DJConan

Big surprise...(sarcasm)...no update from SSA. My wife still has not received an updated SS card. We have been checking the SAVE database and it shows my wife's case was checked and returned back to SSA, so ball is in their court. Given the holidays, we are going to wait until mid-January and see if we receive something in the mail. If nothing by then, back to the local SSA office we shall go...again!

I know the feeling. I lost count on how many trips we made to the SSA. It ended up that a particular lady at the SSA knew us as soon as we walked in the door. lol

Such a crazy process! My wife, K1 approved w/EAD+AP in hand, is in the same situation as @DJConan described.

How did that go? Did you manage to get the updated SS card?

My wife received her green card about a month ago and funny enough, the card does have her middle name that she wanted added. So her SS card and driver's license do not have her middle name, but her green card does. We are going to revisit the SSA and see if we can get her middle name added. If we get through that, the next stop will be with the MVA to get her middle name added.

DJConan,

Where did you change the name from "First OldLast MarriedLast" to "First MarriedLast"?

At the USCIS/SAVE or when applying SS via form SS5?

I think I'm in the same boat.

Got the EAD with "F OL ML",

Went to SS office, filled out form SS5 to change her current SS Card from "First OldLast" to "F OL ML" and he said "no match" and filed and gave me a ref number and said to wait 4weeks (maybe even 6w).

We applied with the name change after getting married on the AOS. That was accepted by the USCIS without any problems. However, the Social Security Administration could not find the new name from USCIS even though the USCIS assured us there were not problems. After visiting at the local USCIS office, the person there said he could remove the middle/added name from her application and the Social Security Administration should have no problems after that. That is when we were finally able to get my wife a new Social Security Card.

Finally a solution. What the USCIS said was true. We went back to the SSA and applied for the name change again. About 2-3 weeks later, my wife received her updated social security card with her new married name. One more hurdle complete and many more to go.

We may have found the light at the end of the tunnel. We visited the local USCIS office yesterday and the man there was very friendly and helpful. He said what he thinks the problem is with Social Security is due to my wife adding a middle name. She took her previous name and added it as her middle name when we were married and she took my last name. There were no problems on the USCIS side, but apparently, that pretty much breaks the system at the Social Security office.

The way he explained was something like this...changing the last name due to marriage is no problem; however, adding a middle name is something completely different.

So even though we have filed the EAD (and it was approved) and AOS (still waiting) with my wife having three names, we took the advice from the USCIS man yesterday and dropped her middle name for now. He said we should be able to return to the SSA on Tuesday and get her name changed with them at that time.

We will see what happens on Tuesday.

He also explained that when my wife goes in for her naturalization, she will have an opportunity to change her name for free at that time. So that is where my wife should add her new middle name.

We may have found the light at the end of the tunnel. We visited the local USCIS office yesterday and the man there was very friendly and helpful. He said what he thinks the problem is with Social Security is due to my wife adding a middle name. She took her previous name and added it as her middle name when we were married and she took my last name. There were no problems on the USCIS side, but apparently, that pretty much breaks the system at the Social Security office.

The way he explained was something like this...changing the last name due to marriage is no problem; however, adding a middle name is something completely different.

So even though we have filed the EAD (and it was approved) and AOS (still waiting) with my wife having three names, we took the advice from the USCIS man yesterday and dropped her middle name for now. He said we should be able to return to the SSA on Tuesday and get her name changed with them at that time.

We will see what happens on Tuesday.

He also explained that when my wife goes in for her naturalization, she will have an opportunity to change her name for free at that time. So that is where my wife should add her new middle name.

So my case is slightly different.

- We had gotten my fiancee's SS card with her pre-married name matching SAVE

- Then got married.

- Then went to SS office for name change, unfortuantely on the 14th day before I-94 expires and SS office said that for name change we have to come back after EAD or at green card time.

Now, Do I file for EAD for name change now?

Or do I file for AOS being married with her original name (not new name)?

We're going to want to get a State ID, then Driving Permit, then apply for local college

What is the preferred next step?

EAD then AOS?

AOS?

Other?

Not concerned about working.

Thanks

There are other people here who could offer you better information than I ever could, but I do believe most people file for EAD and AOS at the same time. We filed with the new married name when applying for the EAD and AOS. No problems with USCIS on that.

Letter received from the SSA today...

We cannot issue you a Social Security card at this time because:

You have applied for a new status with the Department of Homeland Security. Once your application status with the Department of Homeland Security Changes please contact your local Social Security Administration.

Please contact us when:

You alien status changes, or is renewed, so you can work in the U.S.

work? no legal issues, include copy of marriage certificate that shows both names, the EAD card and the SSN. it's overkill for the I-9, but you never know the level of competency at the HR office when an I-9 is reviewed.

drivers license pursuit will vary, based on the human at the desk at the DMV during your visit. Typically a supervisor involvement works wonders, a God-like moment in a sea of dunces.

