“Yes, Mr. Dimasapoc,” I told my fictional client over the phone. “You can have your name changed when you apply for US citizenship.”
“That’s good to know,” Mr. Dimasapoc said, a tinge of relief in his voice. “Uh, can I change it to any name I want?”
“Yes, as long as it’s not offensive or repulsive or against the law.” So, that’s how much he hates his birth name, Juan Palatac-bo Dimasapoc, I thought.
“Actually, I was thinking of changing it to something more American-sounding, something cool and modern,” he said. “But I’ll think about it some more.” He thanked me and hung up after saying he would call again for an appointment.
Yes, there is nothing that prohibits a US naturalization applicant from changing his/her name as part of his/her citizenship application — as long as the new name is not repugnant to morals or basic decency or against the law.
For example, a person cannot be named Messiah or Santa Claus, or Adolf Hitler, according to some US court decisions (per usbirthcertificates.com).
There are even US court rulings that declared King and Queen as off-limits for use as a person’s moniker. Apparently, that is not the case in the Philippines, where royal-sounding names are popular as middle-class sobriquets, probably because the Filipinos — unlike the Americans — have no historical beef against the ruling monarchies of the olden days.
In other countries, specific word names are forbidden such as Snake, Circumcision, Sex Fruit, and Anal, among others (again, per usbirthcertificates.com). Indeed, it is doubtful if these porno-flavored appellations can pass muster even in legally permissive democracies such as the US and the Philippines.
Interestingly, Filipinos have a habitual propensity, bordering on the insane, of using nicknames that are “repeat-syllable” types such as Bongbong, Noynoy, Junjun, Tingting, Dondon, Wengweng, and Lotlot, just to name a few, although Uncle Sam has a fair share of “repeat-syllable” names in circulation as well, such as Toto, Jojo, Bebe and the famous (Lady) Gaga, among others.
One could just imagine if the syllable Pi or Ti or Pek or Pok or Pu or Su had been among the favorites in the Philippines.
Regardless of whether or not these various name idiosyncrasies are permissible within the US immigration system, it is a must that any name change request be expressly indicated on the US citizenship application form (Form N-400) and affirmed in person before a US Citizenship and Immigration Services or CIS officer for it to prosper. Otherwise, the applicant will have to do it outside of the naturalization process which is not only costly but is time-consuming as well.
If submitted properly, the applicant will be asked to sign a petition for a name change during the citizenship interview which will be submitted to a federal court after the citizenship application has been approved.
Prior to the oath-taking ceremony, the petition will be signed by a federal judge and will be handed over to the newly-minted US citizen during the actual oath-taking event along with the certificate of naturalization. From that time on, Uncle Sam’s new subject will be able to use his/her chosen moniker.
Continuing with Mr. Dimasapoc’s saga, he called again a week after the initial phone call to set up an appointment for his US citizenship case. We agreed on a date and time for an office visit. Before he hung up, he blurted out, quite excitedly: “By the way, Attorney, I have already decided on a new name.”
“That’s good. What will it be?” “Jonjon Tacboparra Dimasapoc, Attorney. J.T. Dimasapoc, for short.”
I guess logic trumps vanity, after all.