Potential Problem - two last names

[athena_ny 1]

Drama!

This does not need to be a big deal, right? You'd think that the DMV, USCIS, SSA could get it together. A friend of mine is Colombian and when she graduated from NYU last spring they gave her a hard time because she wanted both of her last names on her diploma. They wanted her to get a document notarized for this. That is ridiculous.

I think it's a bit easier for Brazilians only because their final last name is their commonly used last name - not like Hispanic cultures.

I'm not sure how much my husband used both names before he came here, but now he doesn't want the A name on anything. I understand - if it gets put on there, they use that as his name name and usually drop the middle name and make the C name an intial (M*** C. A********) when he's sitting there THAT'S NOT MY NAME! It really pisses me off when we go to the DMV and stand there saying, "His passport has four names, he's telling you to use these three, not THOSE three" -- if it were a simple case of, we have to have what's on the passport on the license, we would understand. But it's them picking and choosing for him when he tells them different.

Your poor friend ... my husband wouldn't have that problem, he never uses the second last name (I think he's decided it's easier to ignore it ... kind of like I wanted to change my initials to A G B C so I could sort of keep my maiden name but not have to use it like with a hyphenation. American culture operates with three names so it was either change them to A B C (which is how I now inital things, no one knows the difference, to me B is still part of my name) but legally it's really A G C (Athena Gabrielle sounded too good to lose). I decided it was too much of a headache to do the four names.)

[bora bora 1]

I'm going to make it simple - lose my father's last name take my soon-to-be husband's. At least now my initials won't be MAD.

You're right about how we're used to a three-name-deal. My mom said they always give her a hard time. When she was divorced she went back to her maiden name and when remarried just added my step-dad's.

She uses his last name on a daily basis but her legal name is long and she said it's a pain.

[athena_ny 1]

I'm going to make it simple - lose my father's last name take my soon-to-be husband's. At least now my initials won't be MAD.

You're right about how we're used to a three-name-deal. My mom said they always give her a hard time. When she was divorced she went back to her maiden name and when remarried just added my step-dad's.

She uses his last name on a daily basis but her legal name is long and she said it's a pain.

I took my mother's advice that I'd wind up dropping either the G or the B eventually, migrating back to the system I'd grown up with. Decided to save myself the headache

[GabachaYucateca 0]

I had this problem when getting my work permit in Mexico, except it was the opposite. Immigration was upset because I only have one last name. They kept wanting my mother's maiden name to be used as my second surname. But my mother's maiden name is actually my middle name, so they wanted my permit to have Melissa S O S as my complete name.

I eventually won the argument, but I got all red in the face and flustered during the process.

[Nessa 23]

Well I only had one last name, luckily my parents made me the favor to only give my dad's last name instead of having my name followed by my mom's last name followed by my dad's last name (which I would hate cuz I really love my dad's last name and hate my mom's).

Anyway, even tho his first last name isn't a middle name in Brazil in the States it would be considered a middle name right? For example, his name is Paulo Ribeiro Costa, in Brazil both Ribeiro and Costa would be his last name, but in the States Paulo would be first name, Ribeiro would be middle name and Costa last name, makes perfect sense doesn't it?

Well answering your question, which I forgot what it was already, I don't think putting his first last name as his middle name will be a problem, since here it would really be considered a middle name that is between his first and last name, right?

[flutter95 4]

Geez, I thought I had a hard time with two middle names!

[bora bora 1]

Thanks Nessa!!

You answered my question the best. I feel better about the situation now.

I'm almost done with the paperwork (still doing everything because I don't mind - and he doesn't know English well yet). Now all we have to do is get married

[koolaidman23 0]

My wife's Visa states her first name as Flavia, Middle name: Cristina Carneiro Pi, last name conley. She hates her name. Carneiro Pinto Conley? (Conley is an anglicization of Congalauch, which is Gaelic for "fierce as a wolfâ€).

Flavia Cristina Sheep ####### fierce as a Wolf? Not to mention that Flavia means "golden haired" in Latin, she is Morena, and Cristina means "follows Christ" and she is not religious....

It is just too much

Edited April 18, 2007 by koolaidman23

[Nessa 23]

You quite welcome, Meredith

My wife's Visa states her first name as Flavia, Middle name: Cristina Carneiro Pi, last name conley. She hates her name. Carneiro Pinto Conley? (Conley is an anglicization of Congalauch, which is Gaelic for "fierce as a wolfâ€).

Flavia Cristina Sheep ####### fierce as a Wolf? Not to mention that Flavia means "golden haired" in Latin, she is Morena, and Cristina means "follows Christ" and she is not religious....

