I94 First and Middle Names Switched

[mc962 55]

My fiancé just arrived this past Friday on her K1 visa. After checking for her I94 (with no results), we realized that her first name and middle name were switched when they were entered into the system.

So instead of having her name entered like “First Middle Last”, it is entered like “Middle First Last”. This is also how it was written on the K1 visa. I presume they did it that way because they just read her passport and/or she was instructed to enter exactly as it appears on her passport in the visa application, because in her country, the passport lists names as “Middle First Last”. The original K1 paperwork had it like “First Middle Last” as is done in the U.S., but It appears the embassy did not print it on the visa as it was written on the I129f (I am assuming she must have filled it out with First and Middle names switched on the DS-160 or something). She did not catch it because that is how her name is normally printed in her country on her passport, and I did not see the visa itself before it was used.

Note, the Travel History section for when I enter either her name as "Middle Last" or "First Last" on the website shows her recent January K1 POE  correctly (I assume it tracks the passport number which is the same in both cases), but the recent I94 only shows up with the "Middle Last" version of her name
 

I worry that having an I94 under a different name (“Middle Last” instead of “First Last”) will cause issues such as RFEs when we apply for AOS, or issues applying for the SSN, as the names will not necessarily be matching if they check them. Should we go to the local CBP Deferred Inspection Site and get it fixed (and will they have a problem if we do it, because the visa was had the names switched as well), or will this not be an issue? 
 

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

13 minutes ago, mc962 said:

My fiancé just arrived this past Friday on her K1 visa. After checking for her I94 (with no results), we realized that her first name and middle name were switched when they were entered into the system.

So instead of having her name entered like “First Middle Last”, it is entered like “Middle First Last”. This is also how it was written on the K1 visa. I presume they did it that way because they just read her passport and/or she was instructed to enter exactly as it appears on her passport in the visa application, because in her country, the passport lists names as “Middle First Last”. The original K1 paperwork had it like “First Middle Last” as is done in the U.S., but It appears the embassy did not print it on the visa as it was written on the I129f (I am assuming she must have filled it out with First and Middle names switched on the DS-160 or something). She did not catch it because that is how her name is normally printed in her country on her passport, and I did not see the visa itself before it was used.

Note, the Travel History section for when I enter either her name as "Middle Last" or "First Last" on the website shows her recent January K1 POE  correctly (I assume it tracks the passport number which is the same in both cases), but the recent I94 only shows up with the "Middle Last" version of her name
 

I worry that having an I94 under a different name (“Middle Last” instead of “First Last”) will cause issues such as RFEs when we apply for AOS, or issues applying for the SSN, as the names will not necessarily be matching if they check them. Should we go to the local CBP Deferred Inspection Site and get it fixed (and will they have a problem if we do it, because the visa was had the names switched as well), or will this not be an issue? 
 

I can't tell for you if it will be a problem or not, but the same thing happened to my mom. We're Vietnamese too. So on her visa,  entered in the "First name" was "Middle First" and "Last Name" as "Last Name". We did not do anything. She got her GC, SSN, her State ID, all the paperworks here in the US the same way. And I've been using that format for everything else, health insurance card and what not. We booked a flight to Florida, no problem.

 

So from now on, I just decided that she will have no middle name. Her first name will be "middle first".

Edited January 15, 2019 by USS_Voyager

[HonoraryCitizen 179]

17 minutes ago, mc962 said:

I worry that having an I94 under a different name (“Middle Last” instead of “First Last”) will cause issues such as RFEs when we apply for AOS, or issues applying for the SSN, as the names will not necessarily be matching if they check them. Should we go to the local CBP Deferred Inspection Site and get it fixed (and will they have a problem if we do it, because the visa was had the names switched as well), or will this not be an issue? 
 

Personally I would not bother because when I was getting my social security 20 years ago they accepted what I said and issued it in my correct name which is different from my passport.

 

I have the exact same problem of switched middle and last names. In reality I have had one problem or another with my name from 1997 when I went to renew my passport before my first trip to the United States and it was botched. The USA always used the name exactly as in my passport, that was their rule repeated to me by several different consular officers. Actually mine is worse because not only were the first and middle names switched, the first name was misspelled (to a female name) and my name on my birth certificate (which omitted my last name) is different from the name on all my academic documents which is different from my passport.

 

It was finally corrected by the immigration officer fourteen years later when I was adjusting status. He actually joked and asked me who really are you, a spy? Ultimately it is a question of what are you comfortable with. Personally I am a person who does not agonize over details so I rolled with it. If you or your fiance are not comfortable, get it fixed. Peace of mind is priceless.

Edited January 15, 2019 by HonoraryCitizen

[zeta054 111]

53 minutes ago, mc962 said:

My fiancé just arrived this past Friday on her K1 visa. After checking for her I94 (with no results), we realized that her first name and middle name were switched when they were entered into the system.

So instead of having her name entered like “First Middle Last”, it is entered like “Middle First Last”. This is also how it was written on the K1 visa. I presume they did it that way because they just read her passport and/or she was instructed to enter exactly as it appears on her passport in the visa application, because in her country, the passport lists names as “Middle First Last”. The original K1 paperwork had it like “First Middle Last” as is done in the U.S., but It appears the embassy did not print it on the visa as it was written on the I129f (I am assuming she must have filled it out with First and Middle names switched on the DS-160 or something). She did not catch it because that is how her name is normally printed in her country on her passport, and I did not see the visa itself before it was used.

Note, the Travel History section for when I enter either her name as "Middle Last" or "First Last" on the website shows her recent January K1 POE  correctly (I assume it tracks the passport number which is the same in both cases), but the recent I94 only shows up with the "Middle Last" version of her name
 

I worry that having an I94 under a different name (“Middle Last” instead of “First Last”) will cause issues such as RFEs when we apply for AOS, or issues applying for the SSN, as the names will not necessarily be matching if they check them. Should we go to the local CBP Deferred Inspection Site and get it fixed (and will they have a problem if we do it, because the visa was had the names switched as well), or will this not be an issue? 
 

We has the same issue with my wife. We called the dept and they corrected it over the phone. Pretty easy process.