Form I-485 Nickname as Middle Name

[Nutnicha-Kate 0]

Hello, I've been reading many posts here and got some good opinions about whether we should put nicknames on the form or not.

(Answer is, even though it is not officially documented, YES, IF it is very commonly used among many people around you AND it is a lot different from your name and last name, so that during an interview it won't confuse officers and align with other relationship proofs. Otherwise, NO or not necessary, but no harm in doing. There are many different opinions about this though, but I believe a middle ground like this conclusion is probably better.)

 

A bit about my case: I'm an international student here in the USA on a F-1 visa and later got married to a US citizen (first met him after already arrived and started the program at USA). I will be using his last name (fill in the form Part 1 #1.a.). I never had a middle name before. Since birth, I have had a nickname "Kate" and almost all my family, friends, people at work, etc. in my home country and in the USA call me Kate, but it was not on my birth certificate, our marriage certificate, nor any other legal documents (except all of my emails and on my CV which I think it is not official enough). My actual (legal) name is "Nutnicha".

 

My question is can I use my (not officially documented) nickname "Kate" as my new middle name (fill in the form Part 1 #1.c.), if I added my nickname in this form (fill in the form Part 1 #4.b. and labelled as Nickname)?

 

My reason I would like to add my nickname as my middle name is for the (academic) publications purpose during my degree.

 

My guess is no, I need to make it official first (by court I believe), or wait until I apply for US citizenship.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Sorry if I missed some of important posts and please guide me there. Thank you!

 

Kate

Edited March 8, 2021 by Nutnicha-Kate

[aaron2020 11,652]

No. 

In order to add a middle name, you will need a court order to legally change your name.  

[Timona 4,210]

Nicknames are not official names. I have plenty of them. 

Additionally, I would not recommend putting them on official documents. 

[Nutnicha-Kate 0]

UPDATE: Thank you for all responses.

 

I found this website and it explains very well with a clear example! Hope this helps for others as well!

https://www.fickeymartinezlaw.com/immigration/adjustment-of-status/name-change-and-the-green-card-things-to-know/

 

Also, changing name while applying for a citizenship or via court.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/correcting-your-name-when-obtaining-us-citizenship.html

Edited March 8, 2021 by Nutnicha-Kate

[Mollie09 1,543]

Depending on where you live, changing your middle name may or may not require a court order - it's location-specific. My friends got married and changed their middle names and it wasn't considered a "name change".

So if you want to add a middle name I recommend you check your county's procedures for that.