Under the federal immigration-and-nationality law, when aliens apply for naturalization, they have the option of asking for their names to be changed upon the grants of citizenship with no additional fees. This allows them the opportunities to adopt more Americanized names. In the 2005 version of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, Part 1 (D) asks whether the person applying for naturalization would like to legally change his name. During the naturalization interview, a petition for a name change is prepared to be forwarded to a federal court. The applicant certifies that he or she is not seeking a change of name for any unlawful purpose such as the avoidance of debt or evasion of law enforcement. Such a name change becomes final once a federal court naturalizes an applicant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_change