Hey all, long time lurker, first time poster!
I have kind of a complicated question I want to get your opinions on. I'm planning to call US Customs tomorrow to see what they say about this as well, but I also wanted to ask you all.
So, my home country of Canada is going to ease border restrictions for fully vaccinated returning Canadians meaning no hotel stay and no two week quarantine. Yay! I'd like to take this opportunity to see my family, but I'm having some issues surrounding my passport. You see, I still have a valid Canadian passport, but as I got married on a K-1 visa, my last name has changed. I haven't gotten an updated passport yet, so the name on my current passport does not match the name on my AP document. I'd like to see my parents before school starts in mid-August, so the 20-30 day processing times for a new passport aren't ideal.
So here's the idea: Leave the US and enter Canada with my old, maiden named passport. While in Canada, apply for a new expedited passport with my new spousal name, pick it up in a couple days, and when the time comes, re-enter with a new passport that matches my AP document.
On paper, it sounds like this would work, but I'm also very wary about doing anything that could get me in trouble or affect my status. What do you guys think? Is there a risk to doing this at all, or is it totally by the book?