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FNU to you too !

Posted by Guhan | Filed under Events

Dont worry, I am not swearing at you. FNU stands for First Name Unknown !!! When Shakesphere wrote “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, its obvious he had not gone through the paper work of USA. Part of the experience of working in the USA, one would come to realize the paranoia around the name in the paper work.

This is a post on how I came to be called “FNU Murali Subramanyan” in the United States of America and my experience trying to get that corrected.
In my most recent passport renewal, the Indian passport office decided to quote my whole name, “Murali Subramanyan” as my given name. Which meant that the space given for the surname was empty. When I went and checked with the passport office, they told me that all passports issued in India will have the father’s name first and the given name next in the same line. I now realize it was just an answer given be a lazy government servant. On that passport, I had my B1 US visa stamped and made a trip to the US and back with out any problems. But this was the first time I noticed FNU stamped next to my name. At the time, I just assumed that it was the many codes or sequences in the Visa that meant some thing meaningful to somebody. I never realized it was actually part of my identity. When I moved to USA for a longer work engagement on a L1 visa, yet again I noticed thee FNU next to my name.
The problems started when I went to get my Social Security Number. A very grumpy officer at the SSN office informed me that the name I entered on my I-94, the name on my Visa and the name on my passport did not match!! That was the first time I got to know that FNU was actually First name Unknown. He went ahead and completed the SSN application with first name FNU and last name MURALI SUBRAMANYAN. So my first legal document in the USA told me that my first name was unknown.
I did some research on the internet and found out that I was not the only person with this problem. Many people before me had gone through “The curse of the FNU” as one blogger called it. Surprisingly, this blog post is the best source of information for correcting the problem.
I am a very impatient guy when it comes to things that affect me directly. I wanted a way out of this mess and was getting restless.
The moment I got my SSN card I decided to go back to the SSN office to try and get my name changed in the card to show the name as given in the I-94. A rude lady told me that until I get my name changed in the passport, nothing can be done. She even went on to say that I will need to get a new visa stamp too. So, with my options cut down, I took a day off to go to the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. I reached the consulate at about 11 am and was quiet far in the queue. Many sites and regulations would advice to get the name changed in the passport by applying for a new passport. This is probably a good idea if you have time. But because I needed to get on with my paperwork, I choose to get an endorsement done on my passport for a name split as suggested by many in the blog post. This is probably the fastest and cheapest alternative. The lady at the passport service counter was really helpful and courteous. I had all the documentation ready, including a notary signed affidavit requesting for the name split ( Any friendly neighborhood notary and 5$ will get you an notarized affidavit ). She informed me that the endorsement on the passport will be done the same day and I would be able to collect the passport at 4pm.
Once I got my passport back, I got an Info Pass appointment with the USCIS office in San Jose to get my I-94 and immigration status verified. I had an early morning appointment, so I was among the first few who got into the office. The officer there checked the name on the passport and acknowledged the endorsement. She confirmed that all the necessary records with USCIS and homeland security were in order.
Now armed with a new found confidence that the SSN name change will go through, I went to the SSN office on a work day afternoon, which incidentally was my birthday. Mr. Thomas was by far the most friendly officer I met so far in any office here. He helped me with a smile and accepted my application and said “I am sorry I cannot bake you an birthday cake, but I will help you with your problem”. God bless him. He completed the process and gave me a case reference number in a printed sheet that I could use as reference if someone questioned the name again. The next day I went to the DMV office and cleared my written test. Now I have a temporary driving license with my name given correctly. Finally the legal documents in this land acknowledges me as first name Subramanyan, last name Murali :-)

I now am waiting for my new SSN card and my Califronia state ID to reach me. Wish luck for the DMV behind the wheel exam. If any of you reading this post have the same issue or similar issues, please do email me at mail [at] rmsguhan.com. I can explain things in more detail. Through this experience, I am pretty sure I am aware of most of the offices and procedures. Happy new year !

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Permalink | January 2nd, 2011

6 Responses to “FNU to you too !”

  1. yosee Says:
    January 2nd, 2011 at 11:10 pm

    Thank goodness, everything got ironed out……And we grumble about of poor indian red tape tangles ! Its as bad or as good anywhere on earth, for after all its people who handle papers and much depends on the person’s sense and sensitivity, how she/he decides on a trifling snag.

    Hope someone there gets an education on the whole business of Indian names .
    This post will surely help other Fresh-off-the-boat innocents who come up against the FNU wall.

  2. Binil Thomas Says:
    January 2nd, 2011 at 11:54 pm

    Good luck, Subramanyan! Thanks for taking the time to write this up.

  3. Sivasankari Says:
    January 3rd, 2011 at 3:51 pm

    We’ve been to these office so many times, I had the SSN office address by heart. It was tough and I am glad we’ve are through with it.

  4. Asma Says:
    January 5th, 2011 at 4:06 pm

    Thanks for the detailed write up…My husband too has the same problem and we were not sure on how to solve this.. I just had a look at our indian embassy website of SFO. And went through the link of “PASSPORT SERVICES : Change of Name: By Splitting Name”. It says that we need to request for Re-issue of passport. Is that mean a issue of new passport???If you let me know in detail on which form needs to filled and submitted and what kind of supporting documents needs to be attached it will be of great help.

    Thanks in advance.

  5. Guhan Says:
    January 7th, 2011 at 12:33 am

    Hi,
    you need to ask for “Observation on the passport”. This is under the miscellaneous services section. Please visit http://www.cgisf.org/misc/miscservices.html for information about the Misc services in SFO Indian Consulate.
    If your passport is new and has more than 5 to 6 years left before expiration, then they will add a observation on the passport that the name on the front passport cover is infact split into the the correct first name last name. Its a 13$ fee if you pay using your debit card, so no need for a cheque or DD. please follow the instructions in the Miscellaneous form in the link i have given. For notarization, search the internet for a notary around where you live. Its a 5$ fee for a notary to notarize your forms. Notary is also there close to the consulate in SFO
    good luck

  6. Vidya Says:
    January 26th, 2011 at 10:16 am

    I can imagine all the trouble you had to go through. One of my friends had a similar expr.Thankfully, you didnt have a middle name to add to the complication.

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