Help please! Birth certificate wrong name spelling= difficulty getting Passport

[irisheileen]

I am helping an inexperienced cruiser whose husband's Birth Certificate has HIS last name misspelled but his birth father's name spelled correctly. No passport will be issued right now and they are sailing Sunday 8/5 (10 business days away!) Wife's passport, (with his same last name) was received, and will be used at Customs.

 

First HAL rep states "no problem at NYC port", when we asked for written documentaion of this we are told not possible. Supervisor requested and she disagrees with first rep! "There is a SLIGHT" chance CUSTOMS OFFICIALS will not accept Birth certificate with one vowel wrong, that doesn't match his correct DL. HAL has NO CONTROL we are told.

 

Congress-person says they can do nothing to help.

 

So, her husband has a letter at their home with instructions to follow. We will have access to those instructions later today, but I just wanted to start getting opinions and hearing about real life experiences from you all.

 

Realistacally, what are the chances that they will be able to resolve the discrepancy on the BC in time to get an expedited Passport IN TIME for 8/5 sailing?

[YubaSutter]

If it is a closed loop cruise, bring his birth certificate an state ID.

[irisheileen]

If it is a closed loop cruise, bring his birth certificate an state ID.

 

Thanks but that is the whole probelm...his BC doesn't match his Drivers license. They CAN'T use the BC in it's current state. It might not be accepted.

 

We have always been aware that a passport isn't needed to Belmuda from NYC.

[irisheileen]

Realistacally, what are the chances that they will be able to resolve the discrepancy on the BC in time to get an expedited Passport IN TIME for 8/5 sailing?

I'll change my question to include: What are the chances of resolving Birth Certificate name change in time so that ITcould be used as ID at port, OR in time for BC to be used to complete the expeditied passport procedure? Thanks!!!

[Tampa Girl]

Shouldn't you be calling the Pennsylvania Department of Vital Statistics or an attorney?

[nyc12345]

Can he order another copy with the right last name? Try this site:

 

https://www.vitalchek.com/

[Salacia]

I am helping an inexperienced cruiser whose husband's Birth Certificate has HIS last name misspelled but his birth father's name spelled correctly. No passport will be issued right now and they are sailing Sunday 8/5 (10 business days away!) Wife's passport, (with his same last name) was received, and will be used at Customs.

 

First HAL rep states "no problem at NYC port", when we asked for written documentaion of this we are told not possible. Supervisor requested and she disagrees with first rep! "There is a SLIGHT" chance CUSTOMS OFFICIALS will not accept Birth certificate with one vowel wrong, that doesn't match his correct DL. HAL has NO CONTROL we are told.

 

Congress-person says they can do nothing to help.

 

So, her husband has a letter at their home with instructions to follow. We will have access to those instructions later today, but I just wanted to start getting opinions and hearing about real life experiences from you all.

 

Realistacally, what are the chances that they will be able to resolve the discrepancy on the BC in time to get an expedited Passport IN TIME for 8/5 sailing?

 

Hi Irisheillen. Yikes! How did your friend manage to get a social security card with his last name being spelled incorrectly on his birth certificate? Or does his social security card also have his last name mispelled? I'm wondering how many official documents have his name with the wrong spelling as that might complicate his efforts to obtain a passport with the right spelling in time for sailing.

 

Does the wife's passport have the correct spelling of the last name, or the incorrect spelling copied from her husband's birth certificate?

 

Here is a link to the US Dept of State: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

On that page you will see how to contact information for passport infomation and assistance, either by phone or e-mail.

 

Sure sounds like a complicated issue. I hope it all gets straightened out in time :eek: Regards, -S.

 

Edited to add: I agree with the previous poster who mentioned contacting an attorney.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I am curious, how long have they know of the problem? When did they book this cruise? From back when I got my drivers license in the late 60's one must have a Birth certificate and Social Security number to obtain a Drivers License, how did the License get obtained being spelled differently :confused:

Sadly this sounds like something that could take many months to straighten out and purchasing a cruise to leave the country when you have such a porblem is not a great idea. It will be totally up to the Port Authority at embarkation to decide if they will allow it, this has nothing to do with what HAL will allow. Then there are other things to be concerned about, if something were to happen while in Bermuda, then the problem can continue when they return.

If nothing gets resolved before they leave then they can just try to board and see what happens but they must expect that they can get turned away and if they allow it then great.

[Salacia]

PARTIAL QUOTE

...

We have always been aware that a passport isn't needed to Belmuda from NYC.

 

Irisheileen, I'm not sure that is correct....see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1672451 Suggest you read the entire thread.

-S.

[igraf]

Your friends need to take this a bit more seriously, and perhaps they might do so after missing a cruise.

 

You will not resolve the problem on a cruise message board. Tell them to go get real help.

