confuse about maiden name...please help

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I just married 7 months ago and now i need to fill-up an application form which is very important.In the form is this:last name,first name,midlle initial and then former/maiden name.My problem is what to put as my middle initial.Should it be my middle initial when i was still a single or my middle initial now?For example my middle initial when i was still single is Gomez and since i married already it will now be Rivera which is my former/maiden name.So in the application,i should put my middle initial ang former or maiden as Rivera?Please help me

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Not everyone uses their maiden name as their middle name. Many continue to use the one that they were given by their parents.

You need to decide what you want to be on all of your legal documents, and the best suggestion that I can give is to use what you have listed on your visa application as that is what the US government will be using on everything. That is the legal name that you will be going by in the US. For work and all legal documents, keep it the same for anything else from here on out.

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use the middle name which you go by right now. if you are now using your maiden name as your middle name then that is the middle name you should follow. applications may also ask if you have a maiden name or other names used and you can indicate it there.

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If one still uses her maiden name, and indicated that she's married, wouldn't that pose a problem? Will she not be asked why she hasn't change her last name when she had indicated a change of status/that she's married?

On immigration for example, will you not be asked why you still use your maiden name when in fact you're married. Are you not supposed to use your husband's last name?

I'm sorry, I'm quite confused.

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If one still uses her maiden name, and indicated that she's married, wouldn't that pose a problem? Will she not be asked why she hasn't change her last name when she had indicated a change of status/that she's married?

On immigration for example, will you not be asked why you still use your maiden name when in fact you're married. Are you not supposed to use your husband's last name?

I'm sorry, I'm quite confused.

hello grace!

under Philippine law, marriage does not compel a woman to adopt her husband's surname. she can opt to continue using her own surname in all her documents and IDs (such as passport).

her civil status is married, but name and status are two different things. if asked to show proof of status or of relationship to the person whom the woman declares as her husband (examples: for inclusion in the immigration petition as derivative dependents or in insurance applications as beneficiaries or in cases of annulment of marriage, etc...), she can show the marriage contract.

in social occasions, the woman may be formally introduced as Mrs. so and so (using husband's surname) if she wants to. But, in her legal documents (such as IDs, land titles, etc..), she can continue to use her own surname.

if she adopted her husband's surname in her documents (example: school transcripts, ID) and asked to show proof of change of name, she can show the marriage contract. Example of this is in applications for CGFNS services, she must submit a copy of her marriage contract if her college transcripts show her married name.

the important thing is to have consistency in using a name in all documents. this will faciltate matching of documents, records, IDs, etc...

i hope this helps.

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In the US, I understand that same rule applies. A woman can choose to continue using her own surname even after marriage. Example: California's First Lady Maria Owings Shriver who is married to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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Thanks Kiko, that's the clearest explanation I have read so far. Thanks a bunch!

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