The driver license experience was worse than this current problem with the SSN. After about 5 visits to the local MVA, we were told 5 different things each time. On the 5th visit, a woman was giving us a real attitude like we were bothering her. I politely went off on her when she gave us different information. She became defensive and asked in an attempt to shut me up, "who told you this? What was their name? When was this?" Fortunately for me, I had a hand written note from the previous visit with instructions written out. I handed her the paper and said, "whoever's handwriting this is on the back of your document...that's the person who told us all of this." Everything I had said to this new person was written out on the paper. She finally changed her attitude with me and became polite.

After getting supervisors involved, they told us that my wife cannot obtain a license or ID card until her Social Security card has her new name printed. We need to bring in proof of residence. So we brought in letters from the USCIS, Social Security Administration and DHS. These letters prove that she lives in the state. However, the USCIS and DHS letters have her new name while her SSN has her old name. So this time, we were told that no license will be issued until her SSN has her new name because that's what they use to issue licenses.

So we gave up on the driving license and have put all of our efforts into the SSN problem.

a K-1 visa holder is allowed to chase after a SSN within 90 days of entry - it's the I-94 doc that applies for lawful presence, K-1 visa foil applies for eligibility. SSA won't process the SSA-5 application past day 74 of POE date, claiming 2 weeks left on entry somehow invalidates their existence.

the name change is best chased after when she has a federal ID in hand noting the name change, not a county-issued state document, as

per the law,

SSA has to perform a lookup on her in the SAVE database. They can't find her in the SAVE database by married name prior to EAD being issued. You made that attempt, without a federal ID showing the change. DualityofOneness made that attempt also (after being warned how fruitless it would be) and he'll write of it often, when he has a chance (such as your topic) so really, the 2 of you are in the exact same boat.

Some USCIS offices are sloppy, not update SAVE after the EAD card is issued, so you are facing a 'he said, she said' situation - in the end, without a lookup on the name in the EAD returning the same name, a SSA clerk has to send it all out for DHS verification (who in turn contacts USCIS to chase the name change document, the EAD card) and this level of DHS verification takes time.

Since it's now obvious to you that using a telephone is useless,

i ask that you get in to a SSA office, with yer wife, and talk with a supervisor.

We have been to the SSA office about 5-6 times and supervisors were present on the last few visits. They tell us that they do not know what the problem is, but it is with the USCIS. They tell us that all they can do is resubmit the information electronically and wait. Apparently, after they submit the information, nothing happens. We visit them again and repeat the entire process.

My wife did manage to get an appointment with the local USCIS office early this morning. Her appointment is for next week. Thanks for mentioning SAVE. I was unaware of what SAVE was until looking it up after you wrote about it. I will have my wife bring up your point and see if she is in the SAVE database correctly.

she has EAD and ssn in matching names? if yes, she can work. not need a drivers license ! [please study the i-9 document, soonish]

No, the EAD is in her married name. The SSN is in her previous name. We have been trying to get the SSN in her married name since we were married 5 months ago and they will not make the change. This brings up the most important question...can she work if her SSN is in her previous name, but her EAD is in her married name?

She needs a driver's license so she can commute to work. MVA will not allow her to have a driving license with her SSN in previous name while all of her other documents are in her married name.

The name change game continues. Social Security told us today that there is a problem at the USCIS level and we should contact them. So we contacted the national USCIS center and they said there we no problems and the application is processing. So we explained that the Social Security Administration won't make the name change due to a problem with the USCIS. They suggested we meet with the local USCIS office and go over everything.

Infopass is the only way to schedule and meeting with the local USCIS. Currently, the local USCIS office is not accepting appointments. We called back to the national USCIS and that person just confirmed things by saying, "yes, they are booked for at least two weeks and they are not accepting any new appointments."

My wife had a job offer that she is going to have to decline on because she can't get a driver's license because the SSA won't change her name.

Just looks like we will have to wait for the green card (USCIS told us they were 3 months behind in processing) so we can change her name with the SSA and then finally she can get her driver's license. So hopefully by next March, my wife can begin looking for a job.

Still wondering if anyone might be able to help with my questions from my previous message. TIA

Three months later and no progress.

That's for that information. At least we can get started on opening accounts in her new name now.

