pinky79

I am a K1 visa holder & applied for a SSN prior to marriage & it was issued in my maiden name, after i got married i sent off my AOS paperwork in my married name. Can i apply to change my SS name to my married name now or do i have to wait until i get my green card or EAD? If it gets changed prior to AOS approval will this have any affect on my AOS paperwork?

Also when i was looking at getting a driving license for the state i live in I noticed that the driving license name must match the name on my SS number, also one of the primary documents they require will be a passport but they require the foreign passport to have appropriate INS documents, which they list as:
Certificate of Naturalization (N-550, N-570, or N-578).
Certificate of Citizenship (N-560, N-561, or N-645).
Resident Alien Card (I-151, I-551, AR-3, AR-3A, or AR-103).

Has anyone else come across this issue in their state? It appears that i can't apply for a driving license until i get my green card.

Noorah101

I would wait until you have your green card in hand. After you get your green card, you will want to change your SS card anyway, in order to remove the "needs work authorization" legend on it. At that time, you can also get the new card issued in your married name.

No, but I suggest waiting till you have your green card in hand. If you change it after receiving EAD, you'll only end up changing it yet again after you get your green card. Might as well just do it once.

You should be able to apply for the driving license based on your current I-94. DL will be issued in the name that matches your name on file with USCIS. DL will probably be issued for the remainder of time you have left on the I-94. When you get EAD in hand, you can get another DL based on the expiration of the EAD (1-year). When you get your green card, and get your SS card in your married name, you can get another DL issued in your new name, with an expiration date based on the green card (2-years).

Rene

jeffreyhy

I second this.

Regards, JEff

Moxie

It varies with each state. Some will do as Noorah said and give a 90 day license (probably much shorter because you wouldn't be applying on day 1 of your I-94) while many won't bother with such a short time. Others will give a K1 a 1 year license with the receipt showing AOS application was filed. Some want at least EAD before a license. It sounds like your state may require a greencard, which many do.

I agree to wait until you have the greencard before bothering with SSA. They probably wouldn't change your name at this point anyway because your immigration status is still under the maiden name. SSA workers are all over the place with what they will and will not do for K1s in particular. It's like they can't figure out the rules and tell people all kinds of contradictory things from location to location.

jeffreyhy

My wife, a K3, did not apply for her US state drivers license until she became a PR. In the meantime, she drove using her foreign drivers license. Not that she ever had to actually "use" it, but that's what she would have shown the police had she been stopped and asked for her drivers license.

Our rationale was that since the state DMVs base the issuance of a drivers license on the person's immigration status, and since she hadn't yet immigrated - the K visas are non-immigrant visas - she was still a visitor to the USA, had not yet moved here, and allowed by law to drive as a visitor.

Never got to test the theory in court.

Regards, JEff

Moxie

Ditto to what Jeffrey said. My husband drove on his UK license. He also got a speeding ticket. Highway patrolmen don't really know anything about immigration, especially K1, and it took probably 30 minutes of explaining how it was impossible to have a license. He finally took our word for it and scratched the "failure to have a valid license" charge. But he said he intended to go to the DMV in the morning to see if what we said was true since he'd never heard of that.

In hindsight, when the officer looked at his UK license and said "are you visitin' here buddy?", the response should have been "yes". It would have made things much easier.

K1s are "nothings" for that period between the I-94 expiration and receiving the EAD or greencard in many situations. It feels awkward, but passes quickly.

RICH

Too late now in your case, but I would argue that, since there is no rule that you must change your name at marriage, it makes most bureaucratic/immigration issues simpler if you stick with your Maiden name.