Our Path to Marriage

Hello, my name is Maria.

I'm so thankful for this forum and for the advice and guidance that can be found here. I joined the forum a few months ago when my fiancé and I got engaged. I've been waiting to start a thread until we were ready to begin the visa process. A bit of background, I am from the United States and my fiancé is from Northern Ireland. We just recently signed our marriage certificate in the states and have started on our journey towards marriage. Although we are waiting to celebrate our wedding with family and friends in Northern Ireland in May, we are currently looking to start all the paperwork to apply for the spouse visa now that we can be fully settled together in Northern Ireland before the wedding.

I know that I will probably have many questions as our journey develops and I just want to say thank you in advance for everyone on this site for your advice in this visa process that can feel so overwhelming at times.

Question #1: pertains to applying for a passport with my new name. I have been looking online for instructions. So far it looks like all I need are:

-Form DS-82
-Your most recent U.S. passport
-Your original or certified name change document, such as a marriage certificate or court order (no photocopies or notarized copies)
-One color passport photo
-Adult Renewal Applicant fees or Child Applicant fees, depending on your age

I have the first 4 but I can't seem to find out how much I need to pay for my new passport. Because my fiancé and I are on a timeline we are hoping to use the expedited services. I found a sort of passport fee online calculator but it didn't give me a solid number and I'm not sure how official or reliable those are. Does anyone know how I can find the exact fee I need to send with the DS-82 form and all the other photos/documents? I'm assuming I am supposed to write a check and send it in the mail but I'm not sure?

Question #2: is a bit more delicate. Because we are waiting to have the celebration of our wedding in May we have been careful not to label this signing of the marriage certificate as a "wedding." Which our family have understood and supported us in. But we have not wanted to tell to many people in case they would misunderstand and cause hurt feelings to any friends or family that would feel that they somehow missed our wedding, which they haven't. However, I since my name is legally changed to my fiancé's last name I am unsure if I need to change my name for bank accounts, credit cards, my US taxes, social security cards. I've heard mixed advice from people on this topic. Is it important to change my name in everything or just a few important things? Since I live in a small town I'm a bit hesitant to start the gossip train of changing my name for bank accounts and such but perhaps that is unavoidable anyway.

Thank you so much.

Hello, my name is Maria.

I'm so thankful for this forum and for the advice and guidance that can be found here. I joined the forum a few months ago when my fiancé and I got engaged. I've been waiting to start a thread until we were ready to begin the visa process. A bit of background, I am from the United States and my fiancé is from Northern Ireland. We just recently signed our marriage certificate in the states and have started on our journey towards marriage. Although we are waiting to celebrate our wedding with family and friends in Northern Ireland in May, we are currently looking to start all the paperwork to apply for the spouse visa now that we can be fully settled together in Northern Ireland before the wedding.

I know that I will probably have many questions as our journey develops and I just want to say thank you in advance for everyone on this site for your advice in this visa process that can feel so overwhelming at times.

Question #1: pertains to applying for a passport with my new name. I have been looking online for instructions. So far it looks like all I need are:

-Form DS-82
-Your most recent U.S. passport
-Your original or certified name change document, such as a marriage certificate or court order (no photocopies or notarized copies)
-One color passport photo
-Adult Renewal Applicant fees or Child Applicant fees, depending on your age

I have the first 4 but I can't seem to find out how much I need to pay for my new passport. Because my fiancé and I are on a timeline we are hoping to use the expedited services. I found a sort of passport fee online calculator but it didn't give me a solid number and I'm not sure how official or reliable those are. Does anyone know how I can find the exact fee I need to send with the DS-82 form and all the other photos/documents? I'm assuming I am supposed to write a check and send it in the mail but I'm not sure?

Question #2: is a bit more delicate. Because we are waiting to have the celebration of our wedding in May we have been careful not to label this signing of the marriage certificate as a "wedding." Which our family have understood and supported us in. But we have not wanted to tell to many people in case they would misunderstand and cause hurt feelings to any friends or family that would feel that they somehow missed our wedding, which they haven't. However, I since my name is legally changed to my fiancé's last name I am unsure if I need to change my name for bank accounts, credit cards, my US taxes, social security cards. I've heard mixed advice from people on this topic. Is it important to change my name in everything or just a few important things? Since I live in a small town I'm a bit hesitant to start the gossip train of changing my name for bank accounts and such but perhaps that is unavoidable anyway.

Thank you so much.

Hi there! 

