Adoption and Name Change

[Solomente]

I have a question concerning a name change. Both my wife and her son received their permanent resident cards and are residing in the USA now for 2 years. Our dream is to have her son also have my last name. Unfortunately, his name does not automatically change through marriage.

We now want to change his name but I am not sure of the proper process. We were told that I need to legally adopt him and the process needs to be done in the Dominican Republic. I was told this by an attorney in that country.

My concern is that once his name is changed in D.R, will I have problems when returning to the USA. After all some of his documents will have his old name i.e. Green Card.

Could someone tell me the proper procedure? The help would be appreciated

[J D Sauser]

I have no legal knowledge or direct experience in the matter.

However, I wonder if you contemplated doing it in/from the States? You seem to imply that you all are legal permanent residents of the US. It would seem to me that legal family status changes could maybe be handled under US jurisdiction, just like you could divorce under US law even if you had been married in an other country.
DR related documentation and filings, could maybe also be dealt with at the closest DR consulate in the US as your Dominican wife and son are living legally within its jurisdiction?

Since I seem to understand that your wife's son is not your son, another question which seems to hover in the air is, who is his -is there a- legal father? Has any father ever declared him (birth certificate)? If not, maybe one route to consider over adoption is to declare him yours (in the DR)?


... J-D.