Comment from Nived
I understand that last name is very important in US. I don’t have a surname in my passport. Surname field is blank. My given name is Nived XXXXX. So
wherever I had to submit my last name, I printed it as XXXXXX.I received an I-20 from UTD. I had mailed them a copy of my passport. Understanding that I don’t have a surname, they printed Nived XXXXX as my
surname and left my first name field blank. International Office at UTD explained that this is the procedure they follow for
candidates without surname in passport. They claim no problems have been reported yet from previous students.I understand that VISA application form, I-94, US custom’s form etc asks for Family name and First(given) name. Please advise me on how to fill these.
HSB Reply
If you have read the articles, you will know by now that you can get Visa without last name. But, you will run into lot of problems without surname. They don’t issue SSN with you don’t have surname.
You need SSN for pretty much everything. Time and effort you have to put to change your passport in India is very less compared to problems you will face if you don’t have surname.
Most of you in your situation will agure that I’m not going to change names in passport and come to US. Consider this as a warning of things you will run inot without surname.
Changing your last name after coming to US will be more troubles. Since you will have visa that will say FNU. It’s upto you.
Nived Reply
I read it. I have already downloaded the form to change my name is passport. Thanx a lot my well-wisher
Blank Surname in Indian Passport
We have posted several articles explaining the importance of having Surname in your passport even before take GRE Exam. We came across the following experience posted by someone in a forum who had FNU in US visa and process he had to go through to get it fixed. If you are student, going through this process will be time consuming and costly.
Steps to change the Name in Passport in US
Rules are strictly followed here. Only thing we need to wait for a long time.. This is what I did to correct my name everywhere
- April 2005 – FNU – Passport, Visa
- July 2005 – because of this SSN got delayed for 4 months and received with FNU
- July 2005 – DMV refused to give license, because they cannot give license with FNU.
- July 2005 – Enquired local newspapers in Philly – They told that I need to get court order number
- July 2005 – Went to court, they said that I need to show proof of my residence for 6 months, and should contact attorney for name change.
- August 2005 – Talked to attorneys – they said I need to give 100 $ consulatation + actual charges of name change
- August 2005 – I have decided to give up, but at last try, I have enquired with Desi newspapers in NJ for name change advertisement. They agreed to give advertisement with 40 $ charge
- September 2005 – I gave the ad in NJ, and in Chennai India.
- September 2005 – Went to Indian Embassy NYC, they said, I need to wait for 1 month time after ad date(b cos somebody will object for this name change… I dont know how they will come to know, if somebody objects!!)
- October 2005 – I applied for Passport Name change
- October 2005 – Received with proper lastname, firstname in passport after 3 weeks time
- November 2005 – With this I went to SSN office for name change
- December 2005 – I got the SSN with changed name
- In the mean time, everywhere my name went as FNU Siva(Insurance, Bank Acct, Utility bills, Pay Check, etc..)
- December 2005 – Initiated everywhere to change my name
- December 2005 – Applied for Driving License -
- January 2006 – Failed 2 times in road test – (I need to unlearn my aggressive car driving habit learned over 2 years in India..
) - February 2006 – Today I have passed my road test and received my license, W2 forms, Insurance card and other documents with my changed name…Got relieved from FNU everywhere!!!..
The whole process took me 10 months time (purchased car in December 2005 only after correcting everywhere)…
Lessons learned : Don’t give up. Follow the system, Dont have to break the rules to get your things done…
hi,
this is jubeda , I too have same problem that no surname in my passport. how can I apply to visiting visa , there may be any problem, but without surname the application form is not showing the next step
Hi,
First of all great blog to help people appreciate it !!
My Case is:
Passport:
Surname: Blank
First Name : XXX YYY
VISA
Surname: YYY
First Name: XXX
I-94
Surname: YYY
First Name: XXX
I am going to apply for SSN soon, will this cause a problem? Though FNU is not mentioned any where
Appreciate the reply !
Hi
I have FNU (first name ) and Manish Kumar (last name ) on Visa, I-94, SSN and driving licence. As first step I corrected name in passport (split name Kumar (last) Manish (First). Now how easy it will be correct in other places like SSN and DL. ? because these 2 offices go by I94 . do I have to fill I120 form and pay 340$ fee for chnage in I94. I have no plan to travel India but soon change the status. Please advice..
passport officer refused “kumar” as surname
in my passport, i had manish kumar in first name column, and surname column is blank. i went to passport office for correction, but they refused to accept it as they said “kumar” is not a proper surname , rather it is a middle name. so they refused to accept my application for “kumar” surname.
i need urgent help in this matter
Manish, which consulate did you go?Kumar is accepted as last name. oneof my friend has kumar as last name.
i went to jaipur psk. they refused and asked me to contact rpo jaipur. and showed against my ARN as absent.
also if u can mail me a copy of his passport , so that i can convince officials and solve my problem
Take appointment with USCIS office and go with both passports, they will correct the SAVE system and give you new I-94 free of cost.
