Name on I-751 Form

[usc85 6]

Hi all,

My wife's first name on her foreign passport is hyphenated (Chinese language name). For example, her name is formatted like: "Name-Name Familyname." On her original green card petition, we used the hyphen on all forms. Her green card, however, does not include the hyphen, so her name on her social security card is now "Name Name Familyname" (note the missing hyphen). I even check with USCIS about this and was told that they do not allow hyphenated first names, so the hyphen was dropped. Her greencard is written as "Name N Familyname" -- note that green cards just use the middle initial. So it appears that her first name got split and she now has a middle name, which is the second part of her hyphenated given name.

So how should we write her name on the I-751 form and associated documents? On her other ID cards and accounts (banking,etc), we have been using it like it is on her social security card. Does it seem right to use the "middle name" box on the I-751 form, or should we use the given name box, and write both names with a space, or even with a hyphen, as it is on her passport?

Thanks for any advice! Good luck to everyone with their ROCs.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Hi all,

My wife's first name on her foreign passport is hyphenated (Chinese language name). For example, her name is formatted like: "Name-Name Familyname." On her original green card petition, we used the hyphen on all forms. Her green card, however, does not include the hyphen, so her name on her social security card is now "Name Name Familyname" (note the missing hyphen). I even check with USCIS about this and was told that they do not allow hyphenated first names, so the hyphen was dropped. Her greencard is written as "Name N Familyname" -- note that green cards just use the middle initial. So it appears that her first name got split and she now has a middle name, which is the second part of her hyphenated given name.

So how should we write her name on the I-751 form and associated documents? On her other ID cards and accounts (banking,etc), we have been using it like it is on her social security card. Does it seem right to use the "middle name" box on the I-751 form, or should we use the given name box, and write both names with a space, or even with a hyphen, as it is on her passport?

Thanks for any advice! Good luck to everyone with their ROCs.

You are running into the problems with computer programs and a country tradition for names. In the US we typically have first middle and family name. First name is just that, a single name with no spaces or other punctuation characters. The middle name is typically a single name also and the family name can be anything for the most part.

What does she want the first name on her new GC to be? If she wants Name Name then you might want to enter it as NameName or you can use first and middle with Name Name, but the GC will come like the current one with Name N falimiy name.

Dave