poor English translation on Russian passport

[llj45 0]

Hi,

First, I wanted to thank the people who reply to this post.

Now, my questions:

1) will a very poor English translation on my wife's Russian passport cause her any problems during the process of getting her K-3 visa?

2) will these potential problems occur during processing in the United States and / or at the embassy in Moscow?

Thanks!

LLJ45

[slim 1,525]

First of all, what is a "very poor English translation?"

Did they mess up and put the country of birth where the name is supposed to go, or are you referring to something like her middle name is petrovna and they spelled it peterofna?

Either way, keep in mind the employees of the U.S. embassy in Moscow can read both Russian and English, so a translation of any sort is really a non-issue. She shouldn't have any problems on that end.

Here, like when you file your original submission for K-3 packet to the service center, they don't know what the hell it says in the Cyrillic script anyway, so all they're going to be able to look at is the English. Ensure you file all the papers with what it says in the English, and you should be fine. Correctly spelled or not. She has an ID number, so as long as they can match her ID numbers, birth date, address, etc., she is who she (and you) says she is and they can go ahead and issue the NOA II.

Main thing with all this paperwork, keep it consistent. If it says it this way on this form, make it say it that way on all the forms. And make sure all the numbers match up.

[llj45 0]

Hi, Slim and everyone :-)

Thanks for the post! - Slim

The poor English translation is:

EDVARDS MLADSHAYA .

In English, it should be:

EDWARDS JR .

Her new name in Russian is correct on her Russian passport.

All the other information on her Russian passport is correct.

The Russian marriage certificate has the completely correct new name.

The internal Russian passport has her new name correctly translated into Russian.

I have heard that the US Embassy in Moscow will correct these translation mistakes

in her Russian passport on another page near the front of the passport.

Is this fact really true?

Thanks!

With Respect,

LLJ45

******************

First of all, what is a "very poor English translation?"

Did they mess up and put the country of birth where the name is supposed to go, or are you referring to something like her middle name is petrovna and they spelled it peterofna?

Either way, keep in mind the employees of the U.S. embassy in Moscow can read both Russian and English, so a translation of any sort is really a non-issue. She shouldn't have any problems on that end.

Here, like when you file your original submission for K-3 packet to the service center, they don't know what the hell it says in the Cyrillic script anyway, so all they're going to be able to look at is the English. Ensure you file all the papers with what it says in the English, and you should be fine. Correctly spelled or not. She has an ID number, so as long as they can match her ID numbers, birth date, address, etc., she is who she (and you) says she is and they can go ahead and issue the NOA II.

Main thing with all this paperwork, keep it consistent. If it says it this way on this form, make it say it that way on all the forms. And make sure all the numbers match up.

******* ORIGINAL POST *******

Hi,

First, I wanted to thank the people who reply to this post.

Now, my questions:

1) will a very poor English translation on my wife's Russian passport cause her any problems during the process of getting her K-3 visa?

2) will these potential problems occur during processing in the United States and / or at the embassy in Moscow?

Thanks!

LLJ45

[Kotenochek 0]

Not sure I got it right,but as I know American embassy does not ask notarized translations if they are in Russian.so if there is a mistake why dont you make another one on your own correct?

[llj45 0]

Not sure I got it right,but as I know American embassy does not ask notarized translations if they are in Russian.so if there is a mistake why dont you make another one on your own correct?

Hi, Kotenochek :-)

Thanks for your response!

Since the translation is on a Russian passport, I can not make another translation on her already completed passport.

My wife can apply for another passport. However, we have been directly told by the chief boss for the region in Barnaul the translation will be the same. Only by changing her married name in Russian, would her passport be translated differently in English!

Will I be able to get a K-3 visa for my Russian wife using a Russian passport with this poor translation?

The poor English translation is:

EDVARDS MLADSHAYA .

In English, it should be:

EDWARDS JR .

Again, thanks for your post!

LLJ45

[slim 1,525]

Keep in mind, the only thing she'll be using her passport for is entry and USCIS bull$#!t. After that, you can change her name through Social Security to anything you want it to be. File your AOS stuff with USCIS with the new name, and voila! all of her American documents are now in the name you want them in.

