Passport Name Change Problems Help ?

[Sirwinston]

I really hope my cruise critic gay and lesbian friends can help. My spouse of 14 years and I got married on 08/08/2008. We live in California. We have changed both our last names to the same hyphenated last name.

He is a great guy and it is an honor to share the same last names.

We had no problem with Califonia DMV, a little problem with Social Security, But seems we are having problems with the state department over our passports.

After following all of the directions online and mailing them along with our old passports, and the agency cashing our checks as soon as they got them, about three weeks later we got what I consider a hateful letter quoting the defense of marriage law saying that a Ca. marriage license is not recogised. This is an offical state issued document.:confused:

 

"We are unable to comply with your request for a name change based on the documentation you sent because of the Defense of Marriage Act, Public Law 104-199, provides that:

 

"In determining the meaning of any act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word "marriage" means only a legal union between one man and one woman as a husband and wife, and the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife".

 

Therefore, the marriage certificate issued by the STATE OF CALIFORNIA, which you have submitted in support of your name change is not acceptable as evidence for recognizing an immediate name change on the basis of marriage."

 

This is so wrong and hateful. Makes me feel like a second class citizen.

:mad:

 

It then goes on to tell my my only option is a court ordered name change or to prove I have been using the name for THE LAST FIVE YEARS...

 

I have sent off copies of my drivers license and my new social security card as well as a pay stub with my new name... just today and I am waiting to see what happens. I cruise next in January and we are going to Alaska this summer....

 

I cannot understand why Social Security will let me change my name with

marriage license ( we did have to go back once ) And the passport office will not. BTW Social Security is name change only I will not quailfy for any spousal benifits..

 

Does not a court ordered name change take something like 8 weeks? :eek:

 

Please any help with this would be greatly appreciated...

 

Also can I travel with my old name /passport even if everything else is changed over ?

 

Tom in Long Beach

[Boytjie]

And so continues the mess that is DOMA.

 

I don't think you can call the letter hateful because it is merely stating the effects of the law that has been passed and that they have to follow; the law is hatefull. The Federal Government cannot recognize same-sex marriages. The puzzling thing is that Social Security accepted it.

 

Sorry that I can't give you any advice on what to do next, other than contact your Senator and Representative.

 

Unfortunately before we get married we have to make ourselves aware what the repercussions are - that the federal government and other state governments will not recognize it.

[Sirwinston]

Thanks Boytjie:

DOMA should not exist in a contry that is supposed to have separation of church and state. That is why we must defeat prop 8 in California. It may be the first step in defeating what is a totally wrong law. See www.noonprop8.com I think this should be O.K. to mention this on the "gay" board.

Also about getting married, I did it first as a political statement. To help as a show of numbers. I believe that something like 14,000 same sex couples have been married in Ca. Amazingly husbands have not started leaving their wives in droves, :rolleyes:. We as gay people should not just accept being treated different than anyone else and this includes the right to marry whom we choose.

 

I was mazed at how much it meant to me to have that recogintion from the state...

 

Tom in Long Beach.

[Boytjie]

DOMA should not exist in a contry that is supposed to have separation of church and state. That is why we must defeat prop 8 in California. It may be the first step in defeating what is a totally wrong law.

 

Yes, it is a bad law but I am not so sure how long it will take to get it overturned. :( Defeating Prop 8 won't be the end of DOMA but it might start chipping away.

 

See www.noonprop8.com I think this should be O.K. to mention this on the "gay" board.

Also about getting married, I did it first as a political statement. To help as a show of numbers. I believe that something like 14,000 same sex couples have been married in Ca.

 

We have a few friends that flew to CA to get married, and our deacon and his partner just got married in Mass.

 

Amazingly husbands have not started leaving their wives in droves, :rolleyes:. We as gay people should not just accept being treated different than anyone else and this includes the right to marry whom we choose.

 

Yeah, but same-sex marrieage in CA = Armageddon, didn't you know? :rolleyes:

 

I was mazed at how much it meant to me to have that recogintion from the state...

 

That was the same sentiment expressed by one friend that got married in CA.

[Sirwinston]

Peter:

 

How nice your decon and his parter got married. What denomination?

 

I keep looking hoping someone can help me w/o having to go to the expense of doing a legal name change when my D.L. and S.S. card are already changed... something like 14,000 people have gotten hitched in Ca, certainly a few of them changed their names and are cruisers....

 

 

Tom in Long Beach

[Boytjie]

Peter:

 

How nice your decon and his parter got married. What denomination?

 

Episcopalian.

 

I keep looking hoping someone can help me w/o having to go to the expense of doing a legal name change when my D.L. and S.S. card are already changed... something like 14,000 people have gotten hitched in Ca, certainly a few of them changed their names and are cruisers....

 

I am not an expert but I think that may be your only option. :(

[Heidi n Lauren]

I don't have any advice to offer, but I just wanted to say congratulations on your marriage. I will be watching and waiting for the results of the prop 8 vote. I am way up here in Maine, but I understand how big a deal this is for all of us. I have donated money via noonprop8.com because the results of this will impact the entire country.

[Sirwinston]

Heidi and Laureen:

Thanks for donating and thanks for the congrats..:D This does affect us all. It is something that should have been left to the courts except for the meddling religious right...:mad: What has been cool is to see how many friends and fair minded people are out there to support same sex marriage..

 

Tom in Long Beach

[Sirwinston]

Hello all:

Waiting to see if anyone else has gone through this...

