Vietnamese first name last name issue

[Kissima123 11]

Hello,

It seems no matter how careful I try to follow instructions I somehow manage to get the positioning of my Vietnam wife’s first and last name disarranged. Or at least I can’t tell for sure if the order is how they intended or not. Already, when filing the delivery address of passport and visa documents following a interview approval, I seem to have gotten the name order different from her passport order. But maybe it’s as they intended this time. I know the standard advice is the name should match the passport. My question, does anyone have experience at consulate when this happens? Will they adjust like for airline tickets or send me home?

thanks!

p.s. interview on May 12.

[TBoneTX 43,408]

Thread is moved from Working & Traveling forum to the Vietnam regional forum.

[Bill Hamze 89]

Easiest thing to do is think of the first and middle names together as one unit, that being the “first name”.  
 

In other words, don’t switch around the middle name when you flip the first and last name order. 
 

Here’s a made up example:

 

Nguyen Thi Hoang Van

 

obviously the last name is Nguyen, and Van is the first name. That leaves Thi Hoang as the middle name. 
 

What you want to do is give them the last name as Nguyen, and the first name as “Thi Hoang Van”. 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Bill Hamze

[Kissima123 11]

9 minutes ago, Bill Hamze said:

Easiest thing to do is think of the first and middle names together as one unit, that being the “first name”.  
 

In other words, don’t switch around the middle name when you flip the first and last name order. 
 

Here’s a made up example:

 

Nguyen Thi Hoang Van

 

obviously the last name is Nguyen, and Van is the first name. That leaves Thi Hoang as the middle name. 
 

What you want to do is give them the last name as Nguyen, and the first name as “Thi Hoang Van”. 

Yes, I’ve tried to adhere to that strategy. But sometimes they specifically ask for a middle name and the middle name and first name combo is too long for a first name only box. It is possibly here that is my downfall, never try to give a Vietnamese  middle name. I guess I was just wondering if someone encountered a name mixup during their interview and were allowed a pass. Probably a silly question since little response.

[Bill Hamze 89]

When and who did they specifically ask for a middle name? 
 

I don’t think the interview is where or when you have to worry about this. I believe it is the airlines that are fussiest about the name order. Of course, when and whomever they want the name to match the passport, I haven’t had any problems with getting both first and middle names in the first name box.

 

One time I mixed up her name by switching the middle name (using my example, I entered Van Thi Hoang Nguyen) on a domestic Vietnamese flight, and they made me rebook it to match the passport name order. 
 

Once you’re in America, you might be able to skip the middle name and just use “Van” on most documents except for airline bookings and the most important stuff like social security, etc. 

 

Congrats on getting an interview date, btw! Have you scheduled a medical yet?

Edited April 14, 2022 by Bill Hamze

[Kissima123 11]

10 hours ago, Bill Hamze said:

When and who did they specifically ask for a middle name? 
 

I don’t think the interview is where or when you have to worry about this. I believe it is the airlines that are fussiest about the name order. Of course, when and whomever they want the name to match the passport, I haven’t had any problems with getting both first and middle names in the first name box.

 

One time I mixed up her name by switching the middle name (using my example, I entered Van Thi Hoang Nguyen) on a domestic Vietnamese flight, and they made me rebook it to match the passport name order. 
 

Once you’re in America, you might be able to skip the middle name and just use “Van” on most documents except for airline bookings and the most important stuff like social security, etc. 

 

Congrats on getting an interview date, btw! Have you scheduled a medical yet?

We haven’t scheduled medical yet. My wife is a bit of a procrastinator, I hope to schedule today. Is one place recommended over the other? We’re lucky we got one month notice before interview. I saw another interview on VJ scheduled April 28 had only 2 weeks notice. Btw, I talked by phone with a girl Khanh at The Hive. I’ll stop by today for a tour.

thanks!

[JRF 117]

On 4/14/2022 at 4:53 AM, Bill Hamze said:

When and who did they specifically ask for a middle name? 
 

I don’t think the interview is where or when you have to worry about this. I believe it is the airlines that are fussiest about the name order. Of course, when and whomever they want the name to match the passport, I haven’t had any problems with getting both first and middle names in the first name box.

 

One time I mixed up her name by switching the middle name (using my example, I entered Van Thi Hoang Nguyen) on a domestic Vietnamese flight, and they made me rebook it to match the passport name order. 
 

Once you’re in America, you might be able to skip the middle name and just use “Van” on most documents except for airline bookings and the most important stuff like social security, etc. 

 

Congrats on getting an interview date, btw! Have you scheduled a medical yet?

I had a similar experience on a flight from Saigon to Nha Trang.  There were empty seats on the flight but they wouldn't let me purchase new tickets for that flight, forced to take a later flight.  My wife and I hung out at the airport shopping mall.  Vietnam Airlines gave us money for our inconvenience.  I ended up ahead financially after it all, although pulling our luggage across the airport, across a street to the mall was not fun.