Once you've rolled through AOS and all that good stuff, she'll only need her passport when travelling back to Russia or internationally to supplement the Green Card, and there's enough supporting documentation that someone checking the IDs and Passport together can legally overlook a spelling error.

[Turboguy 6]

Just go to your local courthouse and have your name legally changed to EDVARDS MLADSHAYA and the problem is fixed.

[llj45 0]

Keep in mind, the only thing she'll be using her passport for is entry and USCIS bull$#!t. After that, you can change her name through Social Security to anything you want it to be. File your AOS stuff with USCIS with the new name, and voila! all of her American documents are now in the name you want them in.

Once you've rolled through AOS and all that good stuff, she'll only need her passport when travelling back to Russia or internationally to supplement the Green Card, and there's enough supporting documentation that someone checking the IDs and Passport together can legally overlook a spelling error.

Hi, Slim

Thanks for the second posting! Very helpful! Thanks!

I have been reading and doing research on my wife's passport situation. I have two new questions:

1) when we get to the US Embassy in Moscow for her interview and she gets the visa,

will the US Embassy help the situation with the poor translation from her passport by putting the correct translation on her visa? or writing the correct translation of her name in English on a page of her passport near the front page of her passport?

2) what would happen if I started filing for K-3 the I-130 and I-129f etc. with her correct English name as show on her Russian marriage certificate? Perhaps, I could write the incorrect name near the correct name on these forms with an arrow pointing to the correct name?

I have read on the Internet of both of these events happening and working for or helping other people. I want to hear your thoughts. :-)

LLJ45

[Turboguy 6]

My two cents worth would be that the visa would be issued in whatever name you filed on the 129 and 325 forms. Personally I think writing the incorect name with an arrow would be a big mistake and it would confuse them. Hopefully someone will know for sure.

[slim 1,525]

I agree with TG on this one. More info will probably just confuse the USCIS folks, so use the golden rule of govt. paperwork.... KISS. Keep it simple, stupid.

You should fill out all forms for the govt. so there's no deviation what-so-ever on any of the forms. If her translated name is Edvards Mladshaya, keep it that on the other forms.

NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR NAME CHANGES!!! Now is the time to keep all the paperwork consistent and ensure it all gets properly completed and approved. You can change her name later.

To answer your above questions:

1. I am unsure what the embassy will do. Seems they change policy about as often as the Bush administration changes it's reasoning behind the Iraq war. That said, there have been reports of women being stopped at exit control because of a discrepency between their married and maiden names on a Russian passport and an American Green Card. If she were to have all the names exactly the same, there should be no discrepency and her exit from Russia and subsequent entry to America should not be questioned.

However, if you were to get it cleared up at the embassy, they may have a better way of doing it all. It is my understanding that the Russians will not recognize American paperwork and the Americans will not recognize Russian paperwork. If I were a guy checking IDs at the airport in the U.S. and you came up to me with your U.S. passport and a note signed "the govt. of Russia accepts this guy with the new name XXXXX" I would politely tell you that since I don't work for the Russian government, that paper means nothing to me. But, we all know how many American visas pass through Russian exit control, so maybe they do have a system in place.

2. If you file papers with a name not on her passport, they're going to have to check and recheck all her other paperwork to ensure you're submitting the form for the right person. Expect an RFE for more than one thing and maybe even a request for a resubmission with corrected paperwork. (Maybe even an office visit.)

My suggestion on this whole issue; submit everything with the name in her passport. That is her official name, afterall. Include your marriage certificate in the packet with an attachment letter to explain the discrepency in the name translation and your intent to legally change her name after entry to the U.S. Once you get to the AOS stage, you resubmit everything anyway, and you can change her name to whatever you want at that time by simply filling in the correct translation then. After her Green Card is issued (with the correct name) you can submit papers to the Russian consulate here in the U.S. and have an amendment made to her Russian passport saying "Edvards Mladshaya is now known as Edwards"

It's going to be a work in progress and it's going to take a long time to clear up, but in the mean time, just roll with the misspelled name for the sake of easing confusion and hastening along the entire process. Remember to KISS!

