Adoption and Previous names

[Steve & Erma 36]

I am a US citizen and was adopted when I was 12 by my step father. Both my middle and last name were changed. Do I need to put this down on the I-129f and will I need to provide the paperwork for this as well? I am 50 now so this was 38 years ago.

 

Also it asks about info on my parents, would I use the info on my adoption paperwork or my biological father?

 

Thanks in advance

Edited March 29, 2022 by Steve B

[Dashinka 24,579]

I would put down your name previous to adoption in the section "Other Names Used" Part 1 Questions 7a, b, c.  As to the parents question I would put your adoptive father here and put your biological father's name in Part 8.  You will need to include the adoption decree to show your name was changed legally per the I129F instructions Page 11, Number 6 along with your birth certificate.

 

Good Luck!

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-129finstr.pdf 

[Steve & Erma 36]

I talked with my mom and the adoption is a sealed adoption so as far as the government is concerned I never had a different name and my adopted father is my birth father. If I wanted to get my original birth certificate there is no way for me to do that except the fact my mother still has a copy.

 

Do you think maybe this could be left out under those circumstances? Is this something I could get an immigration lawyer to answer for me for free?

[Dashinka 24,579]

This seems a little strange since you were adopted at 12, and your name changed at that point, so obviously you were using a different name up until that point.  As to the I-129F, you can show your proof of US citizenship with your passport, so you don't need your birth certificate for that.  This being said, it is up to you if you want to put that name you used up until your adoption in the I129F.  If you had been issued a social security card in that name or something like that (considering you are a similar age as I am I suspect this is not the case, I didn't get my SSC until I was 14), then I would say you would need to include it, but if you had no form of government ID, then I suspect you don't need to.  Maybe @Mike E or @pushbrk or @Crazy Cat might have an idea.  You can try and get a consultation with an immigration attorney, but I am not sure they will answer it for free.

[Villanelle 4,122]

From my understanding you need to disclose any and all name changes. Doesn't matter if you were a kid and your parents did it or if you changed it yourself as an adult. A name change occurred. It must be disclosed and documentation provided. 

 

The documentation is simply the court order stating what the old name was,and the new name is. You don't need specific proof of the old name as the adoption/court order is the proof old name existed and has been changed.

 

So enter the old name under other names used and include the proof of name change adoption/court order as proof as well as current birth certificate. 

 

Now the question of whether you enter parents names as those on the birth certificate or biological is a bit difficult. Searching VJ you will see many have entered the names on the current birth certificate and no problems were reported in doing such. Entering the bio names will probably create issues as it won't match the birth certificate provided.

 

Because you are a USC by birth the issue of whether your adoption made you a citizen or not is N/A. This is simply disclosing the name change.

[Mike E 11,740]

On 4/3/2022 at 5:41 PM, Steve B said:

I talked with my mom and the adoption is a sealed adoption so as far as the government is concerned

This normal for children adopted at or near birth.  Not so normal for 12 year olds.  
 

Your mother might think it is sealed.  The state where you were adopted might disagree. 
 

You had a different name.  You presumably remember it and so you have to list it.  
 

So you need to get your adoption paperwork.  If your mother or the government is an obstacle, then hire a lawyer or private investigator 

Edited April 5, 2022 by Mike E

[Villanelle 4,122]

I don't think the OP will need this but- https://www.usa.gov/family-legal is a good starting point to find records from the appropriate government agency w/o having to pay a private attorney or investigator.

[Steve & Erma 36]

8 hours ago, Villanelle said:

From my understanding you need to disclose any and all name changes. Doesn't matter if you were a kid and your parents did it or if you changed it yourself as an adult. A name change occurred. It must be disclosed and documentation provided. 

 

The documentation is simply the court order stating what the old name was,and the new name is. You don't need specific proof of the old name as the adoption/court order is the proof old name existed and has been changed.

 

So enter the old name under other names used and include the proof of name change adoption/court order as proof as well as current birth certificate. 

 

Now the question of whether you enter parents names as those on the birth certificate or biological is a bit difficult. Searching VJ you will see many have entered the names on the current birth certificate and no problems were reported in doing such. Entering the bio names will probably create issues as it won't match the birth certificate provided.

 

Because you are a USC by birth the issue of whether your adoption made you a citizen or not is N/A. This is simply disclosing the name change.

I won't have problems getting a copy of my adoption from my mom, if I do I will simply go to the court house and get one.

 

So I will need the adoption record of my adoption showing the name change and then the birth certificate that shows my new name. Will I need to previous BC too?

 

Thank you all ( @Villanelle, @Mike E, @Dashinka) for your help on this matter.