I can only answer question 1 as I did this last April. You’ll have to pay the same fee as if your getting a new passport.  I got mine within 3 weeks so unless you need it quicker I wouldn’t expedite it. 

Welcome!

No, you don't need to change your name on anything else for the visa.  You will want to update it with social security before you file your taxes.  It doesn't matter if you change anything else - ever.  Though you will find it MUCH easier to update while still on the ground in the USA.

And I wouldn't worry about what other people thing.  LOADS of people get married on paper and have a blessing later.  Nothing wrong with doing it that way.  It is your choice when to consider you are married.  You've just taken care of the legal bit. 

Hi there! 

I can only answer question 1 as I did this last April. You’ll have to pay the same fee as if your getting a new passport.  I got mine within 3 weeks so unless you need it quicker I wouldn’t expedite it.

Oh great! Thank you so much, Dlilah.

Welcome!

No, you don't need to change your name on anything else for the visa.  You will want to update it with social security before you file your taxes.  It doesn't matter if you change anything else - ever.  Though you will find it MUCH easier to update while still on the ground in the USA.

And I wouldn't worry about what other people thing.  LOADS of people get married on paper and have a blessing later.  Nothing wrong with doing it that way.  It is your choice when to consider you are married.  You've just taken care of the legal bit.

Thanks!

Ok I see. That makes sense to change it before filing taxes. Does it not matter for my driver's license either? I'm hoping to use my US driver's license to drive for the first year that I am in Northern Ireland. Would it matter if my last name is different on my driver's license?

That's exactly how we are thinking of it  It's amazing how many people I know have struggled to get on board with that concept.

I've also run into a bit of a snag in applying for the passport. When we filled out the marriage certificate I changed my last name to be included in my middle name. Which is what my sister-in-law did when she got married. However this makes my middle name really long.

First name: 5 letters
Middle names: 9 letters, & 8 letters
Last name: 5 letters

I cannot fit my two middle names on the form. I can fit them both in the 16 little white boxes with no space in the middle of them all except for the last letter. Does anyone know if it would be really bad to just write one letter outside the boxes?

I have looked online and it seems like another option is just to use my initials for the middle names. But as I am a musician and will likely be traveling under my musician name (which is my maiden name) I would like to keep my full second middle name (my maiden name) on my passport in case I need it. Does anyone know if it would be possible to use my initial for my 1st middle name, and then include my full second middle name (my maiden name) after it on the form after it?

Thank you!

I've also run into a bit of a snag in applying for the passport. When we filled out the marriage certificate I changed my last name to be included in my middle name. Which is what my sister-in-law did when she got married. However this makes my middle name really long.

First name: 5 letters
Middle names: 9 letters, & 8 letters
Last name: 5 letters

I cannot fit my two middle names on the form. I can fit them both in the 16 little white boxes with no space in the middle of them all except for the last letter. Does anyone know if it would be really bad to just write one letter outside the boxes?

I have looked online and it seems like another option is just to use my initials for the middle names. But as I am a musician and will likely be traveling under my musician name (which is my maiden name) I would like to keep my full second middle name (my maiden name) on my passport in case I need it. Does anyone know if it would be possible to use my initial for my 1st middle name, and then include my full second middle name (my maiden name) after it on the form after it?

Thank you!

Just wanted to follow up on this issue in case anyone else has had a problem with there name not fitting in the given slot on the US passport application.

I ended up calling the passport office at this number: 1-877-487-2778

They advised me to include an attached page to the passport renewal form, and to write on it: the question number it was referencing, as well as my full name. Hopefully this will work but I will leave an update if I have any issued with the application because of this.

Hey I'm back

I have a question about the printing process of the spouse visa and appendix 2. When I was applying for my Charity worker visa a few years back the websites I had read made a big deal out of the paper needing to be A4 sized and not US Letter.

So my mom and I ordered A4 paper from a speciality paper store... (did I mention we live in the middle of nowhere  ). But when I printed it the formatting came out all weird where 3/4 of the image would be on one page and 1/4 on the other. This made for a really messy visa application and a lot of extra paper. I didn't know what to do so I ended up printing two versions one on A4 with the terrible formatting, and one on US Letter that was much clearer and sending them both in to be processed with a little note explaining why there were two copies on different sized paper.

However, the spouse visa has a lot more pages involved and printing two copies seems really impractical. Does anyone know if it is required to us A4 paper for the application? Has anyone been rejected for using US Letter sized paper?

Thanks so much <3

Unfortunately, those websites you saw were wrong. The paper size doesn’t matter, as long as you can read the whole form.

