Name transliteration question on I-129F

[N0mad 16]

My fiancee has her name spelled weirdly (Mariia) on previous B-1 paperwork and her загран-пасспорт (zargran-passport). Can we put the correct spelling (Maria) on I-129F form for K-1 visa (and then mention Mariia as other names on later forms (i.e. DS-230), or do we have to state her first name exactly as it appears in zagran-passport and deal with renaming her on later paperwork years later (after naturalization)?

[CM&KV 72]

For my husband he has 3 transliterations of his name... Ukrainian into English, and Russian into English, in russian his patronymic name has 2 different spellings. Here is what I did.

 

Main name is what is listed in his  external passport (the one to travel out of the country), since these need to match.

Listed as other names, his Ukrainian transliteration and  the different spelling of his patronymic name, I even went as far as to make a note on the attachment saying these are transliterations.

When we got his birth certificate, divorce certificates, police records (Ukraine and Russia), and his children's' birth certificates  made we had them match the spelling of the passport he was going to have the Visa stamped into.

We didn't seem to have any issues about this. I also wanted to make sure we covered all of our bases since he has travelled to the USA on his Ukrainian passport and Russia passport in the past, each time was either on a B-1 visas or a J1 visa.

[N0mad 16]

36 minutes ago, CM&KV said:

Main name is what is listed in his  external passport (the one to travel out of the country), since these need to match.

Listed as other names, his Ukrainian transliteration and  the different spelling of his patronymic name, I even went as far as to make a note on the attachment saying these are transliterations.

So based on what you're saying, we would need to use "Mariia" for now since that's what her zagran-passport states? Do you know if we'd be able to change it to "Maria" at the time of obtaining our marriage certificate in US (since we will be changing her last name to match mine anyway)?

[payxibka 10,045]

5 minutes ago, N0mad said:

So based on what you're saying, we would need to use "Mariia" for now since that's what her zagran-passport states? Do you know if we'd be able to change it to "Maria" at the time of obtaining our marriage certificate in US (since we will be changing her last name to match mine anyway)?

Depends on what names are allowed to be changed by the state you get married in.  Massachusetts allows surname change only while Minnesota for example,  allows all three names to be changed 

Edited September 18, 2019 by payxibka

[CM&KV 72]

3 minutes ago, N0mad said:

So based on what you're saying, we would need to use "Mariia" for now since that's what her zagran-passport states? Do you know if we'd be able to change it to "Maria" at the time of obtaining our marriage certificate in US (since we will be changing her last name to match mine anyway)?

I am not 100% sure, I remember reading when you go for citizenship you can change the spelling of your name (please correct me if I am wrong here). This is what my hubby wants to do. His name starts with a K in Russian, and the person that did the transliteration kept it as a K, when it could have been a C.

 

For our last names, I took off of his, but he has the male version while I took off with the female. Our marriage certificate had nowhere stating my new last name. So it was a PITA when I went to get my drivers license, luckily I had gone to the Social security office 1st. 

[millefleur 5,046]

10 hours ago, N0mad said:

So based on what you're saying, we would need to use "Mariia" for now since that's what her zagran-passport states?

Yes, she will have to be "Mariia" if that's what her foreign passport says. You HAVE to use what is in the passport. My husband has the same problem - his name ends with "-ii" (instead of just "-y") in the transliteration. He even went to the passport office in Russia to see if he could get it changed, and they said no. It's really frustrating but the Russian government stands by their new weird name transliterations.

 

10 hours ago, N0mad said:

Do you know if we'd be able to change it to "Maria" at the time of obtaining our marriage certificate in US (since we will be changing her last name to match mine anyway)?

Check with your local state law. Name change laws go by state. Most states do not allow you to change the first name except via court order. You need to find out what the local laws are and if she can do that.

[HP+IC 292]

Don't make your life harder, go on I-129F with what her valid загранпаспорт says. Or have her apply for a new one with Maria if her name was ever spelled that way before on expired passport. If she doesn't have a patronymic on her foreign passport, don't mention it on your paperwork. Knowing that I corrected the spelling of my name to something acceptable in the USA but my son has had a passport by then with no opportunity to change it. So be it, his school in NYC is full of Dariias, Mariias even Iuliias and they are not the most difficult cases out there. Really, no one cares. If she really does, she will change it at naturalization.