 

igraf

[alpal1993]

Hi Irisheillen. Yikes! How did your friend manage to get a social security card with his last name being spelled incorrectly on his birth certificate? Or does his social security card also have his last name mispelled? I'm wondering how many official documents have his name with the wrong spelling as that might complicate his efforts to obtain a passport with the right spelling in time for sailing.

 

Does the wife's passport have the correct spelling of the last name, or the incorrect spelling copied from her husband's birth certificate?

 

Here is a link to the US Dept of State: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

On that page you will see how to contact information for passport infomation and assistance, either by phone or e-mail.

 

Sure sounds like a complicated issue. I hope it all gets straightened out in time :eek: Regards, -S.

 

Edited to add: I agree with the previous poster who mentioned contacting an attorney.

My FIL has spent his entire life with the last name that is on his DL,SSC,has been in the service worked for the Govt Never a problem.Went to renew DL in State of Florida BC has an entirely different last name Spent many hours and much money to get it straightened out.He also collected Social Security and Medicare so go figure.. Had to send to Louisiana for Birth Certificate,almost had a heart attack when he received it and saw the registered last name.LOL

[richwmn]

Many years ago a friend accompanied me on a cruise. He was not planning on getting a passport. When he got a copy of his birth certificate he found that it had a completely different last name than the one he had used since he could remember. Since we started in plenty of time, but not much extra, his first step was to get a state id card issued in the name on his bc. That sufficed for the cruise. After the cruise was over, he spent quite a bit of time getting everything straightened out.

 

Getting the state id was a reasonably easy process. Maybe that would work in this case until after the cruise is over

[irisheileen]

Many years ago a friend accompanied me on a cruise. He was not planning on getting a passport. When he got a copy of his birth certificate he found that it had a completely different last name than the one he had used since he could remember. Since we started in plenty of time, but not much extra, his first step was to get a state id card issued in the name on his bc. That sufficed for the cruise. After the cruise was over, he spent quite a bit of time getting everything straightened out.

 

Getting the state id was a reasonably easy process. Maybe that would work in this case until after the cruise is over

 

Thanks so much for such a great suggestion, just what I asked for...help!

 

I'll have them look into that.

[irisheileen]

Your friends need to take this a bit more seriously, and perhaps they might do so after missing a cruise.

 

You will not resolve the problem on a cruise message board. Tell them to go get real help.

 

igraf

 

Huh? Where did you get the impression that they weren't taking this seriously?:confused: We never expected to "resolve the problem on a cruise message board". If you re-read my post, I've asked for opinions and help after contacting several authorities including her Congresswoman and HAL and the Passport office online.

This forum, I assured her, would be the place to go to get options we hadn't yet thought of, or, been able to acomplish yet. We wanted to know:

Realistacally, what are the chances that they will be able to resolve the discrepancy on the BC in time to get an expedited Passport IN TIME for 8/5 sailing? Surely, this has happened to someone else her on CC, I reasoned.

[SwissMyst]

Do a legal name change - fairly simple to file and one can do it themselves self, if they cannot get the original issuing agency who made the mistake to correct it now. Even though it is not their fault, it would be easier to just get the court order to reflect what they want it to be. This would add the proper layer of proof for the original mistake.

 

Tell them to look up the procedure to do a legal name change in your state. Look also for NOLO press self-help legal guides -- I think they have one for name changes too.

 

But best approach is if the original issuing agency that got it wrong - they should have a process for verifiable corrections so they can issue the corrected, amended birth certificate in lieu of what the client has now.

 

FAQ's for name changes: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/name-change-faq-29091.html

[irisheileen]

I am curious, how long have they know of the problem? When did they book this cruise? From back when I got my drivers license in the late 60's one must have a Birth certificate and Social Security number to obtain a Drivers License, how did the License get obtained being spelled differently :confused:

Sadly this sounds like something that could take many months to straighten out and purchasing a cruise to leave the country when you have such a porblem is not a great idea. It will be totally up to the Port Authority at embarkation to decide if they will allow it, this has nothing to do with what HAL will allow. Then there are other things to be concerned about, if something were to happen while in Bermuda, then the problem can continue when they return.

If nothing gets resolved before they leave then they can just try to board and see what happens but they must expect that they can get turned away and if they allow it then great.

 

ALL of his other IDs are in the correct name--military, DL, SS card, Marriage Liscense. they didn't discover the Birth certificate issue untill they booked the cruise and sent away for it. They received it in the mail, took it to the Passport Office-passed those official eyes- and waited for the Passport to come in the mail. She received hers and he just now received a letter stating that there was a problem due to the wrong vowel.

 

Now the rush is on--they had been doing everything OK before. Passport office should have stoped them in their tracks as they handed in the official form in person. 2 weeks went by before they now realize their is a problem with passport.

