Last Name in Passport is Empty – Can I apply to USA for Universities?
By HSB
I was looking in orkut and there are so many questions for which I have answers. But I don’t have time to read all the questions in different communities. So, I decided to start my own thread here.
If you have any questions regarding application process, post as comment, so others can see. I will answer it within a day.It will be difficult for me to answer questions regarding shortlisting universities on every individual, but I will try my best to do so. Send personal email for university related questions.
If you have questions like
1) My name on Certificates/passport/all official documents is Manoj Kumar. But, while registering for Universities/GRE, it is asking for Last name!(and it is mandatory to write last name), now what should I do?
2) What does Print name in the application mean?
3) University lost my documents, what should I do?
and so on…
Related posts:
- Given Name vs Surname (or Last Name) : Passport Applications in India
- Applying to US Universities with Blank Surname in Passport
- GRE & TOEFL On Nov; Univerity Deadline Dec 15 – Can I Apply?
- Invalid GRE Score, if Last Name Changes in the passport ?
- GRE in January, Can I Apply for Fall 2009?
hii.. i’m pranshu,i’m b.tech final year student , i’av name PRANSU in my all documents(10th, 12th, b.tech),don’t have surname also.. but in home address its PRANSHU ,so when’ll i apply for passport then should i fill my last name or not??and which speeling should i write PRANSU or PRANSHU??
hi,I am Rahul Ramachandran, as posted by many ppl in this thread, i too dont have a surname in passport, but while registering for gre and tofel, i gave first name as Rahul and last name as Ramachndran.
I came to know all this when i was applying for universities only.
if i change my name in passport(Ramachandran as surname) .Will they change in same passport? or new one?if i get a new one,won’t my gre and tofel score become invalid.
pls help me.
i am in big confusion whether to apply or not.
what problems could i face later, will i hav problems while getting visa? can i change my name in passport after going there?
pls help me
thank u
Good evening Sir,
I have my all documents as well passport with name RANTI DEV.
Father’s name is Vijendra kumar Shukla.
So i dont have surname with my name.
May it create any problem with USA Phd Aplication???
–
Yes, you need to change the name in your passport. Add your Fathers Name in Surname in the passport.
MY surname is TADOORI and my full name is SHASHI KANTH.In passport it is printed wrongly my surname is left blank and my fullname is shown as TADOORI SHASHI KANTH.HOW should I apply for GRE AND TOEFL as they ask for first name and last nameand also in my 10TH and INTER it is T.SHASHI KANTH.please help me..thanks in advance
Above article clearly explains what you should do if you have empty surname in the passport.
In my passport ,the pin code is printed wrongly its came 2 instead of 3,rest is same…is this creates any problem or can we leave it like that????
please approach the passport office of your region from where you got and correct it
yes it absolutely needed correction
good luck
easwaran
I dont have my lastname in any of the documents(10th,12th,B-tech & passport)and i have to fill online application for GRE what should i do please any one can guide me.
put a .(dot)or -(dash) in place of last name!!
will it not create any problem further.have you done this even in your registration.
dis is the correct way………yes i have done the same for my registration……i have consulted with some GRE experts.
what if i add surname only in my passport and keep all other documents intact this will help me in getting my life easy in u.s to for applying for driving license etc.. will it create any discripency later regarding the identity of my name..
Yes, you can add surname in the passport. It will not have any impact on admission process. You will have problems only if you goto US without Surname in passport.
Bahul – If you don’t know the right answer for sure, it’s better to not mislead with incorrect information.
you know everthing dude…..time will tel whoz wrong…..cheersss!!!!!
My surname is Surapuram
first name is Dilip
In Passport
Surname : blank
Given Name : Dilip Surapuram
In Certificates
Name : Surapuram Dilip
will this create any problem at the time of visa/admission in USA?
What should i fill while applying for GRE?
or should I get change my Surname and given name in passport?
while applying for GRE i should give the passport ref No.
if i apply gre with out changing names in passport and after that can i change the names in passport…will the passport ref No. get changed after correcting my names in passport…?
plz..answer my query!!
hello sir,
My First name is Bahul and in all my document regarding academics and all other personal documents(Passport) i have only my first name ie. Bahul….
I dont have my middle name and lastname in any of the documents,but i have to fill online application for GRE, and the last name is must
So, what should i do now, please guide me .Thankyou!
Bahul – Do you have last name in the passport? If not, you have to add Last name to the passport and then apply for admission, GRE. You will face lot of problems without last name.
no, sir i dont have a last name in my passport!!but from birth i dont have my middle and last name in any of my document till now!!
i have my Btech degree documents with Only my first name i.e. Bahul!!!
