Question:
I am a British teacher who is curently
working in Atlanta on a J-1 visa.
I got married 2 weeks ago to an
American citizen. I just sent all
my forms, yesterday...I130, I465,
I765 etc so have not heard anything
yet. My question is, now that I
am married and need to change my
name on my passport, what will happen
with my J-1 visa, will it be cancelled,
will they put it in my new passport,
do I even need it anymore? And,
if I send my passport and Marriage
certificate to the Embassy in Washington
DC, will I get the marriage certificate
back?
Answer:
You don't actually have to change
the name in your passport just because
you got married, certainly if you
have years left. She doesn't have
to change her name anywhere. I have
changed my name on my SS card and
DL when I got married, but still
haven't gotten around to my passport
yet. When I travel (I'm a USC) internationally,
I just use the name in my passport
(maiden name) on my plane tickets,
etc.
When my husband
and I had our AOS interview, the
officer didn't seem bothered that
the name in my passport had not
been changed. If you need to show
your passport for another form of
ID to go along with one of the forms
that has your new name, what I have
done is shown my marriage license
as well. This strategy seems to
work and I haven't had any trouble.
Are you planning international travel
where you would need the passport
to re-enter the country on the J1?
That is something
you might check out, as I'm not
sure if you are still allowed to
enter the country on the J1 now
that you have an I-485 pending.
You may need to use the AP documentation
and I'm not sure if that is issued
in your new name, if your passport
needs to match... You only have
to change the name when you need
to renew your passport, don't need
to till it expires, baring in mind
it's almost a couple hundred bucks
for a new one in the US. If you
travel, use your maiden name, or
if you used your marriage name,
bring copy of your wedding certificate
and your sorted.