The K-1 became null and void once it was used to enter the US. Getting married had nothing to do with the K-1 visa's validity. A K-1 entrant is classified as an alien allowed to work, and therefore they are eligible for an SSN. The I-94 can be used, married yet or not, up until the time it has 2 weeks left before it expires. After that, you would need to wait for the EAD or green card. https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0110211530

Some SSA workers will allow you to change it with the marriage certificate, as they should, but others will tell you that you need your EAD/AP in your new married name first. They want the official government ID to show the married name. SSA workers are quite inconsistent in what they do and ask for, mainly because a lot of them do not know their own requirements and procedures for the SSN.

Thanks for the information. On a related note, the SSA told me that her new married name cannot be used until she receives her updated social security card. Then I read elsewhere that the marriage certificate is the legal document of the name change. Can my wife open accounts in her married name or does she need to continue using her unmarried name?

This situation seems just crazy. It's like it is set up to fail. Once a K1 applicant marries, the visa has expired; therefore, based on what the SSA is telling me, no K1 applicant can get a name change until a green card is in hand. I have to assume if my wife did not get her SSN before we married, she would not allowed to have a number until after the green card as well. This just does not make any sense.

The EAD will be more helpful as far as waiting goes, I suppose. I guess we will just have her open her accounts in her name and go through the fun process and changing all of those individually when the SSA decides they will update her name.

Might try the public official route, but at the moment, I'm not sure which one to start with.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I am looking for any suggestions or possibly someone who has encountered this problem in the past and has a solution. The problem is, the Social Security Administration will not issue my wife’s name change. So here’s the background…

My wife (fiancé at the time) came over on a K1 visa on Dec. 23rd. She obtained a SSN before we married. So she had her number and card in her possession before the marriage. We married on Feb. 27^th. On that same day, we went to the local Social Security Administration office to apply for her name change.

We were told there that there was a mistake on her electronic I-94 form. I am not sure why this was just coming up now after having obtaining a SSN. We were told that her birthday was entered incorrectly. We were told it would take a few extra days to get that corrected, but that we should still receive her new name and card in about 10 days.

About 25 days pass and I call the local SSA office. I explain that we are waiting for the card with the name change. The person on the phone seemed to be confused. She kept referring to obtaining a SSN and I had to continually correct her and state we are just waiting for a name change and already had a SSN. After about 20 minutes, she said she needs to speak with the person who processed the name change application and would call us back. Three days pass without a call, so I call back and start the process over.

This time, I am told that they cannot process the name change because the information they use to verify her identity has expired. I asked them what information had expired and she apparently had no idea. She was not able to tell me anything. Grasping at straws, I suggested that maybe she was referring to the K1 visa, which had just passed the 90 day mark one or two days ago, but well after we applied for the name change a month ago.

She was not able to offer any information or help with anything at all. She said we would have to wait until my wife receives her green card before they would update her name. I asked if she could legally begin using her new name and was told, “no.” I explained that will take months and she seemed to no longer have any interest in our conversation.

I contacted the USCIS and the person on the phone was as confused as I was about the situation. She was very understanding and tried her best to offer advice. She also spoke with her supervisor for advice, but in the end, the USCIS said that this was a problem for the SSA. However, before ending the conversation with the USCIS, she put a service alert on my wife’s application referring to the problem we are having. She suggested that maybe someone else would come across her application and be able help. I was also informed that the current expected processing time for I-485 is 8-9 months.

Would anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this situation so my wife can have her legal name change this year? TIA.

Mark

I am still waiting on the letter in the mail. The person on the phone basically indicated that the name correction was complete while I was on the phone. I asked her specifically, "is there anything else need to do after this call?" She said no. So it did not sound like an RFE, but I will have to wait for the letter to arrive to be sure.

I finally made the call today. They didn't seem to be too concerned about it. They asked me what needed to be changed and then after giving me a confirmation number told me that I would receive a notification in the mail in 2-4 weeks. I hope it doesn't delay the application.

I just received my NOA2 in the mail and in the address field, I noticed that my city name is used in place of my middle name (similar names). I searched and found that I made the mistake on my 129F form. I never type my middle name, but always type my city name; so I must have typed my city name without recognizing the mistake.

I am thinking this is not important as they just use my middle initial in the "Petitioner" box and that is correct (same first letter for middle name and city name).

So the obvious question is, do I need to take action on this mistake (if so, who do I contact?) or just let it go and keep an eye on things?

Kind of humorous to me that it passed without and RFE and happy that it did after waiting over 200 days. TIA

Mark

So, the current processing time (TSC: March 23, 2014) is not very accurate?

I have always assumed that to be the average from the timeline input here. So there are people who are 8 months behind while there are others who are processed in three weeks. Somehow, the average is working out to be around the third week of March at this point. At least, that's how I interpret the data here.

Our NOA1 was Feb 26th and we are still waiting for a change. My fiance called 2 weeks ago and was told they were still working on December applications. If that were true, that would put our wait at about 8 months.

28 weeks and counting...