I-94, Middle Name in Wrong Spot. Immigration won't correct

[n0rea11y 0]

Guys, I have an issue here and would appreciate any feedback. Name changed to protect the innocent

My Fiancee, Mary Lee Smith and I filled out the appropriate I-129F form putting her middle name, Lee, in the correct field for middle name. She was eventually approved, interviewed and granted a K-1 Visa. She entered the country successfully using her Brazil passport and K-1 Visa and was provided a I-94 form. A few days later we went to the SSN office and the agent informed us that the immigration officer had put her middle name LEE attached to her first name instead of the middle name field. So the SSN agent granted my fiancee a SSN card but put her in the SSN computer with the first name Mary Lee and last name Smith. They advised visiting the immigration office and ask if the I-94 could be corrected.

My fiancee and I went to the immigration office, and the officer reviewed her passport and i-94 and basically said the i-94 was correct that her first name was Mary Lee and last name Smith. The reason the stated this was because Brazil's passport makes no distinction between first, middle or even last name. Her name on her Brazil passport is Mary Lee Smith. Seems ridiculous to me but this was their stance.

Now, my question is this. We have just been granted a wedding license and we had put in her name correctly as First: Mary Middle: Lee Last Name: Smith.. Will this cause us an issue down the road? The fact that in one system, I-94, SSN her first name is Mary Lee and on our marriage license her first name is Mary..

The only option I see is either leave it as is or LIE on our marriage license and change her first name to Mary Lee. Recommendations???

[Harsh_77 718]

It seems the screw up is coz of the passport, there is no distiction on her passport.

Immigration will go by whatever the name is on the passport. If her First Name is Mary then on her passport it should be FN=Mary & LN=Smith and not

FN=MaryLee and LN=Smith.

[n0rea11y 0]

It seems the screw up is coz of the passport, there is no distiction on her passport.

Immigration will go by whatever the name is on the passport. If her First Name is Mary then on her passport it should be FN=Mary & LN=Smith and not

FN=MaryLee and LN=Smith.

I would tend to agree to you. Her name is written on the passport as Surname: Smith Given name: Mary Lee. She tells me that's just how Brazil lists the middle name on their passports as their is no field for middle name. I doubt Brazil sees it as an issue or would correct it. In fact she contacted the Brazil Consulate and they said none of this should be a problem and to get married and change names. My only issue is knowing how to list her name going forward... To put her middle name with the first on the ongoing change of status requests and marriage license...

[Harsh_77 718]

Would she have birth certificate or any other govt issued document that clearly states that Lee is the MN.

If you want to get it fixed your fiancee will have to get it fixed on her passport saying her FN is printed wrong when they issued her the passport.

Maybe someone from Brazil on here can help you more about it, unfortunately I am not aware of things in Brazil and how they work.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Why would this be a problem? Can you tell me the distinction between two first names and a first and middle? Both are given names, and the names are in the correct order. Apply for AOS in proper name and change SSCard when EAD or GC comes. Also you could try to talk to CBP again with other forms of ID and ask for a supervisor. I really think this is minutia.

[Harsh_77 718]

Why would this be a problem? Can you tell me the distinction between two first names and a first and middle? Both are given names, and the names are in the correct order. Apply for AOS in proper name and change SSCard when EAD or GC comes. Also you could try to talk to CBP again with other forms of ID and ask for a supervisor. I really think this is minutia.

CBP supervisor is not going to do anything, he would just follow wht is on the passport, FN,MN and LN all are given name, but they are different that reason they are spelled out seprately...

[cartaverde 12]

It's not just Brazil that does not use the concept of middle names.

My passport, birth certificate equivalent forms etc, ALL list only first names/given names, AND last name/s. There is no field for middle names in the civil registry either. So in the case of a new middle name, one should decide simply whether it is to be treated as a first name or as a last name, and then it will be listed on the appropriate field.

So in your example, if Mary Lee were both first names, they would be listed under first names.

If her first name was Mary, and she took Lee as a middle name (previous last name, mother's last name, your last name etc - I know not really relevant with Brazilian naming customs) and Smith as her last name, then both Lee and Smith would be treated as last names.

Perhaps easier to grep this concept if she was before, say, Mary Dourado or Mary Lee Dourado, and married a Mr Smith, and wanted now to become Mary Dourado Smith (with or without the Lee part).

If Mary Lee is listed as first names for all the documentation, then use them as first names. Even if no one ever calls her Mary Lee.

But if you list Mary as first, and put Lee on the middle name field, it's not going to be the end of the world. As long as all correct names are listed in the correct order, as in documentation. So either works.

In the places without the concept of the middle name sometimes people have 3 or even 4 names listed as first name, even if in 99,5 % cases only one of the names, or their diminutive, is used for the first name in practical purposes.

For practical reasons, I consider my second first name as a middle name, as I don't use it for anything other than a letter between first and last name, and I don't want anyone to call me with that name. So for practical purposes it can be a middle name.

(However, I'm considering changing my middle name in a few years, to be something that would not be considered a first name).