Then wait for 2 weeks and go to SSN and update it
i want to apply for citizenship i have already 5 years in U.S.A but inmy greencard they put my last name as my first name and first name as my last name what should i do.
Hi HSB,
I was going through your blogs and it was good and helpful. I have a different doubt , plz clear me in this sense.
I named my Kid as Eshaan. And i wanted his name to be appear as “Eshaan MS” ( MS – is my husband name and my Name initials) . Is it possible to get a Passport with
I have read through the application procedure , it was written as initials should be expanded.
I dont want my Kid name to be too long… as well as i wanted to get all his certificate and passport to be alike.
What can be done to make this….Kindly suggest me…
Hi HSB,
I have received my work permit H1B(I-797B form) with correct surname ‘DHANAPAL’ but in passport its ‘DHANABAL’ which is actually not correct.
For Work permit approval verification have submitted docs to UCIS for VISA stamping.
Please advice ,what should I do know..
Whether , can I correct the surname in passport. if so i will be getting new passport number.. will it be ok to do this as i have submitted docs to UCIS???
or
Can I send request letter to US CIS consulate to change my surname whatever present in Passport?
Regards
Siva
Is it ok if i have my surname mentioned on passport and other legal documents(birth certificate,aadhar card.license),but no surname on my educational certificates while applying for visa and also for applying for higher education.
i have no surname. and by reading this article i wish to add a surname since i am planning to travel to US. can anyone please suggest what to do?
thank you.
Add a surname and fix your passport while you are in India
No surame in Passport:
I have received my work permit (H1B) without surname. Now if i change my name in passport before going for stamping, will it help me or it creates more trouble due to change in name in work permit and passport?
Please advise.
No need to worry, It won’t create any problem. It is good to get your passport fixed first.
Hi Thouseef,
I have the similar problem I have got the petition approval Notice. But has Surname as “No Name Given”.
If I fix the passport then go for Stamping, will this create trouble for stamping ?
Please advice how your experience.
Thanks
Hi HSB,
I have the same problem-I removed my surname since childhood as I dnt like it and In my passport the given name is printed as Axxx Sxxx and surname is blank while in visa..i have my name as FNU Axx Sxxx (given)(surname). I am on F1 visa and my name on ssn is spelt as unknown axxx sxxx and I was rejected when I filed for the fedral tax returns as the names did not match in the Tax form and SSN. My SSC, BIRTH certificate and also the degree certificates, they all have the name as Axxx Sxxx. Is there any way I can rectify this? Can u please explain me the procedure in detail. Can I split and keep axx as first name and sxxx as last name? If yes, kindly tell me the procedure. Please reply me asap. Thank You.
Hello HSB,
I don’t have surname in my passport and applying for US B1 visa, whether it creates any problem to issue the B1 Visa or any chances to reject B1 visa ? Please let me know asap to proceed further ?
No, issue for B1. I have B1 Visa without Surname.
Dear HSB,
As I am continuing my pursuit to change my name in Indian Passport and US visa.
In indian passport I have to rearrange my name to get a surname.
In US visa get rid off FNU from first name.
However,the above procedure does not work.Going to Indian passport office here in US will only change the name in passport not in VISA.
I need to get my name changed in VISA too ..
How would i do that..
In Reply to Srinivasan Lakshmi,
I also faced the same problem as the DMV office is refusing me a driving license even though i corrected my name in passport, SSN and H1b and I94. They are saying the names are not matching in my SSN and Visa. I went to the Immigration Office and asked them how to get my Visa updated with my corrected name ( did name split due to FNU problem), but they replied saying VISA cant be updated and I have to leave USA and come back where I would be issued a new VISA with the corrected name. Now the only option for me to get a driving license is to go to another office which does not look into my passport/Visa.
hello all, My Indian passport printed my surname blank and they printed my surname along with my given name and I applied H4 visa without correcting the issue and I went to stamping at HYD, The US embassy issued H4 Visa with my First name FNU and Last name entire my Given name from my Indian passport. I got H1 approval in 2012 and I approached SSN office to apply SSN, They told that they will issue my SSN as it appear on my I-94. They asked me whether you have Driving License in US, I said yes, and asked do you hold ITIN ? I said yes and they asked do you have bank account?? I said yes. then she issued a letter saying that your SSN will be issued only we after verifying with Immigration services, if they not authorize we cant issue your SSN. This process will take 4 to 6 weeks to get final results.