It is just too much

:lol:

[seldi 1]

My hubby has 2 last names too, he kept them both, but man, what a headache!!

[Mrs. B 0]

I need some advice - especially from people who have gone through this.

When I filled out the I-129F months ago (I'm the USC) I put down both of my fiance's last names. He's Brazilian and Brazilians have at least 2 last names.

All of the paperwork I sent (G-325A and other documents to the consulate) were all sent in the same way.

However, his visa states that his last name is his final last name S and gives his first name Eliton and his 1st last name G as if it were his middle name.

So it says last name S - given names Eliton G.

The immigration officer in Miami gave us a hard time because of this and even crossed out his first last name G and left only his final last name S on the I-94. Therefore, he got his SSN as in Eliton S and left out his "middle name" all together.

His state ID was listed as Eliton G S. (As G being his middle name - again).

Now that I'm completing the AOS forms I'm writing that Eliton is his first name, G is his middle, and S is his last name - just as his visa states. When his complete name is written out it is correct. In Brazil they use the final last name as the last name.

But G is not really a middle name.

So...will this be a problem? Should I include an explanation? I don't want problems, delays, or RFEs because of this.

Thanks in advance.

you need to fill the forms as it shows in the passport.... or in the K1 visa...

in my case ( i am not brazilean) but i am hispanic...

i filled things like this

(first name) (middle name) (lastname of father/lastname of mother)

so my 2 last names became ONE last name..

when i changed my name to married name..

i kept my fathers last name n then took my husband's last name... put them together by a "-"

and even tho in real life it is 2 last names it counts as ONE...

check his visa and passport and see how they wrote the info there.. they compare information you write to the one on the passport, if not all the last names are on the passport then you can write them if you want on the "other names" space.

just my opinion.

[athena_ny 1]

I need some advice - especially from people who have gone through this.

When I filled out the I-129F months ago (I'm the USC) I put down both of my fiance's last names. He's Brazilian and Brazilians have at least 2 last names.

All of the paperwork I sent (G-325A and other documents to the consulate) were all sent in the same way.

However, his visa states that his last name is his final last name S and gives his first name Eliton and his 1st last name G as if it were his middle name.

So it says last name S - given names Eliton G.

The immigration officer in Miami gave us a hard time because of this and even crossed out his first last name G and left only his final last name S on the I-94. Therefore, he got his SSN as in Eliton S and left out his "middle name" all together.

His state ID was listed as Eliton G S. (As G being his middle name - again).

Now that I'm completing the AOS forms I'm writing that Eliton is his first name, G is his middle, and S is his last name - just as his visa states. When his complete name is written out it is correct. In Brazil they use the final last name as the last name.

But G is not really a middle name.

So...will this be a problem? Should I include an explanation? I don't want problems, delays, or RFEs because of this.

Thanks in advance.

you need to fill the forms as it shows in the passport.... or in the K1 visa...

in my case ( i am not brazilean) but i am hispanic...

i filled things like this

(first name) (middle name) (lastname of father/lastname of mother)

so my 2 last names became ONE last name..

when i changed my name to married name..

i kept my fathers last name n then took my husband's last name... put them together by a "-"

and even tho in real life it is 2 last names it counts as ONE...

check his visa and passport and see how they wrote the info there.. they compare information you write to the one on the passport, if not all the last names are on the passport then you can write them if you want on the "other names" space.

just my opinion.

It only counts as one to you. My husband would never want both his last names to appear as one, he doesn't use his mother's last name - he wants his name to appear the way it should on his green card which to him, is the three names.

[natty bumppo 297]

Drama!

This does not need to be a big deal, right? You'd think that the DMV, USCIS, SSA could get it together. A friend of mine is Colombian and when she graduated from NYU last spring they gave her a hard time because she wanted both of her last names on her diploma. They wanted her to get a document notarized for this. That is ridiculous.

I think it's a bit easier for Brazilians only because their final last name is their commonly used last name - not like Hispanic cultures.

I always used my last names as "middle names" in all the documents filled and never had any problem with that. Now I have my husband's last name too, so it means 3 last names. I use to fill up the forms with my name, 2 middle names and a last name. It works for the US ....where you are just the father's child, and the mother is nobody important enough, but the mother. This is not personal, just cultural.

In Brazil we are not only son/daugher of your father...you also "belongs" to your mother, so everyone will have both names....mother and father...to keep their name as an "inheritance" or something like that...and I didn't want to get rid of any of them, becuse it also means my grandparents name, etc... I had the right to remove one of the names after the marriage but I didn't want. In the past it was always the mother's name, but now you can choose even not to change or maybe the husband will change.