JM3

I just got engaged, and my fiance is a British ex-pat who has been living in New York State for several years. He is here on a work Visa and is currently trying to get his green card (although it's currently stuck in a lot of red tape).

A long time ago, he decided that before he got married, he wanted to change his last name (he wants to use the last name of his maternal grandparents - long story). Well, now that we are engaged, he asked me to do some research on how to change his last name. (I do a lot of research at my job, although not legal research, so I'm usually pretty good at finding information.) I found the New York Name Change Law at http://www.namechangelaw.com/states/ny/newyork.htm

This states that he would need to file a "petition for change of name" with the county court. So I sent e-mails to the county clerk, and the county court clerk. The county clerk replied, saying that my fiance should consult a lawyer, since there might be special circumstances due to his alien status.

The county court clerk wrote back, basically saying, "we don't provide legal advice. Get a lawyer." The name change law does not specifically state that a lawyer is *needed* to file the petition, so I wrote back asking where one could get the petition of name change form. She wrote back saying that they were not available at the county court, but I would need to go to a legal store (whatever that is).

So I gave my fiance all this info. He sent an e-mail to the lawyer who is handling his green card procedures, asking how he could change his name. She replied by saying that this was a civil procedure, and sending him a link to the name change law. My fiance wrote back, saying he wanted to know if he would even be *allowed* to change his name here, or if he would need to go back to the UK or something. She replied: "You'll have to contact them to find out, it is outside my area and I really do not know." (Whoever "them" is.)

So everyone is passing the buck, and I'm not really sure what to do. Has anyone ever changed their name after moving to the U.S.? Can anyone provide any suggestions on what to do next?

Ray

Do it in the UK ...You can use a deed poll company such as
http://www.ukdps.co.uk/ or you can do it yourself ..

Mcse2003

I believe he can change his name after getting his green card.

"JM3" <member45369@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected] m...
    > I just got engaged, and my fiance is a British ex-pat who has been
    > living in New York State for several years. He is here on a work Visa
    > and is currently trying to get his green card (although it's currently
    > stuck in a lot of red tape).
    > A long time ago, he decided that before he got married, he wanted to
    > change his last name (he wants to use the last name of his maternal
    > grandparents - long story). Well, now that we are engaged, he asked me
    > to do some research on how to change his last name. (I do a lot of
    > research at my job, although not legal research, so I'm usually pretty
    > good at finding information.) I found the New York Name Change Law at
    > http://www.namechangelaw.com/states/ny/newyork.htm
    > This states that he would need to file a "petition for change of name"
    > with the county court. So I sent e-mails to the county clerk, and the
    > county court clerk. The county clerk replied, saying that my fiance
    > should consult a lawyer, since there might be special circumstances due
    > to his alien status.
    > The county court clerk wrote back, basically saying, "we don't provide
    > legal advice. Get a lawyer." The name change law does not specifically
    > state that a lawyer is *needed* to file the petition, so I wrote back
    > asking where one could get the petition of name change form. She wrote
    > back saying that they were not available at the county court, but I
    > would need to go to a legal store (whatever that is).
    > So I gave my fiance all this info. He sent an e-mail to the lawyer who
    > is handling his green card procedures, asking how he could change his
    > name. She replied by saying that this was a civil procedure, and sending
    > him a link to the name change law. My fiance wrote back, saying he
    > wanted to know if he would even be *allowed* to change his name here, or
    > if he would need to go back to the UK or something. She replied: "You'll
    > have to contact them to find out, it is outside my area and I really do
    > not know." (Whoever "them" is.)
    > So everyone is passing the buck, and I'm not really sure what to do. Has
    > anyone ever changed their name after moving to the U.S.? Can anyone
    > provide any suggestions on what to do next?
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com
    >