Urgent: Surname in the Visa does not match Family name in the Passport (Tunisia specific)

[stm 61]

Hi All,

 

This is specific to TUNISA. So if there is members from Tunisia that went through this please share your feedback.

 

Tunisian passport has a different way to fill "surname" then other countries for married women. It will have maiden name + "EP" + last name of the husband. See example below: 

 

Maiden Name: AAA BBB

Husband name: CCC DDD

 

In the passport will be:  Surname AAA BBB EP DDD  (which means AAA BBB married to DDD ).  

 

My issue is that in the US immigrant VISA did not do the same which makes passport surname mismatches visa Family name .  In the passport they put  Family name: AAA BBB DDD . There is no EP)

 

Thanks 

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from General Immigration-Related Discussion to the MENA regional forum, for country-specific input ***

 

[stm 61]

I checked with the embassy and they confirmed they printed name even though it is missing "EP" is correct and that's how they do it. Just in case someone faces this issue

[Aventrella 4]

On 9/16/2022 at 4:04 PM, stm said:

I checked with the embassy and they confirmed they printed name even though it is missing "EP" is correct and that's how they do it. Just in case someone faces this issue

My problem is my fiancés last name is Maherzi but his passport says Meherzi. He doesn’t want to be stuck with the wrong spelling. He never changed it because he said to them it’s the same. 

[milimelo 4,477]

24 minutes ago, Aventrella said:

My problem is my fiancés last name is Maherzi but his passport says Meherzi. He doesn’t want to be stuck with the wrong spelling. He never changed it because he said to them it’s the same. 

That's something you'd want to fix before the interview. 

[Aventrella 4]

1 hour ago, milimelo said:

That's something you'd want to fix before the interview. 

I didn’t realize it until now and his interview for b2 is next week. He needs to renew his passport before he will get k1 interview tho

[stm 61]

On 11/8/2022 at 4:02 PM, Aventrella said:

I didn’t realize it until now and his interview for b2 is next week. He needs to renew his passport before he will get k1 interview tho

Can you clarify more the spelling in : birth certificate, passport and application.  What is not matching?  

I am assuming his birth certificate does not match the passport, you should fix the passport first.  he cannot travel if the passport is about to expire anyways  (6month I think so it is better to fix that now and take care of it)

[Aventrella 4]

7 hours ago, stm said:

Can you clarify more the spelling in : birth certificate, passport and application.  What is not matching?  

I am assuming his birth certificate does not match the passport, you should fix the passport first.  he cannot travel if the passport is about to expire anyways  (6month I think so it is better to fix that now and take care of it)

His birth certificate is in Arabic but the translated English one says Maherzi. The passport is just an error that has never been an issue for him because to them it’s the same thing. Vowels are interchangeable in Arabic. His passport is good until July and he plans to visit in December 

[stm 61]

10 hours ago, Aventrella said:

His birth certificate is in Arabic but the translated English one says Maherzi. The passport is just an error that has never been an issue for him because to them it’s the same thing. Vowels are interchangeable in Arabic. His passport is good until July and he plans to visit in December 

I see. I recommend taking care of it and make spelling match. I am not sure why he does not request a french birth certificate (Tunisia provides arabic and french versions, for the french version you can tell them how to spell the name ) and then use that for english translation and all other immigration stuff. That's how I did from Fiance visa to citzenship and family visa applications. Easier for every body and cleaner 

 

Good luck 

[Aventrella 4]

22 minutes ago, stm said:

I see. I recommend taking care of it and make spelling match. I am not sure why he does not request a french birth certificate (Tunisia provides arabic and french versions, for the french version you can tell them how to spell the name ) and then use that for english translation and all other immigration stuff. That's how I did from Fiance visa to citzenship and family visa applications. Easier for every body and cleaner 

 

Good luck 

The English one we have says the correct spelling. Only the passport has the wrong vowel. He has flown domestically with it and his plane tickets had correct spelling and it was never mentioned. 

Edited November 10, 2022 by Aventrella