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I Can't Believe It -- U.S. Government Misspells My Last Name On My New Passport

I Can't Believe It -- U.S. Government Misspells My Last Name On My New Passport

Old Dec 7, 2006, 10:43 am
  #16  
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When I received my Alabama drivers license after moving here, I did not scrutinize it closely. Fortunately, the information they miscopied from my NC license was my middle name - I don't know anyone who spells John J-O-N-E.

None of my FF accounts use a full middle name, so I make sure my tickets don't either.

When I went to renew, I changed address, middle name, weight, height and hair. They were dumbfounded and asked to see my birth certificate for the name - the rest they took on my word.

I'd be at the nearest Passport office if I were you.
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 10:43 am
  #17  
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Originally Posted by HKG_Flyer1
Interesting... I just renewed my passport, and they mysteriously changed my place of birth. Don't really see how it affects me (not like having a name misspelled, so I just let it slide).
Did they change the city, state or country? I am foreignborn so only the country of birth is stated.

When applying for visa, many application forms ask you the palce of issue of your passport or an aswer to "issued by/at". My previous passports stated the city, say, Washington D.C. or whatever. My new passport only states the issuing authority.
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 10:48 am
  #18  
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Originally Posted by BamaVol
When I received my Alabama drivers license after moving here, I did not scrutinize it closely. Fortunately, the information they miscopied from my NC license was my middle name - I don't know anyone who spells John J-O-N-E.

None of my FF accounts use a full middle name, so I make sure my tickets don't either.

When I went to renew, I changed address, middle name, weight, height and hair. They were dumbfounded and asked to see my birth certificate for the name - the rest they took on my word.

I'd be at the nearest Passport office if I were you.
Please note, the people handling the security at the entrance to the building won't let you in if you haven't got an appointment. This is how it works in Washington, D.C.
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 10:56 am
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Originally Posted by Yaatri
Please note, the people handling the security at the entrance to the building won't let you in if you haven't got an appointment. This is how it works in Washington, D.C.
You are correct about DC currently. [They've even given grief to people with official orders to get same-day passports. Idiots.]

The NYC passport office was quite a bit more flexible than DC, but that may be more "was" than "is still".

I think SAT Lawyer's stop-gap measure is the one I'd consider under this kind of crunch; but I'd not make the booking myself, but go through a travel agent or airline ticketing agent to whom I'd physically present my passport when purchasing the ticket (so that they can type up the "incorrect" name).
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 10:58 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by nd_eric_77
BTW, that is a complete cluster-f*ck that the DHS misspelled your name; what appalling incompetence!!!
It's State that issues passports, not Homeland Security. DHS is appallingly incompetent at a totally different set of tasks.
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 11:00 am
  #21  
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
You are correct about DC currently. [They've even given grief to people with official orders to get same-day passports. Idiots.]

The NYC passport office was quite a bit more flexible than DC, but that may be more "was" than "is still".

I think SAT Lawyer's stop-gap measure is the one I'd consider under this kind of crunch; but I'd not make the booking myself, but go through a travel agent or airline ticketing agent to whom I'd physically present my passport when purchasing the ticket (so that they can type up the "incorrect" name).
I think you should ad this warning to the suggestion.
Warning: If you are brown skinned, you should not try this.
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 11:02 am
  #22  
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
You are correct about DC currently. [They've even given grief to people with official orders to get same-day passports. Idiots.]

The NYC passport office was quite a bit more flexible than DC, but that may be more "was" than "is still".

I think SAT Lawyer's stop-gap measure is the one I'd consider under this kind of crunch; but I'd not make the booking myself, but go through a travel agent or airline ticketing agent to whom I'd physically present my passport when purchasing the ticket (so that they can type up the "incorrect" name).
More than two decades ago, I was able to gwt my passport in 20 minutes with no expedited fee whatsoever. Things do change. This is the first time I have paid any fee for obtaining my passport the same or the next day.
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 11:03 am
  #23  
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Originally Posted by Kushiro
A bit OT, but the embassy in Bern added pages to my passport for free (I just dropped in --no appointment-- first thing in the morning and was out in less than an hour). I get the impression that this is possible at most overseas embassies. If you are travelling aboad so often, perhaps you could schedule in an extra day to stop by an embassy?

-Kush
That's a good idea. I will try that.
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 11:05 am
  #24  
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Originally Posted by grouse
It's State that issues passports, not Homeland Security. DHS is appallingly incompetent at a totally different set of tasks.
So our giovernemtn has succeeded in maintaining uniformity in quality of service across various Govt Departments and agencies. Now we are ensure of crappy service and incompetence regardless of which department we go to.
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 3:38 pm
  #25  
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Well here is how it (partuially turned-out).

I called the Passport hotline and was told that I could just show-up at the visa office with this type of emergency. The nearest one is in South Norwalk, CT, which is at least 75 minutes away from me. I went down there, dropped off the incorrect Passport at about 12:40 and had to wait there until 3:30 to get it back. Thankfully there are several decent restaurants in South Norwalk. I also visited the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium, which is a great place btw.

I have overnighted the Passport to my company's visa guy and he is going to try to get the Korean consulate to issue the visa on the spot (not overnight), but there are no guarantees. While you technically should have a visa for business travel to Korea, I know many people who have traveled there for business without one. My boss, however, thinks the Legal Department needs to adopt a higher standard and doesn't want me to go if I don't have the visa. Hopefully the Koreans will play ball. If they do, I should have the Passport and visa back on Saturday morning.

I lost a whole day dealing with this.
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 3:45 pm
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While you are saying "I Can't Believe It -- U.S. Government Misspells My Last Name On My New Passport" the person being paid like $10 an hour or something to process your application may have been saying "I can't believe people write so messy on their passport applications and expect me to be able to read it".

It's so easy to point the finger ......
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 3:51 pm
  #27  
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Originally Posted by skAAtinsteph
While you are saying "I Can't Believe It -- U.S. Government Misspells My Last Name On My New Passport" the person being paid like $10 an hour or something to process your application may have been saying "I can't believe people write so messy on their passport applications and expect me to be able to read it".

It's so easy to point the finger ......
Particularly with evidence like this:

Originally Posted by PresRDC
Well here is how it (partuially turned-out).
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 3:53 pm
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Originally Posted by Yaatri
So our giovernemtn has succeeded in maintaining uniformity in quality of service across various Govt Departments and agencies. Now we are ensure of crappy service and incompetence regardless of which department we go to.
Are they going for ISO 9001 certification?
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 4:00 pm
  #29  
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Originally Posted by skAAtinsteph
While you are saying "I Can't Believe It -- U.S. Government Misspells My Last Name On My New Passport" the person being paid like $10 an hour or something to process your application may have been saying "I can't believe people write so messy on their passport applications and expect me to be able to read it".

It's so easy to point the finger ......
It was typed.
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Old Dec 7, 2006, 4:26 pm
  #30  
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I'm kinda surprised, given all the talk about government databases, that there isn't a database that is used in printing renewal passports. I mean, they clearly have all your passport data stored somewhere; why can't they just input your old passport number, and some machine somewhere spits out a new passport?
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