I don't know what to do now

[Guest Duke]

I wouldn't be alarmed about her error. It is apparently a fairly common one. Some have filled out the papers correctly and had the names incorrectly separated later by either USCIS or GUZ. I expect a fax to GUZ at as soon as they get the paperwork in hand would solve the problem but a call to Dept of State for their take, couldn't hurt.

Yes, that correct for middle name only errors.. but the alarm might be they have ended up the wrong name all together; wrong first name and wrong middle name... A completely different person if you will. In effect, the approval occurred for a different named person. (this is the problem I see); USCONGUZ has stated that errors on the G-325 are not that big a deal, but those on the I-129F could result in problems...

 

But I would agree not to get over alarmed.. just do what needs to be done...

 

Duh! I missed that. With all the switching around I didn't notice the order was actually shuffled too. Here's to hoping the name can be corrected with a fax and without much delay in processsing.

[david_dawei]

My wife's given name is two characters: Zi Xuan.. but everywhere, including the passport, we put it as: Zixuan .. and that's how it shows EVERWHERE... Even in the US, we show her name always like this...

 

I would say that most everyone on CFL follow this convention.. and/or usually gives this advice... put N/A as the middle name...

 

Of course, if one wants to split it up..do as you want. The moral of the story is: Be CONSISTENT.

 

P.S. Interesting that you came up with the same character reversal error in your example of three names

 

David, do you know/remember what your wife's Chinese passport says? Zi Xuan or Zixuan? I would imagine that it's listed as Zi Xuan.

 

I definitely agree with the be consistent part. Whatever you use, be consistent.

 

The Chinese would refer to her as WANG Hong Mei, not Hong Mei WANG. That's why I used WANG Hong Mei in reference to her Chinese passport.

My wife's chinese passport (and all notarial translations) have: Zixuan (one word) !!

 

 

Duke.. I missed it too at first.. had replied and then re-read the original thread and realized the dual mistakes... then changed everything I said...

[SirLancelot]

My wife's chinese passport (and all notarial translations) have: Zixuan (one word) !!

 

 

Alright. then I stand corrected. If the Chinese government is combining the two names into one (Zixuan instead of Zi Xuan or Hongmei instead of Hong Mei) then who am I to disagree.

 

First and Last name convention is it.

[david_dawei]

My wife's chinese passport (and all notarial translations) have: Zixuan (one word) !!

 

 

Alright. then I stand corrected. If the Chinese government is combining the two names into one (Zixuan instead of Zi Xuan or Hongmei instead of Hong Mei) then who am I to disagree.

 

First and Last name convention is it.

I'm going to stand corrected on something as well... I questioned why you also made the same mistake as the OP... showing her name as:

 

First name: Mei

Middle name: Hong

Last name: Wang

 

it was just too coincidential.. and your command of chinese made me want to quickly do some research.. And what I found agrees with you (and the OP) stated, technically from the chinese perspective.. and I realized my wife had explained this to me at one time, and I just didn't quite understand it at the time...

 

That the chinese name order for three characters is:

 

SURNAME Given_Name,

 

where Given_Name may be one or two characters..

 

and when two characters the first one is technically considered the middle (obviously, it's the middle character) , and is usually not freely choosen as all the children will often has the same "middle [character] name". The last character then is truly the 'given name', and is given by the parents...

 

When I got my chinese name from my wife, my middle name is "DA".. and when her sister got married to a western guy, he got the same middle name, "DA".. the final character for each of us was given more freely...

 

---

 

All this side, for US purposes, I still stand by the conventions previously discussed as time has shown this the best practice.. I'll create a new topic covering the past issues encountered by members, what to look out for, and what I feel are the best practices to follow..

[warpedbored]

I would advise using the same format that her passport has her name as in pinyin. That way all travel documents match.

[david_dawei]

I would advise using the same format that her passport has her name as in pinyin. That way all travel documents match.

This does seem to be the best advice, relative to the passport... In this case, she doesn't have a passport yet...

