Name change dilemma: legal change vs. waiting for arrival in US

[2543-4092 0]

Hi everyone,

 

I’m from Canada and got married in New York State. When we applied for the marriage license, I had the option to change both my surname and middle name. I chose to take my husband’s last name and move my maiden name to a second middle name. So I went from Sarah Jane Doe to Sarah Jane Doe Smith.

 

All of our I-130 paperwork is under that name. I thought I’d just update my documents once I got home while we wait on consular processing, but it turns out in my province you can only assume a new last name after marriage. To change a middle name, you need a full legal name change, which also alters your birth certificate to show the new name as if it were your birth name. That feels odd to me, since I wasn’t born with my husband’s last name, and I'm not sure if it would cause any problems. You do get a certificate of name change, but that would be the only record of my actual birth name.

 

If I don’t go through with a legal name change in Canada, all my ID will stay in my maiden name (unless I assume only the last name, which still won't match our marriage certificate). My lawyer said I might be able to adjust my name at the consulate interview, but usually they only allow last name changes. Now I’m not sure if I should try to change it in the US after I get my green card, just do the legal name change in Canada, or if there is any other option available. The legal name change process takes quite a while in my province, so I need to make a decision sooner rather than later.

 

I feel pretty overwhelmed and honestly a bit foolish. Has anyone else dealt with something like this? I’d really love to go by Sarah Jane Doe Smith, but I’m not sure what the smartest path forward is, or if I should just go ahead and do the legal name change. 

 

Appreciate any advice or words of wisdom! 

[Dashinka 26,164]

Not sure if it is exactly the same thing.  My wife chose to take my family name when we married.  Additionally, she adopted her Russian patronymic name as her middle name even though Russians do not have what we consider a traditional middle name, and we did all of her immigration documents with that format.  All of her U.S. based ID’s, DL, GC and now U.S. passport reflect that new name, but her Russian documents are still in her name at the time we married.  Changing her name on those documents is a bureaucratic fuss, so she has left it as is, and she has had no issues when traveling back to Russia.  She carries both passports, or previous to her naturalizing, her Russian passport and U.S. GC, along with a copy of our marriage certificate, and has had no issues so far.  Over 11 years, no one has actually questioned anything, or required her to show the marriage certificate.

[OldUser 10,552]

8 hours ago, 2543-4092 said:

I chose to take my husband’s last name and move my maiden name to a second middle name. So I went from Sarah Jane Doe to Sarah Jane Doe Smith.

Yeah, I think the tricky part was moving your middle name. Typically, after marriage people only alter their last name. You would have 0 issue with this:

 

First name: Sarah

Middle name: Jane

Last Name: Doe Smith

 

One option is to actually stick to this name format, update all your docs in Canada to this format and then update I-130 and use it in DS-260 with this format.

 

From what I understand, your marriage certificate doesn't say your new name, just maiden, right? E.g. it doesn't prescribe how you update your name and the only papework you used this new name is I-130?

Edited 15 hours ago by OldUser

[2543-4092 0]

2 hours ago, OldUser said:

Yeah, I think the tricky part was moving your middle name. Typically, after marriage people only alter their last name. You would have 0 issue with this:

 

First name: Sarah

Middle name: Jane

Last Name: Doe Smith

 

One option is to actually stick to this name format, update all your docs in Canada to this format and then update I-130 and use it in DS-260 with this format.

 

From what I understand, your marriage certificate doesn't say your new name, just maiden, right? E.g. it doesn't prescribe how you update your name and the only papework you used this new name is I-130?

 

 

The marriage certificate does say my new married name. It says Sarah (first) Jane Doe (Middle) Smith (last) is the name after marriage. The I-130 lists my name as Sarah Jane Doe Smith, with Sarah Jane Doe as a previous name used.

 

I do like the middle name format, and I thought it would be a neat way to honor both family names, since the option was provided when we applied for the marriage license. It's just turning out to be a bit more complex than I expected to change it in Canada 😂

 

If I change it in Canada, my birth certificate will reflect my married name, but I get a change of name certificate listing my prior name. I'm just unsure if it makes more sense to leave it unchanged in Canada, and just change it later in the US so that my birth certificate remains in my maiden name.

Edited 13 hours ago by 2543-4092

[OldUser 10,552]

11 minutes ago, 2543-4092 said:

 

 

The marriage certificate does say my new married name. It says Sarah (first) Jane Doe (Middle) Smith (last) is the name after marriage. The I-130 lists my name as Sarah Jane Doe Smith, with Sarah Jane Doe as a previous name used.

 

I do like the middle name format, and I thought it would be a neat way to honor both family names, since the option was provided when we applied for the marriage license. It's just turning out to be a bit more complex than I expected to change it in Canada 😂

 

If I change it in Canada, my birth certificate will reflect my married name, but I get a change of name certificate listing my prior name. I'm just unsure if it makes more sense to leave it unchanged in Canada, and just change it later in the US so that my birth certificate remains in my maiden name.

