Correct (Americanized) Vietnamese Name Ordering?

[ToNhi 21]

I've seen numerous posts about this topic, but I am still confused. For my Fiancee's paperwork, passport, and K-1 visa her name all matches, which is: 

Surname: Nguyen (Example)

Given Name: Thi Thu Trang (Example)

Her airplane ticket is in this order. 

In Vietnamese, her surname would be "Nguyen", her middle name "Thi", and her Vietnamese Given Name is "Thu Trang". A lot of Vietnamese have 2 names as their First Name. (Last, Middle, First #1, First #2)

 

For Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) purposes, we know we should match it exactly like how it appears on her I-94 entry form (Thi Thu Trang Nguyen).

For everything else, including our upcoming Adjustment of Status (AOS) paperwork, Removal of Conditions (ROC) paperwork, rental/lease agreements, employer health, dental, vision insurance, utility bills, and credit card/bank statements,
Should the correct 'American Name Order' be:

Trang Thi Thu Nguyen (First #2, Middle, First #1, Last) or 

Trang Thu Thi Nguyen (First #2, First #1, Middle, Last) or
Thu Trang Thi Nguyen (First #1, First #2, Middle, Last) 

It's a bit awkward for my Fiancee to get used to having her name switched around which I am sure everyone here (and their relatives and spouse) has had to deal with as well when first coming to the states. 

Thank you so much!

 

- Tony
 

[Phamas 10]

7 hours ago, ToNhi said:

I've seen numerous posts about this topic, but I am still confused. For my Fiancee's paperwork, passport, and K-1 visa her name all matches, which is: 

Surname: Nguyen (Example)

Given Name: Thi Thu Trang (Example)

Her airplane ticket is in this order. 

In Vietnamese, her surname would be "Nguyen", her middle name "Thi", and her Vietnamese Given Name is "Thu Trang". A lot of Vietnamese have 2 names as their First Name. (Last, Middle, First #1, First #2)

 

For Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) purposes, we know we should match it exactly like how it appears on her I-94 entry form (Thi Thu Trang Nguyen).

For everything else, including our upcoming Adjustment of Status (AOS) paperwork, Removal of Conditions (ROC) paperwork, rental/lease agreements, employer health, dental, vision insurance, utility bills, and credit card/bank statements,
Should the correct 'American Name Order' be:

Trang Thi Thu Nguyen (First #2, Middle, First #1, Last) or 

Trang Thu Thi Nguyen (First #2, First #1, Middle, Last) or
Thu Trang Thi Nguyen (First #1, First #2, Middle, Last) 

It's a bit awkward for my Fiancee to get used to having her name switched around which I am sure everyone here (and their relatives and spouse) has had to deal with as well when first coming to the states. 

Thank you so much!

 

- Tony
 

 

Trang Thi Thu Nguyen (First #2, Middle, First #1, Last)
 

I am going thru that now too with my paper work.  
 

My mom had the same thing too where her paired first name was put as her middle name.

I call my fiancée by her First #2 but when I want to get her attention I do the full name haha 🤪

 

 

 

 

[ToNhi 21]

@Phamas Thank you so much, Davis! And sames (calling my fiancée by her full first name)! It always catches her by surprise. 😂

[Liam2021 583]

23 hours ago, ToNhi said:

I've seen numerous posts about this topic, but I am still confused. For my Fiancee's paperwork, passport, and K-1 visa her name all matches, which is: 

Surname: Nguyen (Example)

Given Name: Thi Thu Trang (Example)

Her airplane ticket is in this order. 

In Vietnamese, her surname would be "Nguyen", her middle name "Thi", and her Vietnamese Given Name is "Thu Trang". A lot of Vietnamese have 2 names as their First Name. (Last, Middle, First #1, First #2)

 

For Social Security Administration (SSA) and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) purposes, we know we should match it exactly like how it appears on her I-94 entry form (Thi Thu Trang Nguyen).

