Parents Name Change in Passport and H1b Visa Stamp

[akshay87]

Currently I have a valid Indian passport and H1b Visa both valid till 2019. I recently noticed that my mother’s last name in my passport is not matching with my birth certificate and I want to correct this during my next visit to India. Once this is done, i will get a new passport. What I wanted to know is whether I need to get the VISA stamp again in the new passport. I got the below information from ustravel docs website but i dont know whether ‘Personal data’ referred below includes parent name aswell. Any of my details are not changing and the only item will change is mother’s last name. 

**If your visa is valid and unmarked or undamaged, you can travel with your two passports together (old and new), if the purpose of your travelmatches your current nonimmigrant visa. Also, the name and other personal data must be the same in both passports, and both passports must be from the same country and of the same type (i.e., both tourist passports and both diplomatic passports).**

[lovely]

Yes, your old passport will be cancelled and returned and visa will be intact but there will be a change in personal data and you would need visa on your new passport.

[nmurthy]

12 hours ago, akshay87 said:

Currently I have a valid Indian passport and H1b Visa both valid till 2019. I recently noticed that my mother’s last name in my passport is not matching with my birth certificate and I want to correct this during my next visit to India. Once this is done, i will get a new passport. What I wanted to know is whether I need to get the VISA stamp again in the new passport. I got the below information from ustravel docs website but i dont know whether ‘Personal data’ referred below includes parent name aswell. Any of my details are not changing and the only item will change is mother’s last name. 

**If your visa is valid and unmarked or undamaged, you can travel with your two passports together (old and new), if the purpose of your travelmatches your current nonimmigrant visa. Also, the name and other personal data must be the same in both passports, and both passports must be from the same country and of the same type (i.e., both tourist passports and both diplomatic passports).**

you DON'T need a new US visa because of your moms name change. All you need to do is to carry both passports with you all the time. This is a very common situation. Your passport may expire and you will get a new one, but your valid visa is on the old passport. 

If it was me, i wouldn't bother to get a new passport for changing my moms name (unless you are in a situation where someone is cross checking your moms name between passport and birth certificate). You can always correct it next time you renew your passport. 

[akshay87]

12 hours ago, nmurthy said:

you DON'T need a new US visa because of your moms name change. All you need to do is to carry both passports with you all the time. This is a very common situation. Your passport may expire and you will get a new one, but your valid visa is on the old passport. 

If it was me, i wouldn't bother to get a new passport for changing my moms name (unless you are in a situation where someone is cross checking your moms name between passport and birth certificate). You can always correct it next time you renew your passport. 

Thanks for your quick response. It helped a lot. 

There are two reasons why I thought of correcting Mom’s last name in my passport (to match with what is in my birth certificate and in Mom’s passport.)

1. I am planning to bring my Mom to US in visitor VISA. I heard that that she may have difficulty in getting the VISA stamp and also at the port of entry if name doesnt match with what is in my passport.

2. My green card processing will start this year. During the process i heard USCIS cross verify the information with birth certificate. Since mothers name will not match i may have difficulties at that time.

Let me ask you one more question.

lets say my GC process started but my passport will expire after an year, will it be a problem. Is there anything like we should have a passport with sufficient duration so that GC process will go Smooth. What will happen If my passport is expired and i got a new passport during GC process. How to do I update it in the docs

once again, really appreciate taking time to respond to my queries. Have a good day.

 

[nmurthy]

14 hours ago, akshay87 said:

Thanks for your quick response. It helped a lot. 

There are two reasons why I thought of correcting Mom’s last name in my passport (to match with what is in my birth certificate and in Mom’s passport.)

1. I am planning to bring my Mom to US in visitor VISA. I heard that that she may have difficulty in getting the VISA stamp and also at the port of entry if name doesnt match with what is in my passport.

2. My green card processing will start this year. During the process i heard USCIS cross verify the information with birth certificate. Since mothers name will not match i may have difficulties at that time.

Let me ask you one more question.

lets say my GC process started but my passport will expire after an year, will it be a problem. Is there anything like we should have a passport with sufficient duration so that GC process will go Smooth. What will happen If my passport is expired and i got a new passport during GC process. How to do I update it in the docs

once again, really appreciate taking time to respond to my queries. Have a good day.

 

1. It could be a problem. Personally i dont think they will have a trouble, but you never know if the visa officer catches that name mismatch and deny their visa. You are right, in that case it is better to get it corrected. Since you are in US, all you need to do is to apply in the Indian mission close to your city. You will normally get your passport in a week's time. You dont need to wait for your next India visit and since you are on a vacation, why would you waste your time going to passport office. It is much easier to do it here.

2. GC processing cross verification with birth certificate is only when you file 485. Since you are just starting your GC this year, you have plenty of time.

3. To answer your new question. GC or H1 processing has nothing to do with your passport. Passport is just a document to prove which country you belong to and of course it should not be expired. You need at least 6 months on your passport to do any international travel. You can apply for new passport 1 year before expiry date and typically you get a new passport in a week's time. Nothing (absolutely nothing) will happen if your passport expired during your GC process. When you do your H1 extension next year, you need to send the new passport copy. If you are going for H1 stamping, you need to submit DS160 using the new passport number. Similarly, for GC process you need to provide new passport details when you move to the next phase. Also, you can let your attorney (or company HR) know that you have a new passport and they will take care of it. 

Have a good day