 

I wonder if it's better to have a passport prior to doing all paperwork, or waiting later till one sees if any problems arise [that they don't appear to be able to fix]... I'm thinking mostly of a person without a passport at the start of the process...

Edited November 13, 2006 by DavidZixuan (see edit history)

[Guest Duke]

I would advise using the same format that her passport has her name as in pinyin. That way all travel documents match.

This does seem to be the best advice, relative to the passport... In this case, she doesn't have a passport yet...

 

I wonder if it's better to have a passport prior to doing all paperwork, or waiting later till one sees if any problems arise [that they don't appear to be able to fix]... I'm thinking mostly of a person without a passport at the start of the process...

 

I think it's far better to have a passport prior to filling out petitions and supporting documents. It's also better to obtain all non expiring notarial translations in advance. That way you can spot any conflicts or problems as well as using the English translations as guides.

[david_dawei]

I would advise using the same format that her passport has her name as in pinyin. That way all travel documents match.

This does seem to be the best advice, relative to the passport... In this case, she doesn't have a passport yet...

 

I wonder if it's better to have a passport prior to doing all paperwork, or waiting later till one sees if any problems arise [that they don't appear to be able to fix]... I'm thinking mostly of a person without a passport at the start of the process...

 

I think it's far better to have a passport prior to filling out petitions and supporting documents. It's also better to obtain all non expiring notarial translations in advance. That way you can spot any conflicts or problems as well as using the English translations as guides.

Only issue about notarials is that if someone's not in their hometown.. then more than one trip back there could be an issue (to get the expiring ones).

[Guest Duke]

I would advise using the same format that her passport has her name as in pinyin. That way all travel documents match.

This does seem to be the best advice, relative to the passport... In this case, she doesn't have a passport yet...

 

I wonder if it's better to have a passport prior to doing all paperwork, or waiting later till one sees if any problems arise [that they don't appear to be able to fix]... I'm thinking mostly of a person without a passport at the start of the process...

 

I think it's far better to have a passport prior to filling out petitions and supporting documents. It's also better to obtain all non expiring notarial translations in advance. That way you can spot any conflicts or problems as well as using the English translations as guides.

Only issue about notarials is that if someone's not in their hometown.. then more than one trip back there could be an issue (to get the expiring ones).

 

Yes, we do need to make value judgements along the way. Better is not always cheap or practical. Sometimes we decide to make do.

[NDTPRO]

I was wondering? When you filled out the G325 and the I 129F there are sections of these documents that are required to be filled out in the native language. So if you filled out these sections to reflect what your sir name and given name are, then if their is a conflict that Immigration and NVC folks cant figure out then I am sure they would sent you a letter.

I recieved such a letter on my stepson, I got his names backwards on the application, they wanted an original notorial copy of his birthcertificate, I sent it and all went well.

 

Hope this helps

[david_dawei]

I was wondering? When you filled out the G325 and the I 129F there are sections of these documents that are required to be filled out in the native language. So if you filled out these sections to reflect what your sir name and given name are, then if their is a conflict that Immigration and NVC folks cant figure out then I am sure they would sent you a letter.

I recieved such a letter on my stepson, I got his names backwards on the application, they wanted an original notorial copy of his birthcertificate, I sent it and all went well.

 

Hope this helps

I don't think they are reconciling the english to chinese, till one raises that something is wrong.. often sending a birth certificate is done to verify the name... This was a very good example of how you were able to fix it. Very helpful.

[meimei]

I was wondering? When you filled out the G325 and the I 129F there are sections of these documents that are required to be filled out in the native language. So if you filled out these sections to reflect what your sir name and given name are, then if their is a conflict that Immigration and NVC folks cant figure out then I am sure they would sent you a letter.

I recieved such a letter on my stepson, I got his names backwards on the application, they wanted an original notorial copy of his birthcertificate, I sent it and all went well.