For everything else, including our upcoming Adjustment of Status (AOS) paperwork, Removal of Conditions (ROC) paperwork, rental/lease agreements, employer health, dental, vision insurance, utility bills, and credit card/bank statements,
Should the correct 'American Name Order' be:

Trang Thi Thu Nguyen (First #2, Middle, First #1, Last) or 

Trang Thu Thi Nguyen (First #2, First #1, Middle, Last) or
Thu Trang Thi Nguyen (First #1, First #2, Middle, Last) 

It's a bit awkward for my Fiancee to get used to having her name switched around which I am sure everyone here (and their relatives and spouse) has had to deal with as well when first coming to the states. 

Thank you so much!

 

- Tony
 

You really don't need to made thing more complicated. Thi Thu Trang Nguyen is a correct name(this is happens a lot due to the name on VN passport ). Keep everything simple and all the same: GC, SSN, DL, Bank. You can correct the name order later for your fiancée when apply for N400. 

[TimmyT 0]

I agree her name should be Trang Thi Thu Nguyen.

 

My question is at what point do you want to start correcting her name? I heard stories where you can have the fiancée’s name corrected when getting the marriage certificate.

 

Then when applying for GC, just show the marriage certificate and have the name corrected there as well. From that point on, her name will be the correct one on every other legal document.

 

Not sure about SSN though. Might have to match the passport still.

[TimmyT 0]

On 11/17/2024 at 6:13 PM, Phamas said:

 

Trang Thi Thu Nguyen (First #2, Middle, First #1, Last)
 

I am going thru that now too with my paper work.  
 

My mom had the same thing too where her paired first name was put as her middle name.

I call my fiancée by her First #2 but when I want to get her attention I do the full name haha 🤪

 

 

 

 

Would you mind sharing the experience, when you get all that done? I.e. which document they allow the name correction, and which they don’t, etc…

 

much appreciated!

[Phamas 10]

On 11/21/2024 at 8:08 AM, TimmyT said:

Would you mind sharing the experience, when you get all that done? I.e. which document they allow the name correction, and which they don’t, etc…

 

much appreciated!

Sure! I am still early on the process.  Our interview will be in December or January.  But I do know when this occurs.  When marriage occurs her name will be her VN name because it will be her legal name at the time.  After marriage, and applying for AOS is when we'll request for name change.  She wants to take my last name and adopt a similar pattern like mine.  [US name] [Viet Name] [Last Name].  Then every document after that will use her new name. SSN, GC on the I485, driver license then her VN passport.  

 

SSN, green card and passport are the major documents that will be updated.

 

 

[ToNhi 21]

Hmm, so would it be best to apply for the name change when applying for AOS (I-485), like @Phamas mentioned, or when applying for naturalization (N-400), like @Liam2021 suggests?

Also, do most Vietnamese drop their "middle name" (Văn for male/ Thị for female) when they apply for the name change? Do they allow that? So essentially her name will be [Thu Trang] [Nguyen or Phan (My Last Name)] without the 'Thị' after the name change. From 'Thi Thu Trang Nguyen' to 'Thu Trang Nguyen' or 'Thu Trang Phan'. 

My immigration consultant said to keep everything consistent and all the same with the name on her USCIS account, K-1 Visa, and Vietnamese Passport like @Liam2021 said to avoid mixups between different government agencies (Federal, State, City, etc.) so her name would be essentially 'Thi Thu Trang Nguyen' until we start her name change process later on.

 

Edited November 24 by ToNhi

[Phamas 10]

3 hours ago, ToNhi said:

Also, do most Vietnamese drop their "middle name" (Văn for male/ Thị for female) when they apply for the name change? Do they allow that? So essentially her name will be [Thu Trang] [Nguyen or Phan (My Last Name)] without the 'Thị' after the name change. From 'Thi Thu Trang Nguyen' to 'Thu Trang Nguyen' or 'Thu Trang Phan'. 

I think it depends on your community.  I don't live around many Vietnamese people so it was easier for my family to assimilate to America by having an English name.