The question is, whether USCIS will be able to use to new name without proof of legal name change. I know you can definitely do it during naturalization, but now sure about prior to that. Simple name change (e.g. taking spouse's last name) is one thing, but shifting middle name is a lot more complex.

[2543-4092 0]

8 hours ago, Dashinka said:

Not sure if it is exactly the same thing.  My wife chose to take my family name when we married.  Additionally, she adopted her Russian patronymic name as her middle name even though Russians do not have what we consider a traditional middle name, and we did all of her immigration documents with that format.  All of her U.S. based ID’s, DL, GC and now U.S. passport reflect that new name, but her Russian documents are still in her name at the time we married.  Changing her name on those documents is a bureaucratic fuss, so she has left it as is, and she has had no issues when traveling back to Russia.  She carries both passports, or previous to her naturalizing, her Russian passport and U.S. GC, along with a copy of our marriage certificate, and has had no issues so far.  Over 11 years, no one has actually questioned anything, or required her to show the marriage certificate.

 

Not exactly the same situation, but similar in some ways! Now I just have two middle names instead of one.

 

If you don't mind my asking, how did your wife go about changing her documentation in the US? Was she able to do this at the consulate during the interview, or did she change everything after arriving in the US on the green card with a legal name change process? I'd be curious to learn more about what that process looked like and how to go about it 🙂

 

I wonder if I could do the same thing, and leave all my documentation in Canada as is. I was a bit worried that the discrepancy would cause problems if I wanted to travel back and forth, since I would use my Canadian passport to enter Canada, and airlines may take issue with mismatching names on tickets and such.

 

On a side note, it's interesting to learn about the differences in names and name changes across the world! 

[2543-4092 0]

2 minutes ago, OldUser said:

The question is, whether USCIS will be able to use to new name without proof of legal name change. I know you can definitely do it during naturalization, but now sure about prior to that. Simple name change (e.g. taking spouse's last name) is one thing, but shifting middle name is a lot more complex.

Indeed, I am curious about this as well. I don't mind waiting until naturalization, if that is the best course of action.

 

In the meantime, at least it's easy enough to explain that the reason I haven't changed my name legally in Canada is that it would alter the birth certificate.

[W199 496]

It is very common for Filipinos to move their maiden name to their middle name when getting married. My Wife did it, as well as all the other Filipinos we know. Never heard of any issues.  There was no issue in getting the green card., driver's license, and social security card all with the new middle and last name. I believe any combination of your old name and new last name is fine. Its not like you are changing it to an arbitrary name.  I was even able to swap my middle and first name at the social security office with my marriage certificate.  For USCIS purposes, there is no need to do a name change in your original Country. 

 

If your passport will not expire before you get your citizenship, then just use your old passport when traveling but be sure  the airline tickets will match your passport name.  Then when you become a citizen your new passport will have your new name.

 

Disclaimer:  I don't know if there any odd situations with Canadian laws if you every need to do any government business.  But in our case, plenty of people don't go through the hassle of changing their legal name in the Philippines, while still using their new married name in the USA.  But again, Canadian laws can be different. 

 

 

[Dashinka 26,164]

46 minutes ago, 2543-4092 said:

 

Not exactly the same situation, but similar in some ways! Now I just have two middle names instead of one.

 

If you don't mind my asking, how did your wife go about changing her documentation in the US? Was she able to do this at the consulate during the interview, or did she change everything after arriving in the US on the green card with a legal name change process? I'd be curious to learn more about what that process looked like and how to go about it 🙂

 

I wonder if I could do the same thing, and leave all my documentation in Canada as is. I was a bit worried that the discrepancy would cause problems if I wanted to travel back and forth, since I would use my Canadian passport to enter Canada, and airlines may take issue with mismatching names on tickets and such.

 

On a side note, it's interesting to learn about the differences in names and name changes across the world! 

For my wife it was different as she came here on a K1, so we followed the AOS/I485 process.  Certainly the I129F and the K1 were in her maiden names, but we filled out the I485 (and associated forms) using her new married name and that is how the GC was produced, and eventually her US passport when she naturalized via the N400 process.  I believe the same can be done with the I130, and the marriage certificate provided with that form will function as the legal name change document, but what I don't know about is will the US consulate issue the eventual spousal visa in that name or require it to be issued with the name on your Canadian passport (others may know better).  If the US consulate does issue the visa based on the name you put on the I130 (with your Canadian passport names listed in the "Other Names Used" section, then I would expect you can leave your Canadian documents as is similar to my wife with the only caveat being that you need to carry a copy of the marriage certificate with you when crossing the border.

 

Good Luck!

[OldUser 10,552]

1 hour ago, Dashinka said:

For my wife it was different as she came here on a K1, so we followed the AOS/I485 process.  Certainly the I129F and the K1 were in her maiden names, but we filled out the I485 (and associated forms) using her new married name and that is how the GC was produced, and eventually her US passport when she naturalized via the N400 process.  I believe the same can be done with the I130, and the marriage certificate provided with that form will function as the legal name change document, but what I don't know about is will the US consulate issue the eventual spousal visa in that name or require it to be issued with the name on your Canadian passport (others may know better).  If the US consulate does issue the visa based on the name you put on the I130 (with your Canadian passport names listed in the "Other Names Used" section, then I would expect you can leave your Canadian documents as is similar to my wife with the only caveat being that you need to carry a copy of the marriage certificate with you when crossing the border.

