Paul G.

Hi,

I have been a PR for the last three years and I am considering changing my last name
to my mother's maiden name, since the last name I currently have is difficult to
pronounce, especially in the US. Currently I am in my home country for the next 3-4
weeks and I am wondering whether I should change my last name here. If I do it here,
then I will get a passport with my new name within the next 2 weeks. The passport
with the old name will be voided but I will get it back. The question is if it is
good idea to do it here or in the US.

I talked to a US Consulate employee and he told me that I should't have any problems
as long as I gave both new and old passports to the INS officer at the airport.
Howwever, he could't guarntee it. So honestly, I don't feel it can be a good idea to
enter US with green card and passport that have two diffrent names, especially after
the events that happened on 9/11. What do you think? Any experiences?

The next question is how long will it take to get my green card in the US with the
new name and which forms to fill out?

Any help will be apreciated.

Paul

Jachos

If I were you I would just wait till I apply
for citizenship. In the N-400 form, you can
note a name change and have your naturalization
certificate issued in the new name very easily.

INS will not accept the name change order from
your home country. They will ask you to present
a order from US court of law for the name change,
for obvious reasons. The name change process here
could take 3-4 months (fingerprinting, FBI check etc)
+ if you are lucky you would get your new green card
in 6 months.

As far as entering US with the new passport bearing
a different name, that shouldnt be a problem