 

Even if they don't get passport, the BC still needs to be fixed.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Many years ago a friend accompanied me on a cruise. He was not planning on getting a passport. When he got a copy of his birth certificate he found that it had a completely different last name than the one he had used since he could remember. Since we started in plenty of time, but not much extra, his first step was to get a state id card issued in the name on his bc. That sufficed for the cruise. After the cruise was over, he spent quite a bit of time getting everything straightened out.

 

Getting the state id was a reasonably easy process. Maybe that would work in this case until after the cruise is over

Rich this is a great idea but unfortunately I doubt seriously it can be done now. I know in the state of Nevada it definitely cannot be done. If you hold a Valid Drivers License our state will not issue you a State I.D. Card. A lot of things have change in recent years in regard to identifications issues by the states. The is just opening up a case for people setting up fraud accounts. Now yes he can prove that his BC is showing a different name and they may or may not change his Drivers License but that is opening up a whole different can of worms. As much as I would like to say this could be an easy fix I am pretty sure there this cannot be done.

[trvlcrzy]

Two real-life experiences...

1) My mother's middle name is misspelled on her birth certificate. Her passport has the correct spelling. Her chosen name to identify herself is her middle name. She can't remember how she successfully got the correct spelling on the passport.

 

2) My co-worker was getting her teaching license for the first time, and she had to submit her birth certificate. Her first name is misspelled on the birth certificate (she already had her driver's license, college degree...), and the state refused to accept her birth certificate. She looked into fixing the BC, but the expense was cost-prohibitive. It would have required a legal name change with court costs in our state. She now goes by her misspelled first name... and has had to change her driver's license, etc.

 

Suggestion: Would it be possible to get a notarized letter from the Department of Vital Statistics (or whatever your state's department is called) in the county of birth? The notarized letter would state that the birth certificate is in error based on the father's surname being correct?

 

Just trying to think of an emergency fix...

The idea of a state issued ID (not a driver's license) matching the BC name would be a temp fix if allowed in your state... but don't get the passport to match!

[gloriouscruise]

It's just amazing how one little vowel can mess up someones cruise like this. HAL should solve this problem for you, it's not your fault that the papers was messed up ages ago.

[pms4104]

It's just amazing how one little vowel can mess up someones cruise like this. HAL should solve this problem for you, it's not your fault that the papers was messed up ages ago.

And HAL should fix it ... how? Should they change the name in the booking to agree with the misspelled last name on the BC? Well, then it doesn't agree with the gov't photo ID. I don't know that this is something HAL can fix, as it's more complex than what name is on the booking.

[Salacia]

It's just amazing how one little vowel can mess up someones cruise like this. HAL should solve this problem for you, it's not your fault that the papers was messed up ages ago.

 

Sorry, but can't see how it's HAL's responsibility to solve this problem.

 

copied from HAL website "Before You Go" page:

Holland America Line highly recommends that all guests carry a passport that is valid for at least six months beyond the completion date of your travel. Having a passport will enable you to fly from the U.S. to a foreign port in the event you miss your scheduled embarkation or to fly back to the U.S. if you need to disembark the ship mid-cruise due to an emergency.

PLEASE NOTE: It is your sole responsibility to obtain and have available the proper travel documents that are necessary for your travel, including all costs related to arrangements to obtain entry to countries you visit and re-entry to your destination country. Boarding may be denied or fines may be levied against those guests without proper documentation. Payment of any fines levied is the responsibility of the individual guest.

[sail7seas]

HAL has no power to make this right. Only the person named on the birth certificate and Officials who process Birth Certificates can correct this problem.

 

HAL cannot adjust someone's birth certificate to match the a/k/a name they regularly use.

 

This is a niggly problem that must be corrected as it will continue to bite until it is fixed.

 

Think in terms of Social Security, Tax Returns, Medicare, any sort of legal instances.........

 

[SwissMyst]

It's just amazing how one little vowel can mess up someones cruise like this. HAL should solve this problem for you, it's not your fault that the papers was messed up ages ago.

 

No it was not their fault the original mistake was made, but there is some culpability in not correcting it later.

[richwmn]

Rich this is a great idea but unfortunately I doubt seriously it can be done now. I know in the state of Nevada it definitely cannot be done. If you hold a Valid Drivers License our state will not issue you a State I.D. Card. A lot of things have change in recent years in regard to identifications issues by the states. The is just opening up a case for people setting up fraud accounts. Now yes he can prove that his BC is showing a different name and they may or may not change his Drivers License but that is opening up a whole different can of worms. As much as I would like to say this could be an easy fix I am pretty sure there this cannot be done.

Each state handles this differently. I currently hold both a valid GA DL and a valid GA ID card. Both were last re-issued late last year.

My friend, about 8 years ago was able to get the ID in a day, which would make it doable.

YMMV depending on local laws

 

Rich

[CtheW0rld]

It's just amazing how one little vowel can mess up someones cruise like this. HAL should solve this problem for you, it's not your fault that the papers was messed up ages ago.

 

huh? it is not hal's fault, either.