 

Good Luck!

Was her middle name / patronymic name changed as part of taking married name? If not, we're comparing apples to oranges. The key issue in OP's case seems to be trying to modify middle name.

Edited 10 hours ago by OldUser

[Dashinka 26,164]

42 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Was her middle name / patronymic name changed as part of taking married name? If not, we're comparing apples to oranges. The key issue in OP's case seems to be trying to modify middle name.

Russians do not utilize a middle name, but my wife adopted her patronymic name as a middle name when we married.

 

[mam521 2,674]

From what I can tell, this will be an issue without a legal name change in Canada because it's not just a change in last name.  Marriage name change "rules" are well understood and it's considered an "update" rather than a change.  Your legal identity remains tied to that name at birth and your SIN.  Middle name is a different kettle of fish because it's an actual change.  As I understand it, once your birth certificate is changed to reflect your new name, all legal records, like your SIN, need to be updated to reflect the change or you won't be able to do things like obtain a passport (you'll need a new one with your new legal name) and in the case of immigration, get your police records checks. 

 

There's a Reddit thread from someone in SK saying they tried to do what you want to do and their new birth certificate would have shown up as Sarah Jane Doe Doe Smith because the government wouldn't drop her maiden name, but rather make the update to reflect the change in middle and last name.  

 

Little bit different of a situation, but I had a colleague who's daughter's name was listed on her Canadian birth certificate in one way, but when they applied for her greencard, they used the name she traditionally wrote in daily life (this was also a difference in middle names).  It caused a TON of issues as they had to do the legal name change in Canada to get her birth certificate and passport to match what the US paperwork said.  It took months of dealing with the ON government.  

 

At this point, I'd be inclined to change on the marriage certificate and reissue, providing the updated documents to USCIS.  Since USCIS hasn't issued any documents to you, you save the cost there.  https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-11-part-a-chapter-2

 

Not condemning your marriage to failure or anything like that either, but in the event something did happen and you wanted to change your name back, you'd have to go through the whole rigamarole of legally changing your middle and last names to eject the "new" in favor of the "old" and updating all of your government documents.  In two countries.  

[OldUser 10,552]

16 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Russians do not utilize a middle name, but my wife adopted her patronymic name as a middle name when we married.

 

I don't think it's comparable. I'd say large percentage of Slavic people include their patronymic as middle name, while other significant other portion of them don't. The ones who don't include, argue middle name and patronymic are different and often not included in English documents like international passport. Historically USCIS doesn't have issue with either or these approaches. But I think middle name is middle name in English speaking countries and may require actual name change docs other than marriage cert.

Edited 9 hours ago by OldUser

[2543-4092 0]

4 hours ago, mam521 said:

From what I can tell, this will be an issue without a legal name change in Canada because it's not just a change in last name.  Marriage name change "rules" are well understood and it's considered an "update" rather than a change.  Your legal identity remains tied to that name at birth and your SIN.  Middle name is a different kettle of fish because it's an actual change.  As I understand it, once your birth certificate is changed to reflect your new name, all legal records, like your SIN, need to be updated to reflect the change or you won't be able to do things like obtain a passport (you'll need a new one with your new legal name) and in the case of immigration, get your police records checks. 

 

There's a Reddit thread from someone in SK saying they tried to do what you want to do and their new birth certificate would have shown up as Sarah Jane Doe Doe Smith because the government wouldn't drop her maiden name, but rather make the update to reflect the change in middle and last name.  

 

Little bit different of a situation, but I had a colleague who's daughter's name was listed on her Canadian birth certificate in one way, but when they applied for her greencard, they used the name she traditionally wrote in daily life (this was also a difference in middle names).  It caused a TON of issues as they had to do the legal name change in Canada to get her birth certificate and passport to match what the US paperwork said.  It took months of dealing with the ON government.  

 

At this point, I'd be inclined to change on the marriage certificate and reissue, providing the updated documents to USCIS.  Since USCIS hasn't issued any documents to you, you save the cost there.  https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-11-part-a-chapter-2

 

Not condemning your marriage to failure or anything like that either, but in the event something did happen and you wanted to change your name back, you'd have to go through the whole rigamarole of legally changing your middle and last names to eject the "new" in favor of the "old" and updating all of your government documents.  In two countries.  

Interesting, thank you for the information you provided!

 

I'll look into the process of changing the marriage certificate, that might be viable as long as I can do it from outside of New York State. It certainly seems like the easiest path forward 🙂

[Ontarkie 15,019]

I would just assume your new married last name in Canada. Do not bother with all the legal name changes. Once you get your new passport in Canada the consulate will use the name on the passport for your visa and you green card. Less expensive to update the name in Canada then trying to change the last name once in the US. 

 

Another thing that was mentioned about changing the name at naturalization. Again this is a legal name change and will change your birth certificate. Assuming a married name is the easiest way to go.