Visa Application Name Mismatch in Uttarakhand

• The passport. A visa is a permission given to the holder of one particular passport, by its number and its name.
• The reading line. The two lines of capital letters at the foot of the passport's first page. Machines at consulates and airports read the name from there.
• The two boxes. Surname and given name, as the passport office printed them.
• The form. The applicant copies the name from the passport, and declares other names used.
• The file. Papers that show who the applicant is, what they earn or own, and why they will return.

The consulate does not decide what your name is. It takes the passport's word for that. What it judges is whether the rest of the file is about the same person.

The last row is written by someone abroad, from an email. Send that person a scan of your passport and ask for the name to be copied from it. A university that admits "Deepak Rawat" and a passport that reads "Deepak Singh Rawat" start the file with a question.

A Gazette appears plainly in one row of eight. In the first row it depends on what the passport office asks for when a surname is added.

• Many older people in the state carry one name and a title: "Bachi Devi", "Dhan Singh". The passport was made that way, with the surname box empty.
• They apply for a visa late in life, to visit a son or a daughter abroad.
• For the United States, guides say the visa is then printed with that name as the surname and "FNU" as the first name. It is valid. It also follows the person onto every later paper there.
• For the UAE, news reports say a visitor needs two names, or the father's or family name on the passport's second page with a visa issued in more than one name.
• An airline may refuse to board a passenger it thinks will be turned back. The check is made at the counter, at the last moment.
• Adding a surname is a re-issue of the passport. For someone who will travel more than once, it is worth doing before the first visa.

Read adding a surname to a single name, Kumari, Devi and the husband’s surname and name change in passport.

• A consulate does not expect every paper of a lifetime to match letter for letter. It expects to see why they differ.
• A paper you can correct quickly should be corrected: a bank account, a tax record, an employer's letter.
• A paper that cannot be changed now, such as an old degree, is explained by a linking paper.
• The ordinary links are a marriage certificate, a Gazette notification, and a corrected or re-issued certificate from the board or university.
• An affidavit that two names are one person is sometimes accepted as support. It is weak alone.
• A sponsor's papers are read the same way. A father who sponsors a student has to be the father named in the student's passport.

Read name change in bank records, name mismatch in police verification and character certificate and name change in birth certificate.

• Most visa forms ask if the applicant has ever used another name.
• The honest answer for many people is yes: a maiden name, a name before a Gazette, a different spelling on an earlier passport, a name with or without a surname.
• Write each one. The question exists so that the consulate can connect your old papers and old travel to you.
• An earlier name left out, and found later, can be treated as a false statement. That is far worse than any mismatch.
• A declared earlier name turns a mismatch into an explained history.
• Keep the paper that proves each change with the file: the marriage certificate, the Gazette, the old passport.

Read alias name in a Gazette notification and overseas job and emigration name mismatch.

Step 1: Confirm that it is a change of name, and not a spelling or a married surname

The passport rules treat those differently.

Step 2: Read what the passport rules ask for in your case

A change of name by choice is shown by newspaper notices or a Gazette, as our passport page sets out.

Step 3: Fix the exact new name, and how it splits into the two boxes

Which words are the surname, and which the given name.

Step 4: Make the affidavit and publish the newspaper notice

Sign before a notary. Publish in a daily local leading newspaper, and keep the original newspaper.

Step 5: Type the form and sign the undertaking

Two typed copies of the specimen, signed in your old name with two witnesses, and the undertaking.

Step 6: Prepare the CD, photographs and certificate

The same text on a CD in MS Word, two self-attested photographs with identity proof, and a certificate that both copies match.

Step 7: Pay the charge on BharatKosh

Commonly Rs 1,100 for an adult. It is not refunded.

Step 8: Send the file yourself, then the passport, then the visa

Send it to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. Update Aadhaar, have the passport re-issued, and only then apply for the visa.

See gazette name change in Uttarakhand and name change rejected at the passport office.

A typical case we handle: a nursing graduate from Almora had an offer from a hospital abroad. Her degree and registration read "Hema Bisht". Her passport, made when she was seventeen, read "Hema" with the surname box empty, and her bank account "Hema Kumari". Her agent told her to buy a Gazette. She had not changed any name. The passport was re-issued with the surname Bisht on her school and degree certificates, the bank corrected the account on the new passport, and she asked the hospital to reissue the offer letter in the passport's name. This is an illustrative example of the type of case we handle, not a named client review.

When you do not need us

For a visa form, a ticket, a bank's spelling, a maiden name on a degree and a surname added on existing certificates. The passport office, the bank and a marriage certificate settle those. We are useful where the name itself is changed by choice and the passport rules call for a Gazette notification.

Should the visa name match the passport exactly?

Yes. A visa is issued in the passport's name.

What does FNU mean on a visa?

First name unknown, where the passport has one name.

Can I get a visa without a surname in my passport?

Often yes, but some countries ask for two names.

Is a gazette needed for a visa name mismatch?

No. Only for a change of name on the passport.

What if my degree is in my maiden name?

Attach the marriage certificate.

Can I travel if my visa is in my old name?

Ask the consulate. Rules differ by country.

How do I fill the DS-160 if my passport has only one name?

The form's own help text says to enter all surnames exactly as listed in the passport, and if only one name is listed, to enter it as the surname. Where there is no given name, enter FNU in Given Names.

Is the surname field compulsory on the US visa form?

Yes. Guides and applicants report that the DS-160 will not move on without a surname, which is why a single name goes into the surname box.

What counts as "other names used" on a US visa form?

The form's help text lists a maiden name, a religious name, a professional name, or any other name you are or have been known by. Declare each one.

Does FNU follow me onto later papers in the US?

It can. A guide for immigrants says that once the immigration process has begun, the FNU name is easiest to fix after becoming a permanent resident, by changing the name and then replacing the card, passport and licence.

Can a resident of the UAE travel on a single-name passport?

An airline's statement, as reported, allowed passengers with a single name and a residence permit or employment visa to travel, provided the same name was updated in both the First Name and Surname columns.

Should I add a surname before a US visa interview?

Where you can, yes. Applicants report that once the visa is printed with FNU, the consulate issues it as the passport and form read. Correct the passport or the form before the appointment, not after.