PaulClaytonRana

I'm very happy right now! Thanks for everyone's help, If I can be so bold I have a couple more questions;

Firstly, I want to change my name. My wife is hyphenating hers and it seems only fair that I should too. My green card is in my current name, what's the process to get it changed?

Secondly, I would like to get a drivers licence for my state (KY), I've found the KY licensing webpage but it has contradictory information as to whether I need to take a test again. (One page says yes as I'm transferring from another country, the other says no because I'm a permenant resident). Does anyone from KY know?

Finally I know I need to go back to the SS office and get a new card, is there anything else I should be doing?

Thanks again, everyone!

Noorah101

Congratulations!

I am not sure you can so easily change your name like that. Do more research on the topic, and if it IS possible to hyphenate your name, then you'd need to fill out an I-90 to get a new green card with your new name on it. There is a fee for that, since the change is your own decision. If you have a 2-year conditional GC, you might just want to wait until you apply to remove conditions, and fill out the I-751 in your "new" name. That way, your 10-year GC will come with your new name on it. Or, you can just wait until you become a USC and then I know for sure you can change it...there is an option to change your name on the N-400.

I don't know about KY specifically, but if this is your very first license in the USA, I believe you need to take the written and driving test, yes. You say "take it again", though, so does that mean you've already taken a drivers test in the USA?

Right, you need the new SS card with no legend on it, if your current one says "valid only with DHS authorization".

The only thing else you need to do is mark the calendar for removal of conditions in 21 - 24 months, if you currently have a 2-year card.

Rene

PaulClaytonRana

Thanks!

Thanks, I'll have a look into it though if there's a fee I may well wait the two years.

No, I just mean I have taken a test to get a drivers licence in general. With regards to testing you may be right, but the website says different things at different times.

First it says "Written, vision, and skills testing are required for all new drivers." which I am not as I already have a UK drivers licence. Later it says "No tests are required for persons transferring to Ky. with valid driving privileges, except persons transferring from foreign countries." which indicates I need to test as you say, but on the page specifically for Non US Citizens it says "All non U.S. citizens applying for a first time Kentucky license, with the exception of permanent residents, are required to take the written, vision and road tests" (my emphasis) which indicates I don't. If no one here knows definitively I'll just call them, but to be honest so far I've found this forum to be more knowledgeable than the state when it comes to these matters.

Thanks again.

Songbird

Hmm that's a bit ambiguous. I know that In my state (WV) although I had a UK driving license I was still required to undergo the exam. Happen someone from KY who has been a similar position will pop in and clarify

As far as the test itself goes, here it was literally a drive around the mall parking lot! Oh and a reverse park into a space! Mine took less than 10 mins! - which probably goes a long way in explaining some of the atrocious driving I have witnessed here!



OH.. almost forgot!

CONGRATULATIONS on the GC!!

Noorah101

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/usc...0045f3d6a1RCRD

$290 filing fee + $80 for biometrics

Rene

PaulClaytonRana

Ouch, looks like I'll be Paul Rana for a while longer then!

Noorah101

You should have filled out your AOS paperwork under your "new" name.

Rene

PaulClaytonRana

Ooooh. I assumed that cos I don't have anything legal with my "new" name I had to get the Green Card first. Oh well, it's a little disappointing but I can wait.

Noorah101

Do you have anything with your "new" name on it now, though?

Rene

PaulClaytonRana

Not yet, no. I've never found the "start" for this process, everything seems to need another document with my "new" name already on it. I was kind of hoping the Green Card would be it but I guess not. From the page you linked to it seems like I can get a court order as my marriage certificate only has my "old" name on it.

Noorah101

I'm really not sure how it works for men.

For women, the very fact of getting married allows them to legally change their name to their husband's name, or to hyphenate their name. The marriage certificate is proof of name change, since it will show both names on there (husband's and wife's).

When I changed my name after marriage, I think I changed my drivers license first...then my SS card, then the umpteen million other things I had my old name on. But I'm a USC.

My alien husband changed his last name, too, but he had to wait until he became a USC to do it, since it was not a change based on marriage to me (he didn't take my name, he just altered his own long last name).

I think waiting the 2 years and then applying for your 10-year GC in your new name would be a good start. Sorry it didn't happen sooner for you.

Of course, that's all assuming it's OK for a man to change his last name after marriage!! That is the part which is pretty rare. If it turns out you'd need a court order to do it anytime soon, just wait for US citizenship. You can definitely change it then, to anything you want, and it's free.

Rene

meauxna

You should post your DL question in the USA forum; the Kentucky Kontingent will be along shortly to answer your non-immigration question.

ian-mstm

I arrived in KY from Canada, and when I went to our local DMV I turned in my Canadian driver's license and was issued a KY driver's license. I didn't take any tests at all. Of course, Canada and the US both drive on the same side of the road... so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it.

Mind you, that was 12 years ago... when the world was a bit easier than it is now. I suggest you actually go to your local DMV and ask them what they require.

Ian

PaulClaytonRana

I spoke to the DMV and they require that I take the written and sight tests, so I'll have to do a bit of studying before I get my licence. I hope they won't take my UK one but I guess I'll see what they require.

Regarding the name change I can't find out whether KY allows men to change their names with just a marriage licence, the most detailed information seems to be "some states do and some states don't". Does anyone know who I should contact to find out? Either way I'm looking at a bit of a wait, if a marriage licence is all I need then I can get it when I get my conditions removed in 2 years, but if I can't the only way to avoid going through the courts is to wait until I'm a citizen in about 5 years.

ian-mstm

You likely won't find any information about it. Why? Because to not allow it would be an overtly discriminatory act. In the US, you are allowed to call yourself whatever you want as long as your intent is not to defraud.


I'm not sure... but I'll ask my stepdaughter - she's a licensed attorney in KY.

Ian