 

Hope this helps

 

I got confused, my given name in chinese language are two seperated words, so I signed my given name in Pinyin seperatelly also. that's where I made mistake as they tell me I should bound it together. But if I bound the given name together, will the immigration conside it's a confict since one is bounded (in pinyin)and the other (in native language)is separated?

[SirLancelot]

I was wondering? When you filled out the G325 and the I 129F there are sections of these documents that are required to be filled out in the native language. So if you filled out these sections to reflect what your sir name and given name are, then if their is a conflict that Immigration and NVC folks cant figure out then I am sure they would sent you a letter.

I recieved such a letter on my stepson, I got his names backwards on the application, they wanted an original notorial copy of his birthcertificate, I sent it and all went well.

 

Hope this helps

 

I got confused, my given name in chinese language are two seperated words, so I signed my given name in Pinyin seperatelly also. that's where I made mistake as they tell me I should bound it together. But if I bound the given name together, will the immigration conside it's a confict since one is bounded (in pinyin)and the other (in native language)is separated?

 

Meimei, I suggest you use Hong-Mei.

 

In the US, there are certain people who have two name first names too. Example: Sally-May or Mary-Ann.

 

You will become Hong-Mei Wang in the US.

[sweattrl1]

I was wondering? When you filled out the G325 and the I 129F there are sections of these documents that are required to be filled out in the native language. So if you filled out these sections to reflect what your sir name and given name are, then if their is a conflict that Immigration and NVC folks cant figure out then I am sure they would sent you a letter.

I recieved such a letter on my stepson, I got his names backwards on the application, they wanted an original notorial copy of his birthcertificate, I sent it and all went well.

 

Hope this helps

 

I got confused, my given name in chinese language are two seperated words, so I signed my given name in Pinyin seperatelly also. that's where I made mistake as they tell me I should bound it together. But if I bound the given name together, will the immigration conside it's a confict since one is bounded (in pinyin)and the other (in native language)is separated?

 

Meimei, I suggest you use Hong-Mei.

 

In the US, there are certain people who have two name first names too. Example: Sally-May or Mary-Ann.

 

You will become Hong-Mei Wang in the US.

as my so explained to me , was chinese have no middle name , her first name is , her fathers last name and her given name combined as first name , and second name is her mothers family name, so on her passport it is , mothers family name , and second her fathers last name and her given name combined , because chinese reverse the way we do it

[Guest Duke]

I was wondering? When you filled out the G325 and the I 129F there are sections of these documents that are required to be filled out in the native language. So if you filled out these sections to reflect what your sir name and given name are, then if their is a conflict that Immigration and NVC folks cant figure out then I am sure they would sent you a letter.

I recieved such a letter on my stepson, I got his names backwards on the application, they wanted an original notorial copy of his birthcertificate, I sent it and all went well.

 

Hope this helps

 

I got confused, my given name in chinese language are two seperated words, so I signed my given name in Pinyin seperatelly also. that's where I made mistake as they tell me I should bound it together. But if I bound the given name together, will the immigration conside it's a confict since one is bounded (in pinyin)and the other (in native language)is separated?

 

Meimei, I suggest you use Hong-Mei.

 

In the US, there are certain people who have two name first names too. Example: Sally-May or Mary-Ann.

 

You will become Hong-Mei Wang in the US.

 

I'm at a loss. Why would it be good to use a name different than the one on one's passport? The Chinese passport will show her surname with one character/WANG and below that, her Given Name will show as two characters/Hongmei. She will have no choice ifor the passport. Any attempt to use a different name from her documentation would not seem adviseable. The visa affixed to her passport will show her name in the identical fashion to her passport, minus the Chinese characters.

 

Surname

Wang

 

Given Name

Hongmei

 

Unless she has an official name change, her US name would be Wang, Hongmei or Hongmei Wang. The hyphen is not a part of her official name. She will have no "choice" how it appears on her Chinese passport, US Visa or Green Card unless she gets an official name change.