Question by Been there, don’t want to go back: How do I change my last name in Virginia Beach after marriage?
I immigrated to Virginia Beach a couple months ago, and married a couple weeks ago. I held off on applying for SSN and getting a new driver’s license because I knew I would just have to go back and change.
Now I would like to get the ball rolling in terms of immigration paperwork (work permit, travel permit, etc.). I contacted the circuit court and they basically couldn’t tell me anything. They mentioned I needed a petition and an order from a judge? When I asked them to elaborate they said they couldn’t, as they were only court clerks and couldn’t give “legal advice”. They said I would have to either pay a lawyer to change my name, or research it online on my own. I would have to do up my own orders.
I thought it was a matter of filling out the name change form on the website, having it notarized, paying the fee and it was done!
This is what I found online:
http://www.vbgov.com/vgn.aspx?vgnextoid=498d964c2b04c010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ba10476215ced010VgnVCM1000006310640aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default
I guess rules in Virginia Beach and Fairfax county are different from other places in Virginia.
I don’t know how to go about getting an “order” or what that means as I’m not familliar with USA law – my wedding planner said I could take my ID, wedding certificate to the Social Security Admin and they could change it but that doesn’t sound right…
Any suggestions? Should I go to a lawyer or use one of the online legal sites that prepares these forms?
I am already married (2 weeks ago). I’m a Canadian citizen going through the immigration process and haven’t applied for SSI yet. I wanted to wait till I got married before making the legal name change. My question is how do I legally change it – do I have to go through the circuit court if I don’t have my SSN yet?
Best answer:
Answer by Obamavenger
Say “I do” and apply for Social Security under your married name.
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