correspondence from USCIS was issued and addressed to Mr Doe, where had they got that name from ? again, she couldn't answer and didn't know how to respond.

My questions to Karen 2 went on for over 15 minutes but what seemed like an hour! she was very arrogant and ignorant and didn't want to talk to me, just to Karen 1. 

Then Karen 1 turned to Karen 2 and said ( and this is verbatim i kid you not) "I've just googled it and it says its OK"  Karen 2 said, "what website does it say that on ? is it the courthouse website?" Karen 1 said " no it just says it on google that a man can take the wife's name"  Karen 2 then said to Karen 1, ' OK put it through" and walked off!!!!

 

I was in there just over 2 hours, LOTS of questions and conversations between me and both Karens that I've forgotten and I cant even remember the amount of times i asked things and they didn't know what to say. I left the office happy but totally frustrated and shaking!

if i had just left it and taken their word for it or not stood up for myself i would have not been approved!!

 

So my Oath is next Tuesday and I'm looking forward to it but the whole things left a real bad taste in my mouth:( My wife says i should write a letter of complaint, im just gonna move on but i wanted to vent through this forum that has been a great wealth of information over the past 7 or 8 years,

 

Thanks

K & S DOE!!!

 

 

Good for you! I had to fight to change my name at the SSA but nobody batted an eye at USCIS.

 

When I went to apply for my passport though, I had a bit of an argument with the guy because my dad's name is John Smith Jones (for example) and my mom's name is Jane Moore Jones. When I was born, I was Mollie Moore Jones (mom's last name and dad's last name), and when I got married, my husband and I changed both our names to Moore-Graham. When I filed for my passport, I listed previous names as "Mollie Jones" and "Mollie Moore Jones", but the guy INSISTED if my dad's last name was "Smith Jones" that "Mollie Smith Jones" had to be one of my previous names as well. It wasn't, I never used that name, it's my dad's last name, not mine. We went back and forth for a bit, and I put my foot down and said I wasn't going to change the application, he said it would be my fault if my application was rejected. It wasn't.

[skaratso 84]

When my father applied for his citizenship after over 30 years of being a Green Card holder I was allowed to serve as his interpreter for the interview and civics test. They had his entire file too and went over everything as if he were still going through the K1 process. At one point the officer showed me his original divorce decree and asked me if it was my father's birth certificate (if he had turned the page he would have seen the translated version), then hunted through the files looking for it. He couldn't find it. So I politely asked for his file, located the Greek government form stating that his original birth certificate was destroyed when the municipal building housing those records was burned down during World War II and that, to the best of their knowledge, he was indeed born "approximately" around the date my father used as his birthdate. The officer was like, "but where is his birth certificate?" I showed him the translated version and said, "it says right here that the original was destroyed in the war." "But they would have issued him a replacement." "This IS the replacement." "OK, whatever." The rest of the interview went fine and my father was approved.

 

He was polite, but he sure didn't seem too bright.