[llj45 0]

I agree with TG on this one. More info will probably just confuse the USCIS folks, so use the golden rule of govt. paperwork.... KISS. Keep it simple, stupid.

You should fill out all forms for the govt. so there's no deviation what-so-ever on any of the forms. If her translated name is Edvards Mladshaya, keep it that on the other forms.

NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR NAME CHANGES!!! Now is the time to keep all the paperwork consistent and ensure it all gets properly completed and approved. You can change her name later.

To answer your above questions:

1. I am unsure what the embassy will do. Seems they change policy about as often as the Bush administration changes it's reasoning behind the Iraq war. That said, there have been reports of women being stopped at exit control because of a discrepency between their married and maiden names on a Russian passport and an American Green Card. If she were to have all the names exactly the same, there should be no discrepency and her exit from Russia and subsequent entry to America should not be questioned.

However, if you were to get it cleared up at the embassy, they may have a better way of doing it all. It is my understanding that the Russians will not recognize American paperwork and the Americans will not recognize Russian paperwork. If I were a guy checking IDs at the airport in the U.S. and you came up to me with your U.S. passport and a note signed "the govt. of Russia accepts this guy with the new name XXXXX" I would politely tell you that since I don't work for the Russian government, that paper means nothing to me. But, we all know how many American visas pass through Russian exit control, so maybe they do have a system in place.

2. If you file papers with a name not on her passport, they're going to have to check and recheck all her other paperwork to ensure you're submitting the form for the right person. Expect an RFE for more than one thing and maybe even a request for a resubmission with corrected paperwork. (Maybe even an office visit.)

My suggestion on this whole issue; submit everything with the name in her passport. That is her official name, afterall. Include your marriage certificate in the packet with an attachment letter to explain the discrepency in the name translation and your intent to legally change her name after entry to the U.S. Once you get to the AOS stage, you resubmit everything anyway, and you can change her name to whatever you want at that time by simply filling in the correct translation then. After her Green Card is issued (with the correct name) you can submit papers to the Russian consulate here in the U.S. and have an amendment made to her Russian passport saying "Edvards Mladshaya is now known as Edwards"

It's going to be a work in progress and it's going to take a long time to clear up, but in the mean time, just roll with the misspelled name for the sake of easing confusion and hastening along the entire process. Remember to KISS!

Thanks to Slim and TG on these answers and help information! :-)

After I made my last post, I called the Embassy in Moscow. I received a similar answer about filing the forms with the incorrect name consistently! In case someone reads this message later wishing to call the US Embassy in Moscow about a visa related question, they should call using these digits from inside Russia and outside of Moscow 8 495 787 31 67.

Thanks!

LLJ45

[slim 1,525]

I received a similar answer about filing the forms with the incorrect name consistently!

I've done quite a bit of government paperwork in my short life. The rule was always, "if there's a mistake, at least make it a consistent mistake." Seems the State Dept. follows a similar procedure to the Defense Dept.

[Satellite 1]

In case someone reads this message later wishing to call the US Embassy in Moscow about a visa related question, they should call using these digits from inside Russia and outside of Moscow 8 495 787 31 67.

If you want to get the same answer without calling and paying the outrageous fees, you can always Email the Embassy.

[llj45 0]

In case someone reads this message later wishing to call the US Embassy in Moscow about a visa related question, they should call using these digits from inside Russia and outside of Moscow 8 495 787 31 67.

If you want to get the same answer without calling and paying the outrageous fees, you can always Email the Embassy.

Hi, Satellite :-)

Thanks for the post!

Actually, I have emailed the Embassy as well. However, I have not received an answer. How long should I wait for an answer before I resend the email message?

Thanks, Lloyd

[Satellite 1]

Actually, I have emailed the Embassy as well. However, I have not received an answer. How long should I wait for an answer before I resend the email message?

Wow, thanks for the post. The three times I have emailed them, once about attending the interview, and the other times about non-immigrant visa questions I got responses the next day. I'd give it a week and then resend. Obviously if you have encountered a problem days before the interview, you must call.