Q: US citizen in India wants to change surname
I am a US citizen living in India for the past 18 years and I want to change my surname. I possess my US birth certificate, social security number, and birth certificate. I do not have any type of resident card. I am currently in India for my undergraduate studies and will be returning to the US for my master's. How can I change my surname considering my circumstances?
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A:
Changing your surname as a U.S. citizen while living in India requires going through legal steps in the U.S. since your official documents are issued there. Typically, name changes are done through a court order in the state where you last resided or plan to live when you return. Each state has its own rules, so checking the requirements of your intended state of residence is important.
Since you don’t have a U.S. resident card, you may need to file a petition online or by mail, depending on the state. This usually involves submitting a name change request, providing identification, and sometimes publishing a notice in a local newspaper. Once approved, you’ll receive a legal document confirming the change, which you can use to update your passport, Social Security records, and other official documents.
If you want to change your name in India first, you may need to go through a local procedure involving an affidavit, newspaper publication, and gazette notification. However, this won’t automatically update your U.S. records. Doing the name change directly in the U.S. ensures consistency across all legal documents. When you return for your master’s, you can complete the process before updating your school records.
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