Transwoman - Expat with no jurisdiction

I have lived in the UK for four years. I have transitioned here, Male to Female, and I have successfully changed my name and received my full validity US Passport (with correct name and gender marker).

I am attempting to update my birth certificate and driver's licence in Texas and am supposedly required a court ordered name change, but I have only a Deed Poll. I cannot get a Texas or US court (to my knowledge) to recognise my name and gender change because without residence, no-one has jurisdiction.

Does anyone know of a US court system for expats? I live in London, UK and simply need a 'US approved court' to order my name and gender marker change. I haven't found a way to get this at the federal level. When I contacted the consulate, they simply referred me to local solicitors.

As I said, I have an updated US passport but Texas requires a court order. How can I obtain a court order as an expatriate?

Thanks in advance,
Rowan

If you don't have a residence in Texas then surely your TX license is no longer valid? You can use your UK license to drive when you visit the US and, if you do return to live in the US, you can then apply to change the name etc? Sorry I don't have any advice on the birth certificate but perhaps the US Consulate in the UK could advise?

Hi, Rowan-

You might want to try the following forum for advice. It's US based and they can perhaps point you in the right direction:

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=138

I was curious as to the term "transwoman". Is there variation in how the term is used? I had always thought that a female to male was a "transman", someone who identifies as male following transitioning. Not that will affect the name change process, but it might be confusing to people, as it was to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_man

Hope it works with the other forum. There are a few snarky people there, but the info is usually good.

Thank you both for the advice! I accidentally swapped the Male/Female (edited the original post now). I am indeed male to female.

I'm not really worried about driving; it's definitely more about getting my birth certificate sorted. I find it a bit asinine that I need to get a court order when the federal government have clearly accepted the foreign proof of name and gender change. The Texas department of records requires a court order from any US state. Maybe I can get something from Vegas online X_X

The local consulate were unhelpful saying that they could not provide any legal advice and to talk to a local (as in London based) solicitor.

I'll check out that legal forum, thanks very much!

xx

If you're looking for help on changing documents due to a gender change this forum may be able to give you better advice.

This might seem thick, but do you NEED to update your birth certificate?  I only ask as passports are usually king for identification/paperwork purposes.  I can't remember the last time someone wanted to see my BC.

Granted, I understand the desire to have it updated from a personal standpoint.

This might seem thick, but do you NEED to update your birth certificate?  I only ask as passports are usually king for identification/paperwork purposes.  I can't remember the last time someone wanted to see my BC.

Granted, I understand the desire to have it updated from a personal standpoint.

You don't have to amend your birth certificate, but it saves you from being "outed" every time you have to show it. For most name changes (non-marriage-related of course - obviously you don't change your birth certificate in those cases) it'd mainly help save you from having to carry a second document (your name-change papers) with you when using your BC, but in the case of a gender change there's a more important reason.