Name Change
 

This has probably been asked before but I can't locate it!

I am in process of filing for I-130. I am the UKC. Does it matter if I leave my passport in my maiden name, although we filed the petition in my married name? I was wondering if it mattered when they come to issue the visa.

Re: Name Change
 

Hi:

Probably not. The visa will be issued in the name on the passport, though. Your situation is quite common for newlywed women. Any possibility of having your passport amended or reissued in the new name? I don't know UK procedures, but I have a feeling it should not be all that difficult.

BTW, on the pedantic side, it is your husband who is filing the I-130, not you. In fact, other than your signature on the G-325A and posing for a photograph, you notionally have nothing to do with the petition, you are the mere "beneficiary."

Re: Name Change
 

Thanks, yes I will try and get mine amended soon. Timing is difficult as I need it to travel quite alot so can't allow the 3 weeks processing time, especially if it is delayed. Anyway, on another note, I am also filing for my daughter(4years). Once her passport is stamped with GC, can I change the name in her passport and will a new GC stamp be issued to her on her new passport? Or will I have to reapply again?

Re: Name Change
 

Assuming she is eligible to change her name, she will likely not be reissued a new stamp, and she will need to carry *both* passports when she travels. This is a common situation for those who have a visa in an expired passport and have a new passport... they carry both.

Ian

Re: Name Change
 

Hi Ian, thanks for response.

I have an old passport for myself which has a B2 visa in it, does that mean that I can carry that with me when I next travel to the US and be allowed to stay for 6 months. Or did that expire when my passport expired?

Re: Name Change
 

If the visa is still valid, it should make no difference that the passport is expired. But, it will depend on whether or not the visa is still valid.

Ian

Re: Name Change
 

Maria,

Make sure when you buy your ticket to fly to the USA, you book the ticket with the same name as your passport.

Rene

Re: Name Change
 

Hi:

Just out of curiosity, how was your daughter's name changed? Your name change by marriage is obvious. However, the name change of your daughter is not. No need to answer this -- I'm just curious.

Re: Name Change
 

I don't know definitively. Every case is unique and every IO works a little differently regarding evidence, though they probably shouldn't. However, I can tell you that my passport was in my maiden name and it caused no problems at all. You photo is on your passport and you have a certified copy of your marriage certificate, so I wouldn't think it would cause a problem, but I don't know the exact rule. It didn't for me, but as I said, every case is unique.

Re: Name Change
 

USCIS policy is to no longer stamp passports with an I-551, if that's what you're talking about. Why would your daughter's name change? Is she being adopted? Now, it's confusing.

Re: Name Change
 

How odd! Just about everyone who enters the US with an immigrant visa gets an I-551 stamp in their passport. Further, anyone who is travelling out of the US and who has a 2-year green card that will expire is advised *by USCIS* to make an InfoPass appointment and get an I-551 stamp in their passport. This is true also for someone who has just been approved for PR status but who must travel outside the US prior to receiving the actual green card.

However, if you're talking about getting a new stamp issued in a new passport, then you're correct.

Ian

Re: Name Change
 

I think the facts about the i-551 stamp is somewhere in the middle of what you each wrote.

Immigrant Visa arrivals no longer get an i-551 stamp, but they do get an MRIV endorsed (it's a different stamp).

Some District Offices have adopted a 'no stamp' policy if the immigrant has another piece of evidence of status, or does not have a pressing enough need (immediate travel or work) while they temporarily have no card.

Re: Name Change
 

Yes, I meant a new stamp in a new passport. The whole thing got confusing to me when she started talking about her daughter.

I agree with you completely about the immigrant visa upon entering the US and the stamp.

Re: Name Change
 

Thank you for clearing that up. Didn't know about the MRIV until now. I knew they no longer stamp passports after the AOS interview, but that's a way down the road after arrival.

Re: Name Change
 

The MRIV (Machine Readable Immigrant Visa) is just for those entering with an Immigrant Visa (in our context, this is usually from an I-130-->visa when the foreign spouse lives outside the US).
They wouldn't have an AOS interview, but you are correct. At the conclusion of an AOS interview now, *most* offices will not give the I-551 stamp (tho there are still scattered positive reports).

There's just no absolutes. :D