Becoming Alexis - Part Five
The Giant Pile of Paperwork…
I burned myself out this week trying to update all my name change-related documents at the same time. On the flipside, I got a lot done! Details herein.
After picking up my court orders on Tuesday, I have: gone to Social Security; gone to the DMV; updated my university and law school diplomas; updated my social media accounts; and updated several other accounts.
Social Security is the most important entity with which you must change your name after you get a court order. Social Security acts as a “back-end database” for essentially the entire rest of the world. Updating your name with Social Security is a prerequisite for obtaining a new driver’s license and passport, as well as updating your name with banks, insurance companies, other government entities (such as state licensures), employers, and others.
On Wednesday, I went to the main San Francisco Social Security office at 7th and Mission Streets, but found a sign out front saying that there was a five-hour wait. I didn’t have five hours, so I decided to try another office. I went to the location at 560 Kearny Street in Chinatown and found a completely empty lobby, in which I waited for only five minutes, and was out within another five minutes. It may be worth traveling a bit between offices, especially if, as here, the two offices are only a mile apart.
One thing I noted that differs from what I’ve told clients: the Social Security employee told me that I actually didn’t need to bring my birth certificate if I have a California court order. I had my birth certificate handy, but many of my clients do not. If you do not have a birth certificate in hand, as I mentioned in my previous post, it can take several months to receive a new copy from the state. Not needing your birth certificate, and instead only needing your old driver’s license, potentially removes a significant barrier for people moving forward with their legal transition.
The worker at Social Security told me that my name should be updated in their system within 48 hours. This turned out to be true, even when on Friday there was a nationwide computer outage. There is a single one-page form, Form SS-5, that you need to update your name with Social Security. Easy peasy.
On Friday, I went to the DMV in Redwood City. I had to pick up a court order for another client at the courthouse down there, so I figured I’d go to the DMV, only two blocks from the courthouse. I filled out the application beforehand at dmv.ca.gov. They have an online workflow that requires your unique login for the DMV website. I did not have an appointment, as I couldn’t get an appointment anywhere within an hour’s drive for at least a month, but the entire visit only took about an hour total. The DMV employees were concerned that I had only updated my name with Social Security two days prior, but it turned out not to be an issue. I was able to update my license, and my title and registration for my car all at the same visit. I left the DMV with a temporary license, a new registration card, and a promise that my new title would come in the mail. Anyone else updating their license right now should also be aware that if you do not have a Real ID, for which the deadline for necessity is coming up in May 2025, you can get a Real ID at the same visit. I got my Real ID a few years ago already. Also, the California DMV automatically updates your voter registration when you make changes to your license, something I didn’t know but was very impressed with.
After I left the DMV, I went to a family-owned passport photo place in San Mateo. I have passports from both the U.S. and Germany, each of which has different requirements for the size of photos. I got both. I’ll send in my U.S. passport application on Monday, and I’m waiting to hear back from the German Consulate for the right forms. I will wait to receive my new U.S. passport first though, because I really don’t want to be without a passport in late 2024. Many of my clients recently have shared this same concern.
I also have been working on updating my diplomas. I have my undergraduate diploma from UC Berkeley and my law school diploma from Golden Gate University; the latter is shutting down in the near future, so I wanted to get that request in as soon as possible. Luckily, they had a form already set up for me to do so. I feel a bit like I’m rewriting my own personal history. But it is also an extremely powerful statement to have said that Alexis Levy is the person who graduated from university and law school.
Finally, I’ve been slowly working through my password manager. Because my old daily-use email addresses both involved the name “Alex Lemberg”, I’ve been having to go through each and every website with which I have a registration, and updating my name and email address. I manage my passwords with Dashlane, a paid password-management service that has entirely prevented my need to ever remember a password. It also allows me to share access of my passwords with loved ones. It also provides a compendium of all of my saved passwords, so I can go through them one at a time and change them and update them. I have several hundred saved passwords, so this will be an ongoing project.
Next week, I’ll finish my passport application, and work on updating the remaining most important items: health insurance, other insurance, and then eventually my banks.