Stefan vom Bruch

Hi everyone,

I have collected all the necessary papers, my ACS assessment, our police certificates,
translations, the lot and I am just about to send off the application for our PR visa.
When filling out the form however I realized that we might have an additional problem: My
girlfriend married (somebody else) about three years ago. The marriage did not work out
and lastet less than a year. We got together after that and have been living together for
almost two years now. She filed for divorce about a 15 months ago but unfortunately the
divorce has not been finalized yet. As all the papers are OK and her husband is not making
any trouble, it should only be a matter of weeks, maybe 2-3 months now (before our
application will be processed anyway, I think). The problem is as follows: She changed her
name from, let's just say X, to X-Y (double name, Y being the name of her husband) when
she got married. Because the marriage did not last that long however, she did not use that
name very long and went back to using her maiden name as soon as the relationship ended.
Also, she never applied for a new passport. First there did not seem to be any need, then
she wanted to use her old name again and she did not actually want a new passport. And she
is going to change her name back as soon as the divorce is official, so there did not seem
much point. So her passport is still in her maiden name "X", although she is legally known
as "X-Y". Could this be a problem? Your comments are appreciated.

Thanks Stefan

Squeezle

Hi Stefan,

My passport is still in my maiden name, with an amendment to my married name (on the last
page), as the US doesn't re-issue passports until they are near expiry. It was no problem,
although OFFICIALLY my immigration paperwork is in the name in my passport. I basically
use both names in correspondence, along with my ID number. There has been no problem. I
hope this helps.

Squeezle

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Manuel Aponte-Rexach

Hi Stefan,

I am in a similar situation. In Puerto Rico, where I was born, we use two last names. When
I came up to the continental US to study, I dropped the second one. Then, on a fancy, 5
years ago I started using both last names, hyphenated.

When I was doing the paperwork for my visa, getting work references, etc., my name was
always listed as Manuel Aponte-Rexach. However, the very same day I submitted my
application, I received a call from the Migration Officer wanting to verify what my name
was on my passport. Since my passport identifies me as Manuel Aponte, that is the name the
application is under. The officer didn't seem confused by it. So my advice would be to
have her apply under the name listed on the passport, but also write the hyphenated last
name in the "Other names you are or have being known by" section.

Good luck!

Manuel

Stefan vom Bruch wrote:

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