Canadian Name Change and Social Security Card

victoriaguy · Post by **victoriaguy** » Tue Aug 11, 2015 9:31 pm

Hi there,

I have a friend who changed her name in Canada, and the SSA won't accept a Canadian name change certificate... even an original. But the IRS is requiring her to change her Social Security record.

Apparently one cannot even travel to US soil to effect the name change for US purposes, as you have to live in the jurisdiction you get the name changed in.

Has anyone encountered a solution to this rather weird manufactured conundrum? Even Homeland Security and the IRS accept Canadian name change documents.

Thanks!

exPenn · Post by **exPenn** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 3:29 pm

Who are you dealing with? Did you call some central SS number? Often they know nothing about international issues. I went through somewhat the same problems changing my wife's name on her SS card. I called up the local SS office for my location (Niagara Falls for the GTA), and they were most helpful in resolving it. The local offices for BC (in Washington State) are listed on the SS wesite ( http://www.socialsecurity.gov/foreign/britishcol.htm ).

victoriaguy · Post by **victoriaguy** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 6:40 pm

Hey ExPenn...

Thank you very much for sharing your experience.

Yes, actually, we are dealing with the Bellingham office, which is the correct office for my friend's (and my) postal code. My friend even got a very helpful lady who said she would research and call back the next day. Today she called back and "confirmed" there was basically no solution for my friend. She is currently contemplating hiring a lawyer versed in SSA issues to deal with it... if it is even possible.

You don't happen to remember how the Niagara Falls office helped you do you? My friend obviously can't go take up residency in the US, get assessed Cdn exit tax, just to change her name and move back. lol

Thanks very much if you can remember anything about how it was solved for you.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:27 pm

The weird thing is that when you live in US and get married, going to SSA is THE way you change your name.

So now it seems if you change your name any other way first, it's unacceptable.

Not that changing the name is that important. You won't be denied any benefits if you don't,

victoriaguy · Post by **victoriaguy** » Wed Aug 12, 2015 7:32 pm

The IRS is allowing my friend to correct her recently submitted returns to her old name with a letter of explanation, and is reversing the taxes and penalties they assessed her for for having her name not match her SS record.

We'll phone the International Tax Hotline to see if she can do this ad nauseum without difficulty. I'll post here once I find out.

ExPenn, if you have had any experience that would help us, would appreciate hearing. Thanks both of you.

exPenn · Post by **exPenn** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 11:38 am

Our experience is not directly comparable because my wife didn't legally change her name in either country. My wife is a USC who came to Canada in 1987 when she married me. She took my surname as her new surname, but she wanted to use her old maiden name as her new middle name. She managed to get all her new Canadian identifications in that new name. She also got her name changed on her US passport by going to the US Consulate in Toronto. She got a stamp in her passport, showing her new name and signed by the US Consul. She renwed her US passport in her new name every 10 years.

In 2011 we decided to bring her US tax filings up to date (she had not been filing) so we submitted 7 years of back tax returns and 7 years of FBAR statements to the IRS. At the same time we sent in a name change request to the Niagara Falls SS office. There was no problem in changing her surname since we submitted our US marriage certificate. But whoever reviewed her request did not change her middle name, and she received a new SS card with her old middle name. We called up the SS office, and eventually spoke to a supervisor and explained the situation. We argued that if the name change was good enough for the US State Department, it should be good enough for SS. We FAXed her old passport page with the stamp signed by the US consul, and her new US passport in her new name, and we finally got an SS card in her new nane.

I assume your friend is a USC if she is filing US taxes. Does she have a US passport? Has she tried changing the name on her passport? SS might accept this a valid US name change. I think within any government office there are people with the authority to apply common sense (an unusual attribute for a bureaucrat) to any situation. The trick is in reaching that person.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 12:05 pm

expenn, as was mentionned in the first post, SSA is not accepting the CDn docs. You had a US passport, which trumped all else.

That was what got her a name change at SSA: the US document.

V-guy's friend might have to do the same.

victoriaguy · Post by **victoriaguy** » Thu Aug 13, 2015 5:15 pm

Thank you ExPenn and nelsona,

Indeed, my friend has her US passport up to date showing her current legal name. No problem there. But everyone at SSA that we have spoken to has said they have their "own laws" that don't match Homeland Security, and WON'T accept her updated US passport as evidence. We've heard this from Bellingham repeatedly. I wonder if we can send her name change to a different "local" office.

ExPenn, can you tell me more about the stamp in the passport? Was it certifying something that the passport alone does not certify?

Thanks so very much for all your suggestions!

exPenn · Post by **exPenn** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 8:27 am

Yes. When she asked for her name to be changed on her initial US passport, they stamped one of the back pages of her passport with a rubber stamp, that must have been on hand at the consulate. The stamp is titled "Ammendments and Endorsements", then has the heading "CONSULATE GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AT TORONTO" Underneath there is a line for the date, then underneath that is a line stating "This Passport is Ammended to Change Bearer's Name to Read" Then there is a line for the new name and lines for signatures of the Consul and the Bearer.
The date and her new name have been typed in and it is signed by the Consul and my wife. We argued that this consituted a legal American name change.

Remember, this was in 1987. They probably don't use rubber stamps anymore. I think trying a different "local office" is a good idea.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 9:13 am

I'm glad we were married in QC and my wife's name never changed! Its kind of medieval when you reflect on it; think when (not if) you get divorced.

victoriaguy · Post by **victoriaguy** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:52 pm

Actually, nelsona, the SSA WILL accept Canadian marriage certificates (and divorce certificates if I remember), just not Canadian name change certificates. An arbitrary stipulation, as they are issued from the same agencies, no?

victoriaguy · Post by **victoriaguy** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:56 pm

Thanks so much, exPenn. She's phoned the consulate to see if they know any way she can be helped. She's also planning to phone other offices. If we come across a "current" solution we'll post it.

Seems to me they have passed a law that millions of their citizens abroad are unable to abide by by definition. Would love to put it to a constitutional test! ;)

exPenn · Post by **exPenn** » Fri Aug 14, 2015 6:20 pm

When my wife had trouble getting her Canadian citizenship issued in her new name we were able to enlist the help of our local MP to sort things out. Unfortunatly expat Americans have no local congressman to turn to. Another example of "legislation without representation".