I am really tensed I am sitting in US on H4 visa for more than 2.5 years now GOD bless I got H1 but they SSN application is making me tensed. I dont know whether I get my SSN or not???
Please help me in case any one faced same similar problems in getting SSN.
Regards
SVNM
Hi SVNM,
I am also facing some problem like you .
Did you get your SSN Card?
If yes… how many weeks they have taken to issue your SSN Card?
Regards,
ABC
For me because of FNU issue. it took 2 months to get SSN
Oh ok.
But that did not answer my question.
Whether I will have my visa with my new name.
I have same FNU problem in my VISA.
I am in a process to get it sorted.
I needed some clarity.
Did the person get it resolved by publishing his name change here in US desi newspaper and in INDIA
or did he get a state order issued.
Thank you for this blog.It is was great relief to find it.
One more question.
Do the India embassy issue a new passport with name change in both visa and passport.
I am not sure if they do both.
HSB :Can you provide me some information please.
With Name Change I know they issue new passport. My guess is that they give the old passport (like how you renew) with cancelled stamped on it.
I got a new passport for name change( name split actually) with the previous passport cancelled but it also said that the VISA’s in my cancelled passport are still valid.
Chris
How could you correct name in SSN , I-94 or DL after split name in passport.. Based on your comments I understand you removed FNU from your name .. thanks
Hi,
I don’t have any surname in my educational documents. Should I give same name in my passport or will I have to provide a surname in it. won’t it make any problem if my passport contains my surname but my qualification documents don’t have it?
your soonest possible reply will highly appreciated.
Thanks,
ABN
Hi HSB,
All the while , I was thinking my situation was one of a kind till I came across this blog.
I read the post & my one question for you would be.,
were you asked to submit any documents while requesting for name change advertisements by the news paper agencies back in India as well as in US. if so, what did you submit…
My problem is , I want to get my surname added to the passport but none my educational certificates has surname on it.. Your suggestion is much appreciated
Thanks in advance
Hey,
I read all posts but i still have one query, In passport my surname is blank, and given name is Manoj Kumar, Now my H1-B is under process without surname. So definitly I will Get FNU in Visa .
Now what i think:-
1,What if I re-Issue my passport with correct details after getting the Visa, coz I will be having some time between getting visa and travaling to US. It means I will have FNU on visa, and a new passport with correct details.Will that work??
I might sound stupid but just out of curiosity I asked it. Else will have to follow the solutions given above.
regards
manoj
Manoj, Did went ahead by getting new passport with correct details in India itself before traveling to US?
I have same problem and I am still in India and will be traveling by next month. So i still have time to get it changed in India but not sure if this will create any issue?
Let me know if you got it corrected before you traveled. I have never traveled to US and this will be my first time…
Before going to VIsa…get your passport fixed…that is the best solution
Hi
I recently received my Visa for US for B1-B2 category.
My GIVEN name in the passport is ANJALI and my SURNAME is BLANK
My VISA is stamped as: FIRST NAME : FNU
SURNAME : ANJALI
My TICKETs are book as ANJALI ANJALI as I have travelled to other countries like this.
Will there be a problem in entry in US .
I need your help urgently as I have to travel in 2 days.
Many thanks.
Anjali
Hi Anjali my situation is similar to you,
In passport Surname is Blank and Given Name is Manoj
While in VISA: Surname Manoj and Given Name : FNU
Hi Manoj and Anjali,
Even I have the plz let me know, if we have some procedure to change or if there is going to be some problem if we continue with the same
I had the same issue,
I reached US with no hassels,but was stopped at when boading a domestic flight in the US. Luckily managed through by showing the last name on my credit card (you may not be lucky always).
Have the ticket booked without a last name, if the online system doesnt allow you to do so talk to the flight carrier , they can defintly issue you a ticket with out a last name ..
MORAL : ENSURE THE NAME ON THE TKT AND PASSPORT IS EXACTLY THE SAME..
Hi HSB,
Spelling mistake
In my Passport my surname is misspelled to DEWANGAN but all my other documents (Transcripts, degree, PAN, GRE, TOEFL etc ) with spelling DEVANGAN
V has become W in passport.
Please let me know what kind of the problem I may face. ?
What should I do to avoid the problem ?
Thanks
LOkendra
I have received no reply from this website. I have gone through all the articles but no one has discussed about the spelling mistake in surname.
As I understand Surname is Very IMP. I have my surname misspelled as DEWANGAN in passport but all other documents DEVANGAN.
Which Spelling should I use while filling forms for US University.
HSB Please reply I am stucked it here. Should correct my spelling name by visiting passport office or what . do to?
????
??/
Thanks
Lokendra