My daughter has retained her maiden name post marriage. All her legal documents still have her maiden name on them. Her husband, who is now going to the US on an L1 Blanket visa has mentioned spouse’s name with his last name and has also processed all his documents with the same name. My questions for my daughter are as follows:-

1) Can her visa be rejected in spite of the fact that her marriage certificate supports her maintaining her maiden last name?

2) If the answer to the above question is ‘yes’. Please help me understand what other legal documents will be needed to avoid rejection.

3) She has not added her spouse’s name in the passport so far. Is it mandatory to add his name before applying for a visa? (her visa in all probabilities is going to be a dependent visa)

4) My son-in-law, who is traveling on an L1 blanket has been told that he doesn’t need to add his wife’s name in the passport as he isn’t carrying a dependent visa. How far this is legally accepted that husband doesn’t have his wife’s name mentioned in his passport?

5) Being on a dependent visa, will my daughter be allowed a work permit? If yes, is there any particular time frame post which she can join a job?

6) Is she allowed to stay in the US as long her husband stays or will she have to return early?

7) Keeping all the above points in mind what are the various documents she needs to carry with her while appearing for the visa acquiring interview?

In many countries including US, women can keep their maiden names after marriage, but when it comes to an issue like this, name in passport and in the visa application must be the same one. To change name in L-1 at this point is not easy and may delay the process for months, so the best choice would be change last name in her passport.

I assume that you are from India. In passports issued in most countries, parents' names and spouse's name will never appear in the passports.. so this is not mandatory for her and her husband.

L-2 holders can obtain work permit by filing I-765 with proper supported documents. She can stay in US as long as her visa is valid. Her legal status would be terminated if;
- She is divorce prior to expiration date of her visa.
- Her husband's visa expires or is terminated for other reasons.

Please consult the company's attorney about documents need to present at the interview.