XP: Changing your name

[GilliC]

The other day I downloaded the form to change my name back to my maiden name, just to see what it would involve. It turns out that it's pretty simple and straightforward, so I went ahead and filled it out. I also contacted the embassy and the social security office, and I should be able to take care of those in a single appointment (though it takes about 2 weeks to get an appointment to go to the embassy here). After that, the new passport should take about a week. So I was thinking I would just start working on all this now and get it out of the way.

But then I remembered that I have two international plane tickets booked for November and December in my current name. Maybe I could get the airline to change the name on the ticket, but that seems like a lot of hassle. Also, I assume I would need to get my residence visa changed and moved to my new passport so that I can get back into the country. And I need my Brazilian visa for the December trip, but that's in my current name (and current passport) as well.

I keep trying to remember how I managed to do this back when I got married. How did you manage this? Did you just set aside a block of time when you decided you would stay put until the paperwork was done? Or did you travel on a combination of documentation in both names?

Right now it seems like the simplest option is to wait until the beginning of next year and avoid booking anything new before the end of Feb. But using XH's name for three more months is a little annoying, and I don't want to be forced to sit out any trips that come up in Jan/Feb.

[frlcb]

I kept my maiden name in my passport until it expired, since it had my UK visa in it, and I just booked all my travel in my maiden name. Have you applied for your new passport yet? If yes then you will have to change your name in your ticket I would think. If you haven't then I would put up with the annoyance for 3 more months, I think it is going to be way more of an annoyance/hassle to do all this before your next trip.

[GilliC]

Sept 24, 2012 7:19:01 GMT -5 frlcb said:

I kept my maiden name in my passport until it expired, since it had my UK visa in it, and I just booked all my travel in my maiden name.

Didn't having a UK visa in your maiden name cause problems after you changed your name with the UK government?

I assumed that after I filed the Norwegian name change form that they would want my visa to be in the same name that's on all of their government files.

[frlcb]

I didn't change my name with the UK government, only the US. Do you have to change it in Norway? Are you a citizen there now? If not I would think you only change it in the US

[frlcb]

I should clarify that once my passport expired I would have changed my name in my UK visa as well, but we moved before that happened. But I didn't have to file any name change stuff over there at all.

[GilliC]

Hmm... I guess I don't technically have to change it in Norway if I want to wait until the divorce is final (Norway has a "legally separated" status that you have to go through first). But the process to change your name is so simple that it never really occurred to me not to do it that way. You just fill out a form and mail it in. The central records get updated, and since all the government offices and banks use that as the primary record, everything gets updated automatically. There's no such thing as changing it in just one place.

I'm starting to realize that your name in the US is really kind of strange and ambiguous. There is no place where your name is officially recorded. The social security office has one thing, the department of state has their own record with your passport. The license bureaus each have their own version. I had always considered the SSA to be the primary name-keeper, but I emailed their office here, and they told me to change my passport first and bring the new passport with my SS application.

[hz80408]

I definitely agree with US being wonky. When my license expired in May (married name); I told the driver's license facility I wanted to confirm I was registered to vote under my married name. The clerk said no I wasn't but she'd register me.

I recently got 2 voting cards in the mail; one for my maiden name (I legally changed my name in fall 2010) and one for my married name. Obviously no one keeps track of these things.

For travel/passports; I ended up applying for a new passport as soon as we decided to go to Europe in the spring. I lost an India visa from my maiden name passport but I was too nervous to travel with my passport name being one thing and credit cards being another name

[frlcb]

Sept 24, 2012 9:35:00 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

For travel/passports; I ended up applying for a new passport as soon as we decided to go to Europe in the spring. I lost an India visa from my maiden name passport but I was too nervous to travel with my passport name being one thing and credit cards being another name

The passport/credit cards not matching were never an issue for me, and we traveled like that for probably 3 years. I always had my drivers license as well in case it was, but it wasn't.

GilliC, I wouldn't go through the trouble of doing it in Norway until after your trips that you already have tickets for.

[GilliC]

I think I have a tentative plan. I will fill out the name-change application and submit it right before I leave for my December holiday. I doubt it will get far during the holidays, but that will give it a head start. I will also schedule a few embassy appointments at the end of January, (booking a few so that I have one available when the Norwegian paperwork is done). I will try not to book anything the first two weeks of Feb, which should give me time to get the new passport.

Next question - Anyone changed their name with GlobalEntry? I'm actually going for my interview in November, so I can ask up front. It seems funny that I'm getting immigration pre-approval right before I get a new name and passport!