potential passport problem

[kingboy1]

I didn't have time to read all the other posts so I don't know if anyone has said this yet. I know this sounds weird, but you may try your local state rep. A friend of mine had a passport problem & was refered to her state rep by her school. It worked for her.

 

Good luck.

[scrappinbrat]

My story doesn't have to do with a Passport and it happened long before 911, but when my father retired he needed my Mom's bc and they didn't have a copy. She went to vital stats. in the county that she was born in and they could not find it with the info she provided. Her father put her in the children's home after her mother's death and she was raised by a couple of different foster families and they had called her Betty Florence instead of Florence Irene, so she always thought her name was Betty. Luckily she had a brother around that went and signed an avidavit that she was who she said she was and was issued a BC. in the name she had always went by, the worst part was she found out that she was a year older than she thought she was. She had a SS card and drivers license in the name she knew herself by. I know sometimes things sound like it can't happen, but the world has changed alot and things were done differently in a simpler time and in different places. Sorry so long.

[mjbearit]

Just a thought, and I don't know how this would work out for you, but I adopted my adult step-daughter (now daughter) and the cost was very low, as I recall it was like $23.00 or something equally low, she was given the option of having her BC altered so that the old last name would never show up anywhere. She took advantage of this so now her BC, SS card, DL, everything has her new name and it only took like 4 months or so to get the new BC. I don't know what your timeline is like, but if the step father is still alive you could do an adult adoption and it goes through completely painlessly! The good part is he wouldn't have to change any other documents because they are already in his "new"/"old" name!

[Boatdrill]

The good news is that to cruise you don't need a passport unless you need to fly out of Country.

 

It's important to keep in mind:

 

After January 31, passengers MUST have in their possession proof of citizenship: a currrent US passport, or an original (or certified copy) of their birth certificate with their government issued photo identification. Cruiselines now have the option of denying boarding to passengers who do not have proper proof of citizenship (and they'll do it too !).

 

Also, please be aware that for cruises travelling to Mexico, should you become seriously ill onboard and need to be taken off the ship in Mexico, Mexico is no longer allowing this unless you have a US passport. If you do not have a valid passport, you will be required to stay on the ship until it reaches a US port (or the Coast Guard comes and airlifts you off....:eek: ).

[mjbearit]

I'm still confused. You have to show a birth certificate to get a SS card as well as a driver's license, register at school and to join the military. How is it that his records have his step-dad's name then?

Wrong! Way back in the dark ages (according to my kids!), we got our SS cards as part of a class project in Econ in Junior High School (this was before it became middle school!). :D We never had to bring in any sort of BC at all. Never had to for our DL either. Again, we did this in Drivers Ed in school and the school "knew" everything about us. As for registering for school, well I was kinda young at the time and have no idea if my mother had to show BC or not, but growing up in a very small town where everybody knew everybody and had since the beginning of time, I kind of doubt it! :confused: I never had to produce a BC for my militery service, just a SS card and DL as I recall. :rolleyes: Things are different now since you almost come out of the womb with a SSN tattooed on your tushie! BC is needed for everything, prove this, prove that, geez! Sometimes I feel like I live in a Gestapo state!

[reaganandnoahrmy2]

My husband was born out of wedlock, so the name on his birth certificate is his mother's maiden name, however before he was 2 or 3 his mother married, taking her husbands last name. They just started calling my husband by the new hubands last name. All his school records, SS#, military records, our marriage license etc. use the last name of his mother's husband. There was never an official adoption or legal name change. How in the world will my husband ever get a passport using our last name? Who should we contact regarding this? I know we could probably go to a court and legally change his name now, but that seems so much a hassle and will take several months. Thanks,

 

This is exactly what happen to my Mother in Law. She actually took her Birth Certificate down to Social Security, the issued her a social with that last name, and she got a passport with the last name on her birth certificate. Then, she went back and had it all corrected when she came back from vacation.

[cherylandtk]

JandJfun--You really need to speak to an attorney about this. Since your husband has technically been using an alias all these years, it is a relatively simple matter to obtain a legal name change to the alias.

 

It is better to have a record of the legal name change, but there is no requirement that he do so in order to get a passport in his current name. (Proof of name change is not required to get a passport; that is 'proven' by use of a current government issued ID in the current name, which your husband has). In this sense, your husband is no different than a woman who has married or divorced and changed her name.

 

All he needs to do is fill out the application form, use his current name as the name he wants on the passport, and in the section where it asks for other names, put down the birth name on the Birth certificate.

 

There are more than a few children who are in the same predicament--using a stepfamily name and not their birth name. Better to tie up the loose ends, but it is not impossible.