No Last Name/Surname/Family Name on fiance's passport/birth cert. But he has one. What do we do?

[Zelena2 1]

I am getting all the forms together to start the process of immigration. I am filing out the I-129F and my fiance does not have a surname on his passport or birth certificate. He does have a family name, but it is not on any official documents and it will take too much time and money to change it in his country. For some reason the family name was not issued to his grandfather and some old records disappeared during WWII that make it very difficult to form a paper trail of proof. I can form the connection through his grandmother and great grandmother, who both have the family name, and it is was custom to marry cousins within the family to keep the family name.

What do we do?

Do we:

1) Fill out the application with his family name and explain everything in the documentation / cover letter?

-OR-

2) Fill out the application WITH OUT (LEAVE BLANK) his family name and explain everything in the documentation / cover letter?

- If I leave the surname blank will he be assigned a surname? At what point? What is the process? How is it determined?

I called USCIS and they told me that is was up to the officer who reviews the paper work, I did not clarify with them if this was during or after approval. She did not say if either way was better, just said that whatever we submit, it is up to the adjudicating officer

Does anyone have any experience of this?

--------------------------------------------

Only those with REAL knowledge need reply. If you answer with "might" or "maybe" you will be ignored as those answers are not helpful and only feed the confusion of the nightmare of this paperwork process. I can make (and have made) perfectly good assumptions on my own, now I want facts about the process.

This comment was not made to offend anyone that wishes to help. But I have read the forums about beneficiaries with no surnames and have seen posts like "If you leave it blank, they may think you forgot to fill it in, and RFE you.". Even though it is perfectly acceptable to leave it blank as per the current instructions. When you use terms like "may" or "maybe" or "might" your answer is not helpful, and therefore not acceptable.

If you have been denied or returned for more information, please let me know. If you left the surname blank for your beneficiary please tell me what happened, if they have a surname name now and how it was given (except in the form of the wife taking the husbands name after marriage since my husband will not be taking my last name .

Thank you, for understanding.

[JIJourney 96]

No offense but for you to say answers like "maybe" or "might" are not helpful that is a big no no. Especially this being your VERY first post. All of us here on VJ are here to help the best possible way we can..

If I were you I would get all those paperworks changed to have his family/surname. It is worth the extra month getting that all ready.

[Zelena2 1]

No offense, but I am only clarifying that I only want facts, not opinions. I've read the forums and I see opinions everywhere....I am not interested in opinions, I am interested in experiences!

I am sick of having time slip away where I can't be with my fiance. And I want to move forward.

And its not just an "extra month" getting all that ready. I have waited an extra 3 months now, with no end in sight, it will take years to straighten it out in his country. So we have resolved that he will keep his documents in his country as they are and we will figure out what we can do in the US.

But thank you for your response, I agree that it would have been worth the "extra month" if that were the actual case.

[JIJourney 96]

No offense, but I am only clarifying that I only want facts, not opinions. I've read the forums and I see opinions everywhere....I am not interested in opinions, I am interested in experiences!

I am sick of having time slip away where I can't be with my fiance. And I want to move forward.

And its not just an "extra month" getting all that ready. I have waited an extra 3 months now, with no end in sight, it will take years to straighten it out in his country. So we have resolved that he will keep his documents in his country as they are and we will figure out what we can do in the US.

But thank you for your response, I agree that it would have been worth the "extra month" if that were the actual case.

no problem. if you have any more questions just feel free to ask! good luck!

[Boiler 44,081]

This seems a Consulate specific question.

Maybe you might want to have it moved to the appropriate regional forum.

[Zelena2 1]

Boiler, how is this a "Consulate specific question"? What does that mean? What region would it be moved to?

I am filling out the I-129F. It goes to the USCIS first for approval.

Thank you for your response but don't understand, please clarify.

[Boiler 44,081]

You want to know how it will be addressed, how these issues are handled is Country specific.

I have not come across the situation in the UK, seems common in India, but whether India and Malaysia deal with it the same way, I have doubt.

[Zelena2 1]

So are you saying to me that the officer who reviews the I129f is not the one that approves the name, it's the officer that will speak to my fiancé when the papers are sent Malaysia and he continues the process there before flying over?

Thank you again.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

I saw this on the US embassy website for India (which obviously isn't Malaysia):

http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/nonimmigrant_visas/frequently-asked-questions.html

"Why does my visa say "FNU"?

If you have only one name, or if your name appears in one line in your passport, your full name goes in the surname field and "first name unknown", or "FNU," goes in the given name. We recommend obtaining a new passport with given and surnames if possible."

In this case, it appears he will enter the US without a first name which will probably become a problem when attempting to get employment or driver's license, etc.

[Girl from Celebes 588]

So are you saying to me that the officer who reviews the I129f is not the one that approves the name, it's the officer that will speak to my fiancé when the papers are sent Malaysia and he continues the process there before flying over?

Thank you again.

