Naturalization, Citizenship Name Change from the name I never had

Slava

New Member
Jurisdiction
New York
I recently passed naturalization interview but there are troubles with my name spelling. The essence of the problem can be understand from the message I sent to USCIS:

"Dear Sir or Madam,

The subject of this email is clarifying the spelling of my name and name change. Recently, I have passed the citizenship interview. The USCIS officer noticed that the spelling of my name in the translation of my birth certificate is different from the name reported in my passport, permanent resident card, etc. This is not surprising since my original birth certificate is written in Cyrillic, and the transliteration into Latin alphabet made by a translator could be arbitrary. The officer changed my name in the system according to the transliteration in the birth certificate (John U. Doie) and scheduled the name change procedure at the oath to my current name (John Doe).

My concern is that in all my official US documents I have always used the same spelling of my name (John Doe) as in my passport. Changing my name from John U. Doie (a name I never used) to John Doe will likely have many undesired legal consequences. To avoid that, I requested a new translation of the birth certificate from the same translator with a different transliteration of my name and I just uploaded the new file to the system. I also would like to bring to your attention that every Russian name includes a paternity name in all official documents such as passports and birth certificates. The officer included my paternity name as a middle name, which, I think, is incorrect. The new translation of the birth certificate explicitly specifies that U. is the paternity name.

I would appreciate if you could change the name in the system to John Doe without having to undergo a Name Change procedure at the oath.

Thank you in advance, John Doe"

They called me back and said that nothing could be done since I have already signed Petition for Name Change. Now I am waiting for the oath ceremony.

My questions are

1) Should I expect any problems related to the name change. For instance, problems with my retirement, bank accounts or with any accounts that I opened in the past?
2) Could I do anything at this stage to prevent all possible troubles in the future?
 
1) Should I expect any problems related to the name change. For instance, problems with my retirement, bank accounts or with any accounts that I opened in the past?


No one can predict the future, sorry.

2) Could I do anything at this stage to prevent all possible troubles in the future?

No one has any idea what you are capable of doing.

Have you considered discussing your concerns with a licensed IMMIGRATION attorney?
 
No one can predict the future, sorry.



No one has any idea what you are capable of doing.

Have you considered discussing your concerns with a licensed IMMIGRATION attorney?

I did discussed the matter with a licensed IMMIGRATION attorney. He struggled to give me a good answer. Actually, I even tried a legal firm. That is the reason why I am in this forum.
 
I did discussed the matter with a licensed IMMIGRATION attorney. He struggled to give me a good answer.


I suspect he is UNABLE to predict the future, too.


I even tried a legal firm. That is the reason why I am in this forum.


I suspect others will also struggle with predicting the future, too; unless they are charlatans, scammers, grifters, frauds, fakes, or bamboozlers.
 
I suspect he is UNABLE to predict the future, too.





I suspect others will also struggle with predicting the future, too; unless they are charlatans, scammers, grifters, frauds, fakes, or bamboozlers.

I don't ask lawyers to predict the future. The questions are very specific. For instance. I opened my bank account several years ago under the name John Doe using Russian passport and visa documents. Now I will have the name change from John U. Doie to John Doe, which paradoxically assumes that my name at the time of my bank account opening was John U. Doie. Can the bank claim that it was not me who opened and owns the account? The same with retirement, etc.
 
I don't ask lawyers to predict the future. The questions are very specific. For instance. I opened my bank account several years ago under the name John Doe using Russian passport and visa documents. Now I will have the name change from John U. Doie to John Doe, which paradoxically assumes that my name at the time of my bank account opening was John U. Doie. Can the bank claim that it was not me who opened and owns the account? The same with retirement, etc.

The bank wouldn't even know about your name change, because your name will match the way your account was opened. The same applies for your retirement account. Furthermore, those accounts are based upon your social security number which won't be changing.
 
1) Should I expect any problems related to the name change. For instance, problems with my retirement, bank accounts or with any accounts that I opened in the past?

No.

2) Could I do anything at this stage to prevent all possible troubles in the future?

Probably not, and probably not necessary.

I have a simple solution to suggest. Wait until you get your citizenship papers. Then, like any other US citizen you have the option of going to court to legally change your name back to the name you have used in the past. It's cheap and easy to do.

Adult Name Change Petition Program - DIY Form - New York City Civil Court

If you are outside NYC your local court should have forms and instructions.

Once you have the court order with the correct name, then get a US passport (if you want one) with the proper name on it.
 
No.



Probably not, and probably not necessary.

I have a simple solution to suggest. Wait until you get your citizenship papers. Then, like any other US citizen you have the option of going to court to legally change your name back to the name you have used in the past. It's cheap and easy to do.

Adult Name Change Petition Program - DIY Form - New York City Civil Court

If you are outside NYC your local court should have forms and instructions.

Once you have the court order with the correct name, then get a US passport (if you want one) with the proper name on it.
I believe that the OP already goes by John Doe and is worried because there will be a name change ordered for his name to be changed from his prior name (that he never used) to John Doe. The OP doesn't need to be worried about doing another name change.
 
There was some confusion in the OP's post. Nevertheless, the option to go to court for a name change exists if clarification becomes necessary.
 
Back
Top