Q.781 US passport holder in India

surname change after marriage

Question: Hello, We are new-to-be parents in a few months. We are facing a dilemma and wanted some expert advice. Well, I am a US Citizen and an OCI card holder currently residing in Mumbai, India and my husband is an Indian citizen. I am not changed my name after marriage as I thought it would affect my US citizenship. However, now that we going to be parents soon, we were wondering if keeping different last names would affect the documents of our child. So, our first query is whether or not I should go for a name change to name it easier as we going to be residing in Mumbai itself for at least a few years now. Not sure about the future. Secondly, we were debating whether to get our child an Indian or US citizenship and what the pros and cons would be. Please provide your expert advice as we are very confused. Thank you, Diksha Chhablani. Answer: As far as expert advice is concerned, I don’t consider myself an expert of any kind and answers to questions on this site are solely my opinions that readers can think about and then decide for themselves what is best for them. Change of surname after marriage is quite common in the United States and I fail to see how this would affect your US citizenship. That said, it is also becoming quite common now where women continue to keep their previous names and people do understand. In India perhaps you may have to answer a few additional questions if for instance you try to enroll your child in schools etc. where names of both parents are required on application forms. Then there is always the possibility that once your child grows up, she/he may be asked the question about the different surnames of parents and might have to do some explaining to friends etc. I assume some of these things have crossed your mind and hence your question. Whether you opt for a name change or not is something you and your husband will have to decide. If you do decide to apply for a name change, here are a few points you may consider: • If your current US passport was issued less than a year ago, you might be able to get your name changed on a new passport free. If more time has lapsed, then you could contact the nearest US consulate in India and apply for a new passport and pay the applicable passport fee. You will need your original marriage certificate. • If getting a name change, you should consider getting the name change done at various organizations such as: o Social Security o State driver’s license office o Your banks in USA or where ever they may be o Your insurance company etc. • As far as name change goes in the United States, there is no single application that will get your name record changed in all organizations. You would have to apply to each organization separately. The organizations mentioned above are just to let you know what a person living in the United States would probably have to do to ensure the correct name is recorded on all their documents. Most name changes after marriage are routine and can be completed in a matter of weeks. USA or Indian passport for new born child If you are planning on living in India and your child has a US passport, the main hurdle that foreign citizens living in India may face as far as the child is concerned perhaps is higher school fees and problems in getting admission to processional educational institutes in India. See question 780 on the previous page for more information on this topic.