[Villanelle 4,122]

If you have a copy of the old BC you can include it with the adoption/court order but it's not necessarily needed. Personally I wouldn't include it but have it ready to send if its RFEd for. 

 

My reasoning for this is sending excessive unnecessary documents can sometimes cause confusion. USCIS will match the names you enter to the documents you provided. Including 2 birth certificates, even if you label them and attach an explanation- your package gets torn apart and rearranged and scanned in to the computer and I can see an issue occurring with the system not being able to understand where the old invalid birth certificate fits in. 

 

As I said I don't think they would RFE you it as the name change order/adoption paperwork permanently altered your birth certificate. Your old name does not exist and is no longer valid. This is different than when one changes their name through marriage.  You still 'own' your old name in that case and can go back to it if desired. Your BC is also not changed due to marriage which is why in those scenarios you have to show the paper trail of BC name (still valid) but changed through marriage. 

 

 

[Family 4,025]

On 4/3/2022 at 4:41 PM, Steve B said:

talked with my mom and the adoption is a sealed adoption so as far as the government is concerned I never had a different name and my adopted father is my birth father

Your mom is right and adopted children get a new Birth Certificate which establishes all the relevant legal data regarding your birth: your parents as listed on that Birth Certificate. 



 

[pushbrk 12,968]

1 hour ago, Steve B said:

I won't have problems getting a copy of my adoption from my mom, if I do I will simply go to the court house and get one.

 

So I will need the adoption record of my adoption showing the name change and then the birth certificate that shows my new name. Will I need to previous BC too?

 

Thank you all ( @Villanelle, @Mike E, @Dashinka) for your help on this matter.

Read the adoption record.  If it mentions your birth name and place, that may be enough.  To be safe, I would get a certified copy of your birth certificate from when you are born.  That COULD be a problem if you were adopted in the same state where you were born, as they may not keep records of two birth certificates for the same person.  If you were born in one state and adopted in another, it will NOT be a problem and should definitely be done.

 

Questions about your parents are about your birth parents.  That information is "known" and should be entered.  The information asked for is "biographical" and must be truthful.  Questions about your father are not qualified by things like who you call Dad.  Your actual father's name is known, so it should be entered.  If it was NOT known to you and your mother won't tell you, then enter Unknown for all questions about your father.  If nothing is known but his name, enter unknown for the other questions about him.

 

Answer not based on "sentiment" but on facts.

 

[TBoneTX 45,469]

Listen to pushbrk.

[Family 4,025]

On 4/3/2022 at 4:41 PM, Steve B said:

talked with my mom and the adoption is a sealed adoption so as far as the government is concerned I never had a different name and my adopted father is my 

The birth certificate created after the adoption is THE ONLY LEGAL VITAL record and recognizes ONLY your adoptive parents . This is true for USCIS, and if you ever tried to file an I-130 for a biological parent/ sibling you would get denied. 
 

https://adopteerightslaw.com/faq-adoptee-original-birth-certificates/
 

[SalishSea 17,916]

5 hours ago, Family said:

The birth certificate created after the adoption is THE ONLY LEGAL VITAL record and recognizes ONLY your adoptive parents . This is true for USCIS, and if you ever tried to file an I-130 for a biological parent/ sibling you would get denied. 
 

https://adopteerightslaw.com/faq-adoptee-original-birth-certificates/
 

That does not mean OP doesn't need to disclose the name used prior to age 12, which was his legal name at birth.  

 

And I second the "listen to pushbrk" advice.

[Villanelle 4,122]

I don’t necessarily disagree with pushbrk but I believe Family is providing more accurate information.

 

As explained, when a court name change is done through adoption process the original record is altered. There is no previous BC anymore. 

 

I believe the 129f form requires you to enter parents names. This is the names on the birth certificate. Entering any thing else in those fields will most likely cause an RFE as it won't match. The original BC no longer exists and I don't believe a copy of it can ever be provided again as it was 'deleted' and replaced with the altered version + adoption records showing what changes were made made.

 

Other forms do specifically ask about bio parent but that is N/A here. The 129f does not instruct you to enter biological parent information but simply parents names which are the ones shown on the BC.

 

The only issue here is listing the name as other names used which the adoption paperwork and current BC establishes.

 

The OP is free to get consultations with attnys. Many offer free consults and I would get multiple opinions if doing such. The question to ask is do you enter the names/info shown on the BC on the 129f and include other names used in the appropriate section OR do you enter biological parents names and include the altered BC and adoption paperwork.

 

Looking through the instructions and general policy it appears they do not specify biological names to be entered there and expect you to enter what is shown on your BC. 

 

Countless people ask if they should enter their step parents names and the advice is to only enter the names from the BC and not 'sentiment'. The same applies here IMO. Parents names are what is shown on the BC.