I have no middle name. DW put "John Amadeus Doe" on passport renewal... guess what?

I'm not sure if I need to be freaking out right now.... :( I'm a newbie around here and I just don't know what to do or think right now.

Last month, my DW filled out passport renewal forms for both of us. The old passports still had about 8 months left, but since we had extensive travels plans for the next 12 months, we figured it was easier to get new ones now.

Anyway... I trust DW with my life and I never question anything she asked me to sign... so I signed the passport renewal form that she filled out online on Dept. of State's website.

Last week, our new passport books and cards arrived one day apart. Mine arrived later... when I looked at it, I almost flipped out. I thought they had made a mistake. On the data page, it showed my name as "John Amadeus Doe"... (my name isn't actually John Doe, of course... just using John Doe to protect my privacy)

I never had a middle name in my life. My birth certificate, old passports, drivers license and everything just had first and last name. My parents never gave me a middle name.

When DW came home, I showed it to her and she said "wow... they accepted it?" That's when I knew it was her doing. :) :(

I am a classical music fanatic, so friends and family frequently call me "Amadeus" (as in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) DW said she put "Amadeus" in the middle name field of the passport renewal form thinking that it would not have been accepted and they would just issue the new passport in the same name as my previous passport. I guess this is a much cheaper way to get a middle name added. In my state, the circuit court charged about $85 to make such name changes(plus required fees for background/fingerprint check, as well 6 weeks of mandatory wait time)

Thanks!

After speaking with a passport agency rep on the phone, I was told that pursuant to 7 FAM(state department foreign affairs manual) 1311 Appendix C, if the applicant's citizenship document only shows "John Doe" but puts "John Amadeus Doe", it is accept to print the new passport as "John Amadeus Doe"......

I looked up the rules and under appendix C, section D, that is apparently the rule... (text below copy & pasted directly from "7 FAM 1311 Appendix C"

d. For example, if Louise Mary Martin is requested as the name on the application, the name listed on the citizenship evidence and/or identification could be:

(1) Louise M. Martin;

(2) L. Mary Martin;

(3) L.M. Martin;

(4) Mary Martin;

(5) Louise Martin;

(6) Mary L. Martin; and

(7) Lou Martin.

What would you do in this situation? Request a new passport minus the new middle name? Just just live as "John Amadeus Doe" from now? (which I don't mind, since a lot of people call me "Amadeus" anyway)

CheekyCat.... :D:D:D .... IF this is indeed a real problem that you have and it's not a joke post for a laugh, I think what has happened here is awful. I also think it constitutes fraud because you legally do not have a middle name yet your passport says you do.

I think you could get into a lot of trouble because when you signed your application, you agreed that the above information was true, which of course, it was not.

Advice? I have none. But I'm absolutely shaking my head at both of you. :o

CheekyCat.... :D:D:D .... IF this is indeed a real problem that you have and it's not a joke post for a laugh, I think what has happened here is awful. I also think it constitutes fraud because you legally do not have a middle name yet your passport says you do.

 

I think you could get into a lot of trouble because when you signed your application, you agreed that the above information was true, which of course, it was not.

 

Advice? I have none. But I'm absolutely shaking my head at both of you. :o

I don't know how much I can trust the response that I got from the passport agency employee on the phone. I did talk with her for almost 15 minutes. She said that a lot of people put down middle names that were not documented on any of the IDs they submitted. Per the FAM, if the person never had a middle name, it's usually allowed to go through. However, if the person had a previous middle name and submits a renewal application with an entirely different middle name, it will be flagged and sent for further determination. Adding/removing middle names are allowed for married women, or men who never had a middle name(which is my case)

Interestingly, she also said variations of names are permitted on the passport. (i.e. William/Bill, Elizabeth/Beth, Robert/Bobby, etc)

She said they either allow it or put the renewal application on hold, pending a response from the applicant. She added that I could just return the new passport that I just got and apply for another one. However, I will have to pay the full passport fee again, since the "error" was not caused by the passport agency.

Remember, if you fly using your passport as ID (international), the name on the reservation has to match the name on the passport.

I am not sure the person was correct about name variations, so the first passport needs to match your birth certificate.

I would get it changed.

But it is not and never has been your legal middle name, so people adding legitimate middle names has nothing to do with you. Look at what you signed. You declared under penalty of perjury that the statements in the renewal are true and correct, which they were not.

Committing perjury really isn't all that funny of a joke. Hope this silliness doesn't end up biting you in the butt. Or that this whole thread is just your idea of a joke.

If your DW did make this error and had you sign the form, surely you must know this is not the correct medium to request advice.

Why would you request advice on a discussion forum for a potentially legal question, that actually has a very simple common sense solution.

I think fraud is too strong a word and since no one will see your passport and birth certificate togather that isn't a concern. When we applied for passports I listed DW's middle name as 'ann' even though it is spelled 'anne'. I filled out the form requesting the correction and it was corrected at no charge, so you could do this if you wanted to.

In the technical sense most cruise lines do not insist on you entering a middle name so they are unaware of whether you have one, what it is etc. So it may be accepted for the purpose of travel. Not sure if this is the situation universally and I should get it sorted out. Logically there are two ways of doing this; send off for another passport in the correct name or change your name legally.

What your DW was doing is questionable to say the least and this would be a big problem to me.

A few years back someone I know used to work at the United Kingdom Passport Agency. They had a guy who had worked there a few years and left the organisation and they had a "leaving party". A few days or so after he had gone they received a letter from a customer returning his passport which more or less said "Thank you for your prompt and efficient service in providing my passport. The problem I have with it is that I have never had a moustache and beard" Apparently on the last day the leaver had biroed these features onto the customers photograph and issued the passport like that.

