This is a records question, albeit not necessarily a records
"management" question: 
 
The State of NH does not include a bride's chosen married name on a
certified record of marriage.   
 
It has come to our attention that Immigration now requires that a new
bride produce a "marriage certificate reflecting the new name" in order
to obtain a new green card that shows she has chosen to use her
husband's last name (I-90 instructions, rev. 4/16/09, p. 2) . 
 
This requirement is causing problems for some of our residents.   
 
I am currently working with a Massachusetts couple that was married here
in NH.  The couple was told by Massachusetts DMV that they would not
issue a corrected driver's license until she had changed her name with
Social Security; Social Security advised her that they would not change
her name until she changed it with Immigration; and Immigration will not
make the change without a marriage certificate that shows her chosen
name on the cerified record, even though NH does not issue such a
record.  As such, it has been "suggested" that she will need to get a
legal name change processed before being able to obtain a new green card
that reflects her married (husband's) last name.  
 
A letter that I provided to the couple explaining that NH marriage
certificates do not include this information -- though stamped with a
city seal, signed by me, and witnessed by a notary -- was not
acceptable.  (We do not have the system flexibility to issue a certified
marriage record that would include a bride's chosen married name.)
 
I am aware that there are a number of other states that also do not
include the bride's chosen married name on a certified record of
marriage, but I do not know how many states, or which states, this new
requirement will adversely impact.  Before asking our Congressional
delegation to intervene, I would like to find out how many other states
may be experiencing similar problems.  

 

Obviously, it would have been nice if USCIS had checked with the 50
Bureaus of Vital Records to see how many states can even meet this new
requirement, but that's another battle for another time.

 

Does your state include a bride's chosen married name on a certified
copy of a marriage?  I'd like to be able to contact our Congressional
Delegation and point out which states are unable to produce the record
which USCIS is insisting be produced.  Thank you.  

 

Paul Bergeron

City Clerk

229 Main Street

Nashua, NH  03060

(603-589-3004)


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