st8dm

Hello there,

I'm curious if anyone has experienced this scenario:

• A person changed their name due to marriage.
• They have their previous name on a 10-year U.S. visa in their old passport, on the old name.
• They now have a new passport with their new name.
• They possess a marriage certificate (in English).

Question: Will they face any issues with boarding?

I'm certain that if your passport expires before your visa, you can safely travel with both documents.
However, what if you've also legally changed your name?

I've come across conflicting information.
The official statement is that the "U.S. State Department recommends changing for ease of travel," but there's no legal requirement to do so.
I believe that some cautious boarding personnel might deny boarding due to a lack of clarity.

Has anyone travelled in a similar situation?

Additional Information:

• The flight is booked with LH but operated by TK.
• There's a stopover in IST.

Of course, the visa will be changed in the long run, but for the current trip, it's too late.
I'm inquiring about what happens in this instance.

thanks

oliver2002

The CBP officer may allow you to enter the country, but the overworked and underpaid checkin agent for TK in Germany is unlikely to override any message they get in their system and let you board your flight to IST.

The US system checks the passport number in the reservation for any valid visa and then issues the green light for the airline to board the passenger. This is unlikely to happen in this case, so they need a work around. Which is very unlikely to happen.

st8dm

Thanks, Oliver, I feared that much.
But, as mentioned above, travelling with the visa on another passport is perfectly fine - that’s tested and works like a charm. Issue is the name change now.

And departure is from LUX. But agreed, agents are underpaid and disinterested across the world, even in the EU’s highest income state.

sfosuw

Have you tried emailing the issuing post for clarification? They will either give you 1) a reply that confirms you might use this visa, which you can use to show to the airline at check-in or 2) instruction to obtain a new visa.

tknz

I think the first and primary issue will be getting a boarding pass, once you're on the plane you should be fine and will be able to explain to CBP. Flights to the USA get advance passenger processing, every checkin goes to the US for verification and validation of valid visa, or ESTA. If you don't have an ESTA in the passport your travelling in, and your visa is in another passport you will get denied automatic checkin and have to show your documents to the checkin agent. It's common because State Department get you to carry on using a visa even if it is in an expired passport. Other than that though, they should check you in and board you and then you'll be fine. So in summary, it might come down to convincing the checkin agent and auto checkins won't work anymore.