Name Change San Francisco

[minny]

I recently discovered that San Francisco Field Office does not accept name change through naturalisation because they only held admintrative ceremony. But I cannot find any official information about this on any government website.

So can any San Francisco filers share you experience if you had request to change your name on N400, were you told by the IO that they cannot change the name?

[mini]

It's been years since San Francisco decided not to have a judicial ceremony. You need to file for a name change with the court on your own. Under the law, U.S. Federal courts have the right to exclusively administer the oath of allegiance. Some courts have waived this right and allow USCIS to administer the oath of allegiance. In most jurisdictions, the courts share the right with the USCIS but choose not to completely give up the right to conduct naturalization ceremonies. And as you should already know, granting legal name changes is not something the USCIS can do. Only courts can do that.So, if your federal court conducts naturalization ceremonies (judicial ceremonies), it can grant a legal name change at the same time. That's how N400 applicants are able to change their names with the naturalization process.However, the US District Court for the Northern District of California (which has jurisdiction over San Francisco) has completely waived this right several years ago and no longer holds any judicial ceremonies. Since 1) naturalization ceremonies are only held by the USCIS in San Francisco and 2) the USCIS has absolutely no right to grant a legal name change, naturalization applicants in San Francisco cannot change their names with the N400 and Form I-821D application. I hear that, in some jurisdiction(s), it is completely the opposite from San Francisco in that the courts retain the exclusive right to administer oath ceremonies and do not allow USCIS to administer them at all.