Impact of Inconsistent Naming on Documentation to Study Abroad

The impact of inconsistent naming on documentation for international students who want to study in Western countries can be significant. We have explained how regular discrepancies between names on your passport, student visa, and university applications can lead to significant problems.

In Western countries, a person's last/family name is very important and most people have clearly defined First, Middle, and Last names. If your name doesn’t follow this naming convention when you come to the West, you might be considered to have unclear "Last Name(s)" and "First/Given Name(s)". 

Importance of Standardizing Names for Future Documents

In such cases, the abbreviations “LNU” (Last Name Unavailable) and “FNU” (First Name Unavailable) might appear on your documents, as placeholders. On some documents all your name(s) might be put in the Last name slot; then your first name will be listed as FNU. On other documents all your names might be put in the Given name slot; then your last name will be listed as LNU. Often a passport will be created one way and a visa will be the opposite. In such cases, you are considered to have two (or even three) different legal names and this can cause huge problems.

Challenges Faced by Students in the United States

If you are going to study in a Western country, before you even apply, it is important to consider how your name will appear on your passport, visa, and on your application to schools.  These documents will determine the name on your university transcript, your diploma, your bank account, tax filing documents, driver’s license, etc.  You want all of these documents to show your name in exactly the same way, or you can run into huge headaches if you try to get a job, open a bank account or at the border when entering a country.

Country Specific Challenges

Below, we have mentioned some specific issues that students studying in the United States face (and might face in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe as well). 

US government rules state if there’s no Surname/Primary/Last/Family Name listed on your passport, then on the Form I-20 (i.e., the document the school prepares so you can apply for an F1 student visa),  it is required that the school put all of your "Given Names" (i.e., your first name – the name that is unique just to you) in the "Surname/Primary/Last/Family Name" section, and leave the “Given Name” section blank on the Form I-20.

Here, your Form I-20 will have all of your names in the SURNAME/PRIMARY NAME section and nothing in the GIVEN NAME section. In that case, your F-1 visa may list “FNU” as your Given Name.

When you apply to a school, you put a Family name and a Given name on your application, and if this information doesn’t match with details in your passport and visa, it can create chaos. Due to this you may end up with two or three different name configurations (i.e., one in your university record, one in your passport, and one of your visa and Form I-20). Inconsistent naming can create difficulties when applying for a U.S. driver's license or Social Security number, which are crucial for employment and banking. The only way to resolve this situation is to apply for a new passport (and sometimes a new visa too!). This can cost hundreds of dollars and take months. 

Recommendations for International Students

Now that you understand the how and why of the problem, please consider deciding on a Last name and a First name (and maybe a Middle name), and use those consistently on your passport and on applications. If there is a name in each category on your passport, then your visa and Form I-20 will have the same names too. Then once you get abroad, you can much more easily apply to work and open a bank account.

If you already have a passport which lists all your names in only the First name section, we strongly advise you get a new passport before you apply for a visa.  This can take several months so do this at the very beginning of your process, as you start applying to study abroad.  And make sure that you use the same name on your applications as you are using in your passport!

Authored by:

Cris Toffolo, PhD & Mary Green

Office of International Programs

Northeastern Illinois University

Chicago, Illinois, USA