You may just have to adjust your printer settings so that it correctly prints the A4 layout on US letter paper (which is probably why the formatting was screwed up when you did it before - because the printer may have still been set to US letter size formatting).

I think pretty much everyone here on the forum has printed their application on US letter paper... I don’t recall anyone saying they’ve used A4.


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Unfortunately, those websites you saw were wrong. The paper size doesn’t matter, as long as you can read the whole form.

You may just have to adjust your printer settings so that it correctly prints the A4 layout on US letter paper (which is probably why the formatting was screwed up when you did it before - because the printer may have still been set to US letter size formatting).

I think pretty much everyone here on the forum has printed their application on US letter paper... I don’t recall anyone saying they’ve used A4.

Thank you so much! I kind of thought it would be a little extreme if they did require it be printed on A4. It's good to know that's not the case.

I have also been continuing to look at information about changing my name on my driver's license and social security card and a couple of question came up.

1. I have already sent off my passport to get my name changed and be issued a new passport book. However, I am reading things on the Department of State website that says that they cross-check your social security number with the name on your social security card when applying for a driver's license. If your name is different on your social security card than the name you are trying to apply for on your new driver's license the website says they will not give you a new driver's license. I am now a bit nervous that I should have gotten my social security card changed before applying for my passport because they asked for my social security number. If my name on my social security card is still my maiden name do you think they would deny my application for a passport since my social security card doesn't match the name on my marriage certificate? (I hope that question made sense....)

2. A few people have said that I need to get my name changed on my social security card before I file my US taxes this year. Which I plan to do. It looks like applying for a new social security card in the mail can take 6 weeks or more. With plans to have our wedding in Northern Ireland in the spring our visa timeline already being a little bit tight. I am a bit nervous to send my passport off again to get my social security card changed when I need to send it off as soon as possible to apply for the visa.
However, I also read that you can speed up the process by applying in person at a Social Security Administration office. Has anyone done this? The website says that you can apply in person with your passport and the filled out application form, and they will give you a temporary social security card on that same day without needing to hold up your passport or any other documentation in the mail. I'm wondering if it would be smart to try and hit two birds with one stone and apply for the social security card on the same day as my biometric appointment, since they both need to be done in the same city which is a 6 hour drive away. Would so appreciate advice on this.

You can apply for a new SSC once you get to the UK. However, as you say, it can be done in person at a Social Security Administration office in the US which is what I did a few years ago. I hadn't changed my passport yet so just presented my marriage certificate. They just took my old card and my new one arrived in the mail a few weeks later, not a problem. If you are worried about timing or the process in the UK (not sure if it still is changed in London if you are in NI or in Dublin), it might be simpler to do it while you wait for your visa.

And the US Passport website specifically says you do NOT need to change your Social Security before your passport, so you've done it all okay. 

I'd wait on the social security until you are in the UK or do it in person.  My experience with the SSA is that they are VERY VERY slow.  Very very very slow.   

And the US Passport website specifically says you do NOT need to change your Social Security before your passport, so you've done it all okay. 

I'd wait on the social security until you are in the UK or do it in person.  My experience with the SSA is that they are VERY VERY slow.  Very very very slow.   

It only took a few weeks for mine when I went in person. It just depends on how much longer you plan to be in the US as I'm guessing that's pretty variable. 

And the US Passport website specifically says you do NOT need to change your Social Security before your passport, so you've done it all okay. 

Thank you! That's so good to know!

I'd wait on the social security until you are in the UK or do it in person.  My experience with the SSA is that they are VERY VERY slow.  Very very very slow.   

You can apply for a new SSC once you get to the UK.

I guess my concern is if I wait to change my social security until I am in the UK, is it going to look bad on my tax return if my names don't match and I was receiving paychecks in my maiden name much longer after we got married? Or does it not matter if you are being paid and depositing checks made out to your maiden name?

So sorry for all the questions on this topic. I just want to be sure I'm doing everything in the right order so I don't get stuck on something later.

However, as you say, it can be done in person at a Social Security Administration office in the US which is what I did a few years ago. I hadn't changed my passport yet so just presented my marriage certificate. They just took my old card and my new one arrived in the mail a few weeks later, not a problem. If you are worried about timing or the process in the UK (not sure if it still is changed in London if you are in NI or in Dublin), it might be simpler to do it while you wait for your visa.

It only took a few weeks for mine when I went in person. It just depends on how much longer you plan to be in the US as I'm guessing that's pretty variable. 

This is so good to know!  So glad to hear people have done this in person and it wasn't terribly complicated