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Different spellings of a surname: a problem?

Key answer

This is common and is explained, not hidden: members added a separate petition section stating that transliteration changed and agencies transliterate differently, attached all passport versions and a birth-certificate translation, or a notarized affidavit that all spellings are the same person. The form has a field for all name variants and pseudonyms - every spelling goes there, while the petition text sticks to one name. Some cases were approved with no explanation and no questions, but members have seen several RFEs picking on inconsistent spelling. You can ask the translator to note that translations were made from two languages for the same person.

Community answers

The answers below are translated from the original Russian - the language of the community chats.

  • I have three passports with different spellings of my first and last name. I created a separate section in the petition explaining that the transliteration has changed constantly; government agencies even translate it differently, claiming these are equivalent and correct translations, and everywhere I am the same person.

  • Some names have different transliterations that change based on the transliteration rules in effect at the time. I have various spellings of my name in many documents, and this cannot be corrected: it concerns diplomas and certificates, and even my passports have different spellings. I will attach all versions of my passports, the translated birth certificate, and all copies of visas showing how my name is spelled differently.

  • I attached a notarized affidavit stating that all three spelling variations of my name refer to me, along with an explanation of the transliteration. There were no questions.

  • The form requires listing all name variants or the presence of a pseudonym, so all spelling variations need to be included. In the petition itself, I would write a single sentence saying that my name in Cyrillic is the original, so there can be variations in the translation: one in the documents and a simpler version in media. And in the text of the petition, stick to one name: if you are originally Alexander, then be that until the end, without any Alex or Sasha.

  • I have seen several RFEs from different officers regarding inconsistencies in name spelling. This is a drop in the ocean in terms of frequency, but two RFEs are already more than once, so it's better to explain in advance.

  • We have the same situation; we did not provide explanations and wrote the entire petition as it appears in the passport, and included evidence as is, with some surnames spelled with one letter and others with a different one. We received approval with no questions. But this is not advice, just sharing our experience.

The answers are anonymized community experience from the public chats, not legal advice. Officers may decide similar cases differently.

Sources

All questions on: The petition and formattingAll questions on: Document translationsAll questions on: Process and timelinesAll questions on: EB-1AAll questions on: O-1 visa

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A reference page built from community experience, not legal advice. Requirements and practice change - verify on uscis.gov.

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