Last Name Truncated - Passport and Birth Certificate Don't Match

[A_F 172]

One of my fiancee's friends is also applying for the K1 and they submitted their I-129F. She is also from Indonesia. They aren't on this site, but asked me a question that I do not know how to answer, so I'm posting it here and will share the feedback with them. Their case is on it's way from the NVC to the Embassy; however, while collecting documents for the interview they realized that her birth certificate and passport do not match. She had forgotten about this. The last name was truncated, leaving off the last letter of her last name (first and middle match). She has never legally changed her name, nor is there any effort to deceive the US government, and she has also entered the US before on a J1, but they didn't ask to see both her birth certificate and passport when applying for that. On the I-129F and on all other US govt docs that she has (SSN Card, waiver for two year residency requirement, etc.), the passport name is used because that is the name on the visa that was issued. However, she did have a visa issued with the complete spelling that includes the dropped letter (matching birth certificate), but it was canceled without prejudice and one was re-issued with the truncated version (matching her passport). Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Again I want to reiterate that she has never legally changed her name, it is just presented differently in that it was truncated and they forgot about that part until she went looking for her birth certificate. She also is not trying to deceive the US government in any way, though they (and I) understand that a CO might not care about intent.

 

Will this be a problem at the embassy interview when the birth certificate and passport do not match? If so, would a simple explanation that her name was truncated for the passport suffice? Would a "one and the same" affidavit that outlines why the names are displayed differently be sufficient? If there would be a problem, would either of those solutions work? Are there other possible solutions?

 

How could this negatively affect the application? What are the odds that it will be approved?

[usmsbow 795]

So her SSN, I-129f form, and the 2nd version of her J-1 are the truncated name? That matches the passport? And the only thing NOT truncated now is the birth certificate? I wouldn't worry about it then. What does her Indonesian ID have? The "passport version" or the birth certificate version? Not that the CO will care to see the national ID card, but if it is the truncated version, then it would be easy to explain that she used that version since that is the one that appears on all her government IDs... 

[A_F 172]

16 minutes ago, usmsbow said:

So her SSN, I-129f form, and the 2nd version of her J-1 are the truncated name? That matches the passport? And the only thing NOT truncated now is the birth certificate? I wouldn't worry about it then. What does her Indonesian ID have? The "passport version" or the birth certificate version? Not that the CO will care to see the national ID card, but if it is the truncated version, then it would be easy to explain that she used that version since that is the one that appears on all her government IDs... 

That is correct. All govt forms have truncated (passport) version, except for Indo birth certififcate. Her college diploma also has the truncated version. I know that's not a govt document but yet another document that uses truncated version based on what's on the J1 visa. I told them that I don't think it should matter because the COs should be familiar with this being a potential problem that one might run into (along with applicants not having a birth certificate); but then imagined if that discrepancy were happening to me, and I know I'd be freaking out too.

 

As for the National ID, she needs a new one issued because they used a different spelling than the truncated version on the passport and the birth certificate...So basically the govt agency screwed the pooch on that one completely, especially considering she showed them her passport to get the National ID.

 

I think their main concern is that they might get stuck in AP because of that and need to get an official name change to match the govt docs and the passport (which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world), or be denied and told to apply again after doing that.