No hyphen in wifes name

[Paul123 0]

Hello everyone. USCIS did not include the hyphen in my wifes new last name on the notices they have sent us. We included it on all forms we have sent them. Is this normal or was it a mistake? We spoke to a gentlemen working for the biometrics office at her appointment and he said to just wait til everything is done before doing anything about it or it could really mess things up. (i guess he meant wait for the interview) Now thats starting to bother me because today her case was transfered to california, so they might just approve it without an interview. Then what?

But I am also thinking that it may be normal not to include it, just like some banks will not put it on a bank card, etc..

Thoughts anyone? any input is appreciated!

[Paul123 0]

Anyone?

[Sapphire 0]

I can only tell you what I did: called uscis and, over the phone, asked them to correct the mistake. She confirmed me (as much as you can trust them...) that the name appearing on the NOA will appear on the AP, EAD and GC, so it would be a good idea to make the correction now.

So I did, but I am still waiting for them to process it. I should hear about it around the middle of January, regarding this issue.

It's a pain, I know, especially if you have the SSN for her with hyphen, as I already did

[Paul123 0]

I can only tell you what I did: called uscis and, over the phone, asked them to correct the mistake. She confirmed me (as much as you can trust them...) that the name appearing on the NOA will appear on the AP, EAD and GC, so it would be a good idea to make the correction now.

So I did, but I am still waiting for them to process it. I should hear about it around the middle of January, regarding this issue.

It's a pain, I know, especially if you have the SSN for her with hyphen, as I already did

Wow.. by the sounds of it, it seems like it stalls out the processing of your case for a while.. is it really a needed correction though?

I wonder if she will be fine if we just leave it alone since both names do appear.. The people at the dmv wouldnt put the hyphen on her drivers license so her ssn card has it but the drivers license does not.

[Paul123 0]

sorry about the double post..

Edited December 27, 2007 by Paul123

[Paul123 0]

Sapphire, when you spoke to the people at USCIS did they confirm a change would be made or did they simply look into the request to see if it could be processed?

Im asking because I googled it and found this posting on another forum regarding hyphenated names:

Re: legality of a hyphen? [message #606405] Sat, 13 May 2006 14:57

-AC-

Messages: 281

Registered: April 2005 Member

I have a hyphen and the INS wouldn't put it on my green card (which, from an aesthetic point of view, is fine by me for the same reason as the OP). I asked if it would be a problem with it not matching my driver's licence and passport, and they shrugged and made a 'meh' noise.

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And that happened just last year, so maybe they dont even include hyphens.

[Sapphire 0]

The lady who took my call filed my request and said I should hear from USCIS in about a month. So I do not know the result yet, and I really do not think that she or anyone else working in a public office would be qualified to tell me over the phone if a hyphen missing or in plus in my different identification documents would be a a problem or not. You cannot "quote" them on that if you were to have any problems, can you?

As for delaying in the case... I don't know. Again, people working at uscis are well known for giving miss-information, sometimes, so I would not take it as 100% sure what you have been told at your biometrics (as I cannot be sure about what will happen to my request either ).

For example, I did not notice any delay at my case so far (I got my appointment to the biometrics one week after I called uscis).

I guess that if they don't change mine either, I will have to try to change the ssn somehow, if at some point I will have any difficulties.

[Sapphire 0]

Just an update FYI: I got a letter from uscis, confirming the name correction. So far, so good Let's hope it will appear in the following official documents as well!

Good luck to you too.

[Paul123 0]

Thanks for all the info Sapphire and I am glad everything worked out for you. We tried calling too but had a really awkward experience. the woman we talked to, seemed really irritated and kept saying" lets start this conversation over" if i didnt word the answers to her questions the exact way she intended me to...she mustve said it 5 times during the course of the call! like for example she would say " what document had a misprint?" and i said my wifes ead card and her advance parole document.. she said "lets start this conversation over, its called a travel document, not an advance parole document.. now... what document has a misprint? and then after that she asked us if we received her green card yet, i said no she didnt and she said " lets start this conversation over! you just said that she received her travel document and her ead card" and i said yeah but you just now asked me if we received her green card"..

I felt like one of those idiot guests on Judge Judy or something..

All in all it was the most bizarre conversation ive ever had on the phone and from now on hope to avoid calling USCIS if I can..

So anyways, She told me how to correct the AP document and ead card but is there a way that I can simply request that they just change the name in their system so the friggin hyphen appears on the green card? the woman we spoke with simply did not give me one chance to ask! I dont even think my wife will need the AP document and her ead card is close enough without the hyphen. But something as important as a greencard, id like to have it done right..my problem is thats its so late in the game, i dont know if its possible without paying a fee.

All suggestions are appreciated

Edited January 3, 2008 by Paul123