Regards John

Damn, I'm glad I read my passport app. I shudder to think what middle name my DW might pick for me...

My DH was never given a middle name by his parents.

I have filled out many passport forms as well as other forms for him (his writing and printing is atrocious) and I would never give him a middle name.

JMO -- fill out a new form -- enclose this new passport with a letter explaining what happened and request a new passport. Yes it is going to cost you.

Airlines require that your name on their tickets be the same as either your birth certificate or passport.

I hope this is a joke. If not you’re going to be messed up your entire life. Applying for jobs, applying for a mortgage all involve showing multiple forms of ID. Passport is gold.

Along these lines...

DW's last name from a previous marriage begins with S (for illustrative purposes, let's say Smith). When we got married many business contacts knew her as Jane Smith so she went by Jane Smith Doe for a couple of years. She had her driver's license changed to read Jane S Doe (her maiden name also began with an S, so there's some precedent for that).

When she got her first passport the form asked for her middle name and since her given middle name is Anne she used that and the passport was issued with the name Jane Anne Doe.

This was all fine until the airlines began requesting middle initials as part of the reservation record. Now I have to give some thought as to which form of ID she'll be using at the airport and ensure that the air reservation matches that ID (maybe it doesn't matter, but since they ask, I figure someone checks it somewhere).

The next complication, or perhaps the solution, will come in the next 12-18 months when she updates her information with the DMV to upgrade her driver's license to a RealID license. Since her DL and her passport have slightly different names (Jane S Doe vs Jane Anne Doe) I'm hoping that the RealID process will correct the DL to match her passport. We'll see...

My DH was never given a middle name by his parents.

I have filled out many passport forms as well as other forms for him (his writing and printing is atrocious) and I would never give him a middle name.

JMO -- fill out a new form -- enclose this new passport with a letter explaining what happened and request a new passport. Yes it is going to cost you.

Airlines require that your name on their tickets be the same as either your birth certificate or passport.

Corrections to passports are done at no additional charge (I do not know if there is a time limit for asking for the correction but suspect there might be). As I mentioned I misspelled DW's middle name and it was corrected with no charge (and no letter was required, just the form for correcting the passport).

But it is not and never has been your legal middle name, so people adding legitimate middle names has nothing to do with you. Look at what you signed. You declared under penalty of perjury that the statements in the renewal are true and correct, which they were not.

 

Committing perjury really isn't all that funny of a joke. Hope this silliness doesn't end up biting you in the butt. Or that this whole thread is just your idea of a joke.

Best reaction — to what is either an attempt at humor or an admission of profound stupidity on the part of two people.

I think when I applied for global entry, I had to list all names I have used so now OP will forever need to list this variation. Too bad, she didn't put "Tater".

I'm not totally sure if you will have any issues regarding your passport, but I have seen situations where people have problems with the name on their passport not matching their reservation. I personally wouldn't want to take the chance of being turned away. I would probably get my passport updated if I were you, just to avoid any potential problems.

I wouldn't pay much attention to those saying you or your wife committed fraud or perjury. First and foremost, intent has to be there, and the burden to prove intent would be up to a prosecutor. By adding a middle name when you don't have one isn't defrauding anyone, using a totally fake name is. Perjury would only come into play if you lied about something in order to get approved for the passport. You'd likely be approved with or without the middle name. So, don't worry about any crime being committed.

I'm not totally sure if you will have any issues regarding your passport, but I have seen situations where people have problems with the name on their passport not matching their reservation. I personally wouldn't want to take the chance of being turned away. I would probably get my passport updated if I were you, just to avoid any potential problems.

 

I wouldn't pay much attention to those saying you or your wife committed fraud or perjury. First and foremost, intent has to be there, and the burden to prove intent would be up to a prosecutor. By adding a middle name when you don't have one isn't defrauding anyone, using a totally fake name is. Perjury would only come into play if you lied about something in order to get approved for the passport. You'd likely be approved with or without the middle name. So, don't worry about any crime being committed.

With identity fraud so prevalent plus border security issues, I don't think intentionally applying for a passport with a fake name would be received lightly if brought to the attention of Border Control. By adding a fake middle name, it would evade detection of issues recorded under your actual name.

With identity fraud so prevalent plus border security issues, I don't think intentionally applying for a passport with a fake name would be received lightly if brought to the attention of Border Control. By adding a fake middle name, it would evade detection of issues recorded under your actual name.

No. That's not the case at all. If this was the case, then many criminals would just apply for a passport with a made up middle name to evade law enforcement.

When you apply to renew a passport, you provide additional information including your social security number, new photo, and other identifying information. That information refers back to your previous passport information and current background. Your new passport has a new number, but also indicates you had a previous passport with the previous passport number. Border Patrol would have all the necessary information to confirm your real identity without any issues in this situation. Nothing the OP posted would rise to the level of criminality.

.... Nothing the OP posted would rise to the level of criminality.

Perhaps, but I think it's important to remember that OP signed his application, either physically with a pen or electronically. This means he was supposed to read through the application and was signing to declare everything on the application is true and accurate. It wasn't. He lied (although without intent).

With identity fraud so prevalent plus border security issues, I don't think intentionally applying for a passport with a fake name would be received lightly if brought to the attention of Border Control. By adding a fake middle name, it would evade detection of issues recorded under your actual name.

Yup, nothing is ever a problem. Until it is. A government document that is used to verify your identity and citizenship is a pretty poor venue for joking around. Can't imagine what OP's partner was thinking. Makes me wonder how old they are.

Why would she do that? Makes no sense at all!

Why would she do that? Makes no sense at all!

Yea filling out official government paperwork is not the best time for joking around. Just added unneeded stress and extra work. Maybe you should handle all the paperwork from now on...