PS: it is better to abstain from changing her last name after marriage unless you have a very strong reason to do so. The amount of paperwork upon arrival is overwhelming, and topping it with a fresh name change will make it even harder. I am really happy we were advised not to change my last name until naturalization.

Edited September 19, 2019 by HP+IC

[N0mad 16]

8 hours ago, HP+IC said:

Don't make your life harder, go on I-129F with what her valid загранпаспорт says. Or have her apply for a new one with Maria if her name was ever spelled that way before on expired passport. If she doesn't have a patronymic on her foreign passport, don't mention it on your paperwork. Knowing that I corrected the spelling of my name to something acceptable in the USA but my son has had a passport by then with no opportunity to change it. So be it, his school in NYC is full of Dariias, Mariias even Iuliias and they are not the most difficult cases out there. Really, no one cares. If she really does, she will change it at naturalization.

PS: it is better to abstain from changing her last name after marriage unless you have a very strong reason to do so. The amount of paperwork upon arrival is overwhelming, and topping it with a fresh name change will make it even harder. I am really happy we were advised not to change my last name until naturalization.

One of the reasons for wanting to change last name is that she doesn't want name ambiguity/confusion for our future children, which we'll likely have before naturalization.

[millefleur 5,046]

5 hours ago, N0mad said:

One of the reasons for wanting to change last name is that she doesn't want name ambiguity/confusion for our future children, which we'll likely have before naturalization.

To change the FIRST name (Mariia -> Maria), get a name change via court order. Check your local state laws regarding the matter. It will take time and cost $$$, but if she is really adamant about having the spelling be different, this is most likely the only way to do it before naturalization.

 

If she successful changed the spelling of her name via court order, she would then need to re-apply for a Russian загранпаспорт with the new spelling of her name. Then she would have to do an I-90 (which costs money) to get the green card updated in the new name. So prepare for mountains of paperwork and to spend up to $1000 dollars just to get rid of that double "ii" if you don't want to wait for naturalization. She would also have to get a new SSN card as well with the new spelling of the name, which is free but takes time. 

 

So this is the path you're looking at if you want to change the first name before naturalization.

Edited September 19, 2019 by millefleur

[HP+IC 292]

5 hours ago, N0mad said:

One of the reasons for wanting to change last name is that she doesn't want name ambiguity/confusion for our future children, which we'll likely have before naturalization.

It might really matter to her, but to someone under 5? Also, even in terms of pre-school and elementary school admissions the child is not expected to fill in forms requesting their parents' names. Millefleur above gave a good insight upon what you are going to experience and it is up to you whether or not it is worth it.

[Prizm123 1,086]

My wife's name had to be spelled Nataliia on all of the paperwork, this includes the plane ticket, social security card etc, so use it exactly as it is spelled on the passport

[Elina87 0]

pls kindly advise, my fiance indicate my surname in petition 119-f as "Babayan" but based my passport it is "Babaian" is this can be reason if objection of our K-1 process? Can they consider that this two different people?

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,092]

9 hours ago, Elina87 said:

pls kindly advise, my fiance indicate my surname in petition 119-f as "Babayan" but based my passport it is "Babaian" is this can be reason if objection of our K-1 process? Can they consider that this two different people?

Depending on where you are in the process, you may be able to send a correction as a fix for a typo to USCIS.

 

If not, I'd just consistently match your passport in future documents (until/unless you're going to change your surname after marriage) and indicate the other spelling in 'other names used'. USCIS and the state department are aware that many non-Roman-alphabet languages do not have consistent transliterations.

[millefleur 5,046]

15 hours ago, Elina87 said:

pls kindly advise, my fiance indicate my surname in petition 119-f as "Babayan" but based my passport it is "Babaian" is this can be reason if objection of our K-1 process? Can they consider that this two different people?

You should put alternate spellings under "Other names used" in the future.

 

Whatever is in your (foreign) passport will be your official legal name in the US.