Dear sir,
I am now in my 6th sem of engineering from Bangalore,i have very less percentage 63% aggregate so far i also had few arrears.I dont know how to compensate these things to gain admission to a very good university.I want to do MS in NANOTECHNOLOGY so i have so far made two certificate courses on Nanotechnology by distance education its conducted by NSTC,Noida,U.P, will doing this be a very good advantage for my admission also i have attended few workshops and conferences. Can you please tell me what else should be made to make me get through very top universities like Rice University,etc .Please help me email id: bhavyabhushanyadav@gmail.com
i am a south indian and my name in the passport appears as
Surname ……….(blank)
Given Name..Deepak ramachandran
wherin ramachandran is my father’s name…
i have heard that it is necessary to have a last name to live in the us…while some ppl suggest that using my father’s name as last name in future while applying for credit cards and stuff in the us will do some say dat it is necessary that i get my name changed in the passport…plz help!!!
thank u…..would u tell me the rough cost for doing MS program in US, i am from biotech back ground……for fundings what r the certificates needed…….and at last,how much bank balance should we hav ??
@v sudharsan v arma: Yes, you can apply. but, try to make it before end of Jan 2009.
can we apply for universities at the end of this december for fall 2009……..i am planing to retake GRE in start of dec……if we retake GRE is it a disadvantage….
thak u for the reply……
@ v sudharsan v arma
dude these documents that u are talking about proves that you are having genuine interest in the subject for which you are applying to. for instance if you are applying for MS in EE then if you have published some papers at conferences, it will prove that you are a diligent worker with perseverance to work in the PROJECTS of the university’s EE department. This will also increase your chances for funding.
Hi Raghu,
This is an awsome thread. This thread solves so many problems for students who are having lots of questions in their mind. Thanks for starting this. I have a question:-
If you have a choice to choose between UTA and university of Akron for MS in electrical engineering , then which university would you prefer and why?? My Gre score is 1360 , Q= 780, V=580 , awaiting AWA and Toefl score. Waiting for your reply
Thanks and regards
hi……plz clarify my boubt….when we r apllying for universities with our GRE score….how could our certificates help us i.e(paper presentation,trainings,workshop and confernce certificates )
I have received my WAC no in the month of June. And in the month of july1st i received RFE and ansered on Aug11th. now the USCIS status shows that additonal evidence sheet received and case resumed. do you have any idea how long it will take to get an approval. Is there any chances of rejections? Please help me.
@R Vasanth Ragavendran: You could have it corrected at the test center. You will have to apply with correct names, but it depends on the university.
i have a similar question….. my
given name is vasanth ragavendran
sur name is raja sekaran
as per the passport….
but while registering with gre and toefl i have given the name as
first name : R Vasanth
last name: Ragavendran
I completed my gre……and yet to give toefl…….before the exam i asked them whether it would create any problem…they said it is fine,….will it create any problem,,…..please help……..
hey is it ok if i change my name in passport but not in certifictes
wil i get addmissions abroad
Original comment form page
http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/do-you-make-these-11-common-graduate-school-application-mistakes/
hai, my name is Laxmi subhasini my initial is H, in all my marksheets it apeears as H Laxmi subhashini and in my passport it is Laxmi Subhasini Rupesh here rupesh is my last name , and the same is in my gmat and toefl. while ffilling application can I use laxmi subhasini as my first name and rupesh as last name, because i dont want to use subhasini as middle name.pls suggest
@ Lakshmi
While filling the application, you will see an option asking if different names were used in mark sheets, documents,.. There you will need to say your name with Initials H.
@ Sudhanshu
Majority os students in India will have only First name with initials in mark sheets in India. So, thats not a problem. Problem usually come when there is no last name in passport.
hi
i also have a problem with ma first and last name…i have only my first name in my 10th, 12th and my engineering marksheets but i have added my lastname in the passport, as i registered with ETS with my first and last name. I want to know
1. is it ok with only my first name in my degree
certificates and my marksheets?
2. Wat kind of other problems can i face?
hey!!!
Great work. anyways i have a doubt regarding sending additional certificates to the univ! lot of people who came for counseling said there was no use of additional certifi, thy dnt even read certifi of international students!! I have done quite a lot of projects and trainings, i was wondering if this would give me an edge!! could you enlight on this plz!! thanx!!
@ Arun.
