Positive_Vibes

They did not allow me to change it in the Los Angeles office. But that was as of June 2023. Not sure if they have changed the rules now.

Best place to start would be changing it with Social Security first since the DMV will use that information to confirm the name change later. You can use your marriage certificate as proof of name change. Just wanted to clarify though; you stated you signed your marriage certificate with your maiden name. Do you also mean that the printed name on the certificate is also your maiden name? Or you were just referring to your signature? Not sure what you have to do in regards to updating things with Canada. For travel: From my personal experience, I was able to travel with my GC even though it did not match my passport name because my passport name had my last name from my first marriage (I'm originally from the Philippines and they don't recognize divorce there, so I was unable to revert to my maiden name after divorce). So I traveled with my green card (under my maiden name) and PHIL Passport under my married name with no issues. I always brought my Divorce Decree with me in case I was questioned but customs never asked to see it.

It is not needed but there's no harm in doing it. In my case, I sent photos without annotations with my initial I-751. I received an RFE and in my response to the RFE, I included photos with dates, captions, locations, and if it was a group photo I wrote who was in the photos with us. If the photos were vacation photos I included copies of the plane tickets and hotel bookings. I also sent social media posts with my response to the RFE (something I did not do for my initial I-751), I sent social media posts of us as a couple and made sure they saw the hundreds of likes and comments from friends and family. I know it wasn't needed but figured it would show that we were a legit couple who was very open about our relationship on social media.

Wow! Congratulations on the fast passport receipt! You can now use your passport to update your SSN.

Sorry, I want to apologize for turning the topic into a divorce discussion. To answer your question short and simple, she should check "Separated".

I wasn't in the Philippines either when I filed for divorce and never married in the Philippines. The Philippines only knew of my marriage in the US because when I renewed my Philippine passport (I was still a Phil citizen at the time) I obviously had to inform them of my marriage. They still to this day refuse to recognize/acknowledge my US divorce.

Yes, the Philippines recognizes divorces obtained in other countries if the non-Philippine citizen initiates the divorce. It sounds like in OP's case both their mom and mom's former spouse are Philippine citizens. For example, in my case. I married my first spouse (who is a USC) in the US and then divorced in the US. The Philippines still considers me married to that first spouse even though I already remarried. They refuse to acknowledge that first divorce because I was the one who initiated it (I was a Philippine citizen at the time). If my ex-USC spouse had initiated the divorce, then they would have recognized it. So since OP's mother and I assume ex-spouse are both Phil Citizens, they cannot get a divorce in the Philippines. Of course OPs mother can file for divorce in the US but by law the spouse has to receive proper legal notice of the divorce and as the OP has posted they have no contact with that spouse.

I guess? I'm not sure how it works if you were originally married in the Philippines. I got married here in the US but had to inform the Philippines of my marriage in the US in order to renew my Phil passport with my then spouse's last name. When I filed for divorce here in the US, of course the US acknowledged my divorce BUT the Philippines refused to acknowledge the divorce. So they still consider me married to my first spouse even though I have already remarried. But thank goodness I'm already a USC so I don't have deal with the Phils anymore.

Divorce is not allowed in the Philippines.

This website has all the instructions on how to get your passport and how long it currently takes. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/apply-in-person.html

Late post but thought I'd share my timeline: I had my N-400 interview on 8/04/2022 and passed the English and Civics test but no decision could be made due to my pending I-751. My I-751 was finally approved on 12/08/2022. I then waited another 6 months until I received notice that my N-400 was approved and had my Oath Ceremony on 06/22/2023.

You are not required to submit a photo unless you reside outside the US.

No, like I said. I did not use a lawyer for anything.

Yes

No, I filed I-485, which allowed me to adjust while being in the US.