[Waiting4Celeste]

We received Celeste's C of C today - YAY! and a DOUBLE YAY - it just says Celeste and our last name ONCE. (everything has her middle name as our last name and then our last name again at the end - Ex: Celeste Smith Smith... but the C of C just says Celeste Smith.)

Sooo... if it doesn't have her middle name that we are giving her, do we need to have a name change on the C of C?

Anyone have this happen??

Thanks!
Cindy

[dspakowsky]

I've received different information about adding a middle name to the CoC. Yes, you certainly can, but it costs $220.

The lady at the US Passport office said that we can just staple the court ordered name change to the original CoC, and it will be fine. That doesn't seem too official to me. Then she said that since the new US Passport has her full name, that's good as gold. I also doubt that, since Passports have expiration dates.

So... we're going to pay $220 and get one, accurate, clear document. If my daughter wants to adopt, join the military, or something else important one day, I don't want her to run into paperwork troubles.

[AdoptAmiga]

I agree. If you are going to use the middle name as her "official, legal" name, then I would spend the money to do the change. You don't have to do it tomorow I think it's important to have the names match on all official documents. It will be important for the kids as adults. Who knows what this "ID-crazed" world will be like in 20 years? Let's do what we can to hopefully lessen a future burden.

[Waiting4Celeste]

Of course... ergh!
It seems that the govt thought they were doing us SUCH a favor by sending the C of C automatically... but if it still costs $220 to do a name change, it wasn't such a favor anyway!

How many children come home with the correct EXACT name?? I doubt it happens very often. With Jacob, he had MY maiden name as his last name (typical Guatemalan fashion). We changed his first and middle names anyway, but even if we wouldn't have changed them, I would have had to have taken my maiden name off anyway...

We don't have to do a readoption OR a formal name change in Missouri... soooo will the C of C without the middle name be considered NOT the same name??

[AdoptAmiga]

Good question! Hopefully someone from MO will have some insight. My state requires a formal name change. I did that, then applied for their state BC, then CoC name change, and lastly, the US passport. I actually know 2 children whose CoCs were not changed. The moms are both single. The birthnames were kept and there is less chance of two last names showing up on the Guate passport. It's frustrating - another $220...

[dspakowsky]

Are you going to get a new BC from MO? We got a "Certificate of Foreign Birth" in NC.

I guess my question is, what will you have that shows her new full name, since the state doesn't require it? I'm just asking out of curiousity

[Waiting4Celeste]

With Jacob's adoption, we just filed for his new Missouri BC and it came - with our names as his parents, in his new name, with his birthplace being Guatemala. No where on it does it state that he is adopted.

According to some MO rule/law/whatever... parents who adopt from a foreign country have one "freebie" - we can change the child's name without going to court. Our first SW gave us the paper with the info on it. We just have to file for it with some form (that we are still trying to locate - we've moved since then - but we are still in Missouri)

We will have her full name on her MO bc - we just have to file for it. Then we can go get her SS card and passport... HOPEFULLY without any problems.

Will it be a big deal if her C of C doesn't state her middle name but everything else does? Obviously by the pictures and dob, etc she is the same person and her first name will remain Celeste....

hmmmm... I'm stumped...

[Waiting4Celeste]

Originally Posted by dspakowsky

Are you going to get a new BC from MO? We got a "Certificate of Foreign Birth" in NC.

I guess my question is, what will you have that shows her new full name, since the state doesn't require it? I'm just asking out of curiousity

I think that my wording was confusing... it isn't that MO doesn't require a new BC, they don't require a formal court appearance to change her name - we can just file a form and get a new BC.

We will file for a MO BC.

Does that make sense?? It is late and I SHOULD be in bed!!

[Waiting4Celeste]

OK, here's the scoop...
I spent 38 minutes on the phone (my phone has a timer - I hate knowing how long I spend on the phone!! ) with USCIS today to figure this out.

Basically, the guy told me that we "wouldn't run into any problems" without her middle name on it. Then he said he'd check to make sure and he came back on to say that it was OK that her middle name is not on the CofC.

I hope he is right!

Next stop - new BC then on to the Passport and SS card!

Just thought you'd want to know.

[Katelyn's Mom]

Thanks for sharing! Glad things are working out

[AdoptAmiga]

One last thought...make sure the STATUS on the SS card/file is changed to indicate citizenship. Some clerks are more astute than others. Nobody wants to go through the hassles of the CoC and NOT have the SS documented properly. Glad to hear things are moving forward for you!