 

Tom in Long Beach

[Sirwinston]

Well folks looks like I have to do a "cort ordered name change". What B.S. when the S.S. has already changed my name Also have changed name on Driver's license. My spouse and I are doing legal zoom. So hopefully this will not take to long or cost too much. Separate and but eqaul NOT....

Anyway Please help with www.noonprop8.com if you can to at least keep

Ca. gay marraige legal. Tonight I waited on a lovely Gay couple and their friends. They have been together 20 years... and today they got married :D . They had a nice small reception.

 

Tom in Long Beach

[Boytjie]

Well folks looks like I have to do a "cort ordered name change". What B.S. when the S.S. has already changed my name Also have changed name on Driver's license. My spouse and I are doing legal zoom. So hopefully this will not take to long or cost too much. Separate and but eqaul NOT....

 

I guess Social Security made the name change in error (DOMA seems to specify that it shouldn't), and your drivers licence is a state issue and not affected by DOMA.

[Sirwinston]

Hello Boyte:

 

No I just think the the person(s) in charge of the state department must be more of a bigot. Sure they are quoting the Bad Law. Now we must spend at least $ 130.00 each on this name change... BTW I know this has happened to other people as well.

 

NOT FAIR...

 

Today I got a new copie of my Birth Certificat which I can use with my old driver's license to go to Mexico on the Paradise in Jan, just in case this name change drags out. I will have to have Carnival switch my reservation back to my old name...

 

 

Tom in Long Beach

[Boytjie]

Hello Boyte:

 

No I just think the the person(s) in charge of the state department must be more of a bigot. Sure they are quoting the Bad Law. Now we must spend at least $ 130.00 each on this name change... BTW I know this has happened to other people as well.

 

Bad law... but still the law. They cannot just disregard the law. How many interpreters of thw law do we need?

 

I am not trying to rain on your parade, just trying to look at it realistically. We have to take a lot of things into consideration when we get married; because of the inequality that exists by law we cannot assume to get treated equally.

[andrewjohnyyz]

I really hope my cruise critic gay and lesbian friends can help. My spouse of 14 years and I got married on 08/08/2008. We live in California. We have changed both our last names to the same hyphenated last name.

He is a great guy and it is an honor to share the same last names.

We had no problem with Califonia DMV, a little problem with Social Security, But seems we are having problems with the state department over our passports.

After following all of the directions online and mailing them along with our old passports, and the agency cashing our checks as soon as they got them, about three weeks later we got what I consider a hateful letter quoting the defense of marriage law saying that a Ca. marriage license is not recogised. This is an offical state issued document.:confused:

 

"We are unable to comply with your request for a name change based on the documentation you sent because of the Defense of Marriage Act, Public Law 104-199, provides that:

 

"In determining the meaning of any act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word "marriage" means only a legal union between one man and one woman as a husband and wife, and the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife".

 

Therefore, the marriage certificate issued by the STATE OF CALIFORNIA, which you have submitted in support of your name change is not acceptable as evidence for recognizing an immediate name change on the basis of marriage."

 

This is so wrong and hateful. Makes me feel like a second class citizen.

:mad:

 

It then goes on to tell my my only option is a court ordered name change or to prove I have been using the name for THE LAST FIVE YEARS...

 

I have sent off copies of my drivers license and my new social security card as well as a pay stub with my new name... just today and I am waiting to see what happens. I cruise next in January and we are going to Alaska this summer....

 

I cannot understand why Social Security will let me change my name with

marriage license ( we did have to go back once ) And the passport office will not. BTW Social Security is name change only I will not quailfy for any spousal benifits..

 

Does not a court ordered name change take something like 8 weeks? :eek:

 

Please any help with this would be greatly appreciated...

 

Also can I travel with my old name /passport even if everything else is changed over ?

 

Tom in Long Beach

 

Hi there, ive just read threw the prvious posts, and we feel so bad what is happening down in the USA, i cant give you any advice but all i can say is that i hope that there is some way all this can be settled, and i just heard on the news that certain Californians have rejected same sex marriages on on the ballot. We are from Toronto, Canada, and same sex marriage has been law for several years nation wide. All i can say is we feel for you and we all have to stand together and support each other.

[JDRMYS]

My husband and I have been together for 30 years. We married each other in Toronto in 2003, as soon as same sex marriage became legal in Canada. Does our marriage have any meaning in the USA, especially where we live, in Florida? Propostion 2 passed by a huge margin and made us 3rd class citizens? I don't think so!

 

After donating thousands to the Obama camapign and to fighting proposition 2 in Florida, we have decided to send all of our political money to Freedom to Marry, an organization run by Evan Wolfson that is dedicated to getting GLBT Americans full marriage rights.

[andrewjohnyyz]

My husband and I have been together for 30 years. We married each other in Toronto in 2003, as soon as same sex marriage became legal in Canada. Does our marriage have any meaning in the USA, especially where we live, in Florida? Propostion 2 passed by a huge margin and made us 3rd class citizens? I don't think so!

 

After donating thousands to the Obama camapign and to fighting proposition 2 in Florida, we have decided to send all of our political money to Freedom to Marry, an organization run by Evan Wolfson that is dedicated to getting GLBT Americans full marriage rights.

 

As to your question about your Toronto marriage meaning anything in the USA, now i am only guessing here, but i probably dont think so, if it isnt recognized there, then it probably means nothing to them. it is just another piece of paper that has no value, only to the two of you, and thats pretty sad. best advice to is to contact your member of the government and find out for sure.