USCIS only deal with I-129F. So my opinion is that I agreed with you this step only deal with USCIS first. One of my friends here, Bob, dealt with same situation with you. For USCIS stage, he only put FNU as I remember he told me. After approval, he just found out that his fiancee's name on her passport different from her birth certificate. So, he tried to change the name on the birth certificate since it was a mistake. He stick with all information he put on I-129F. Based on that, the US embassy in Jakarta does not make a big deal if a beneficiary does not have surname.

If you want to talk to him, I can give you his profile link.

[TheCaptain 67]

All people on here will be giving information based on might/maybe/opinion....., each case is individual and what happened with one case may not be valid for the next. Your getting FREE information. If you feel inclined you are more than welcome to pay a lawyer to deal with the process for you, then you can be confident that the process will be followed correctly.

One name WILL cause problems.... It could be tomorrow, it could be in 6 months or even a year but they are much less likely to be questioned in the future if they have a valid first and last name.

I wish you all the success in the world but the immigration department likes normal/average/cookie cutter applications and anything outside that will impede the speed of the application.

Edited August 4, 2014 by TheCaptain

[XXXYYYZZZ 20]

Having only one name in this region is pretty common; USCIS and the local consulates know this. If the government issued birth certificate and passport only have one name that's what should you go with. Usually on the passport they will write the name twice for first and surname name. I've worked with two Indonesians who had the names Happy and Superman. No joke. Their Indonesian passports and ID's were issued as Happy, Happy and Superman, Superman. They were both issued 10 years B2 visas for corporate training in the US using the same names for both spaces with no issues. Although Superman said he always got pulled aside by CPB for further scrutiny but was let in after CPB had a laugh.

I'd double check with the local consulate but I'd just write the name twice for both spaces. I had to contact my consulate to find out how to write the wife's name because they use a different order in Vietnam. The consulate strengthened me out.

[Soloenta 2,218]

I am getting all the forms together to start the process of immigration. I am filing out the I-129F and my fiance does not have a surname on his passport or birth certificate. He does have a family name, but it is not on any official documents and it will take too much time and money to change it in his country. For some reason the family name was not issued to his grandfather and some old records disappeared during WWII that make it very difficult to form a paper trail of proof. I can form the connection through his grandmother and great grandmother, who both have the family name, and it is was custom to marry cousins within the family to keep the family name.

What do we do?

Do we:

1) Fill out the application with his family name and explain everything in the documentation / cover letter?

-OR-

2) Fill out the application WITH OUT (LEAVE BLANK) his family name and explain everything in the documentation / cover letter?

- If I leave the surname blank will he be assigned a surname? At what point? What is the process? How is it determined?

I called USCIS and they told me that is was up to the officer who reviews the paper work, I did not clarify with them if this was during or after approval. She did not say if either way was better, just said that whatever we submit, it is up to the adjudicating officer

Does anyone have any experience of this?

--------------------------------------------

Only those with REAL knowledge need reply. If you answer with "might" or "maybe" you will be ignored as those answers are not helpful and only feed the confusion of the nightmare of this paperwork process. I can make (and have made) perfectly good assumptions on my own, now I want facts about the process.

This comment was not made to offend anyone that wishes to help. But I have read the forums about beneficiaries with no surnames and have seen posts like "If you leave it blank, they may think you forgot to fill it in, and RFE you.". Even though it is perfectly acceptable to leave it blank as per the current instructions. When you use terms like "may" or "maybe" or "might" your answer is not helpful, and therefore not acceptable.

If you have been denied or returned for more information, please let me know. If you left the surname blank for your beneficiary please tell me what happened, if they have a surname name now and how it was given (except in the form of the wife taking the husbands name after marriage since my husband will not be taking my last name .

Thank you, for understanding.

Very easy this is common in the Middle East, If his name was lets say Mohammed Abbas Masoud Elsayed then Mohammed Abbas would be his first name Masoud his middle name and Elsayed his last name or Mohammed first name Abbas his middle name and Masoud Elsayed his last names either way it works and is accepted. Good luck. M

[MUXAGIRL 69]

If you fiance's name is, say, John, without anything else as last name, you need to fill out the form as following,

Last Name: John

First Name: FNU

FNU means first name unavailable. Many Asian countries including India allow for people to have only given name on the passport without a last name and it's not a problem except filling out paper work for US visas etc. in the US you must have a lat name. In the absence of one, the entire given name turns into last name and the first name is FNU.

Even if you fill it out as it is on the passport, with only first name and no last name, when it comes to issuing visa, they will put FNU for first name and his given name as last name on the visa. It's no big deal, don't worry too much about it. No need to go for a name change, unless he really wants to.

BTW, I am speaking from my own experience, you are welcome to follow my advice only if you want to.

[MUXAGIRL 69]

Given that surnames make life easier and you fiancé has none, may be he should look into getting your last name to make his life easier once he is in US. Why is it so that he can't take your last name? Also, concrete information regarding your case can only be provided to you by a PAID lawyer, here we are a bunch of DIYers who learn from trial and error, and try to help out ANONYMOUSLY. it's up to you take our advice to the bank ;-)