When you appeared for Visa, do you remember how your name appeared? Problem will be when schools receive the score report, they will try to match the exact surname and if you fill the application with : Eapen Varughese, they might say your score is not received. So, try contacting ETS and see if you can get it corrected, if not while applying send additional not that your name will appear in first, middle and last name format.
If you still not sure, then send email to graduate school you are planning to apply and see what they say.
Let me know what response you get. So, if someone else asks this question I will be able to answer. Good Luck.
hi..this is arun
According to my passport
Given name :Arun
Surname: Eapen Varughese
But in toefl and GRE:
Given name : Arun
Last name/surname:varughese
Middle name:Eapen
So while Applying to Universities : How shud i fill.According to toefl gre or according to passport.Will there be any problems in admission if i fill like passport.Thank you.
and another Q, is that ,now ia m doing my Btech in Electronic and Control systems ,,, i wud lik 2 do my MS in computers,, is it going to b a problm 4 Visa and others….
http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=6620506744021987357
hi this is tejesh,i 2k my gre got a veyr low score n luking to tak it again in dec,writing my toefl in the last week of oct , my Q:is it going to be late applying for MS fall08?plz giv me a solution for tis.and by the way the INFormation ur giving really very usefull thnx a lot for tat.
my ORKUT profile id is
http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=6620506744021987357
do u know from where i can get the rankings of the colleges, i wnt to know the possible courses i can do as per the market requirement of the market. i am IT graduate planning for masters in US…
what is ur emailid
Prads,
Check this messaage, Arun has the same problem, but he alrready applied for the University and his I-20 cannot be issued.
“hey guys!
my name is Arun Kumar.I have applied to the university of bridgeport for MSEE,spring08….i got a email from the university last week sayin dat i cannot b g1 an I-20…this they say is because in my passport d g1 name states Arun Kumar and d surname feild is empty,they say dat 2 issue an I-20 u need a surname…d problem is i am 4m south India and i do not have a surname as such.just a g1 name…can some1 help me in this case..has d I-20 rule actually been changed?? if yes…wot do i do now?”
Link:
Arun’s profile ID:
http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=8986103861208052310
Message Link:
http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=28459806&tid=2555488984040740446&na=4
Hey hi,
i have got a score of 1160(Q:710 and Ver:450 anat:3.5)in Gre and 104 in toefl but facing probs in univ short listing.i am into CHEMICAL ENGG. i have a avg first class(pune university) in my 5 semesters. i can get good recos 4m my prof. one reco frm a IIT-B prof who was our HOD earlier.
i have thought of
1.Ohio state
2.texas A&M, college station…
my id prodipen@gmail.com
Prads,
Since you already registered with ETS, they will need to verify that name only in the passport, as far I know. If you still have doubts, give a ring to local testing center and they will clarify that. You can also try using Tatkal to get your name changed fast. I think for name change you need to advertise in news paper.
and by the way, i have registered with a name Pradeep K Arora with ETS, so i must get my passport name changed or some authority to write that i have changed my name. but still will it be comfortable?
You could, but in long run you will run into problem that are practical. You will have to change so many records to change the name. Maybe you can try changing your name in passport to say Kumar as last name.
I strongly suggest youto mail some grad school and see what they say.
ok fine, if i use Kumar as my last name and Pradeep as my given name.
Is that possible?
with my surname being blank in the passport, can i use Kumar from Given name as last name??
thanks for replying!
But your life will be very difficult here without last name. You might not be able to apply for credit card, driving license, bank accounts, setting up utility accounts,…
So, think about that.
was that a solution? that was a suggestion, right?
And you know, i cant change my name in India that fast…it takes months here to get it done.
From my experience, you got problems when you come here without last name.
You will be identified by last name and SSN here. You might get admission and visa without last name, but your day to day life activities will be difficult.
If you ask me, I would suggest to add last name to your passport. In South India, we dont have Family names, instead we have our Dad’s name as Last name. So, considering adding your dad’s name as last name.
Again this is a suggestion and you can talk to others, but from day 1 when you think of applying to U.S. last name is must.
My name appears as
Surname ……….(blank)
Given Name..Pradeep Kumar
also my mom and dad’s name on passport don’t contain their last names, only given names are there.
please mail me back if possible.
pradmit@gmail.com
hi,
In my all certificates and passport my name is “Nirajana”. I am planning to split it as Niranjan Aras. I can get name changed in passport. But my question is, is it necessary to change the name in all certificates?. Should I add middle name also? or first& last names are enough?.
Please guide me.