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Ask HN: Input forms and people with just one legal name
1 point by eggy on May 23, 2022 | hide | past | favorite | 2 comments
My wife is Indonesian, and for her generation, it is common to have been given one name only. There is not family name. Her Indo passport has her one name. The US Federal government put "HerName FNU" (not even in the righ order), which stands for "First Name Unknown". NYS has put "HerName LNU" with "LNU" meaning "Last Name Unknown", and other companies have put her name twice for first and last names; my last name (even though our wedding certificate has only her one name); and variations on the above "LNU" and "FNU" combinations. We tried to get her learner's permit today at the NYS DMV, and they wouldn't accept all the documents we presented, because of the differences in the names. What can we do? How can digital input forms be made more global or unbiased for such cases? What I mean, is that she cannot leave a field for Last Name or First Name blank in any online form aside from in-person at places like the DMV. Thanks!


Found this article that might be helpful.

https://www.immigrationcube.com/fnu-lnu-visa-blank-surname-p...


Thanks for the link, however, that seems to speak to someone who only put one name on their Indian passport, and the US government puts FNU or LNU. In my wife's case, nothing is forgotten or left out. She has only one name. Her Indonesian passport only has the one name. She'd have to choose to have a new name given to her (not a family name, since it doesn't exist in her village/family), and that would not be a last name either. Then change her Indonesian passport and all of her Indonesian documentation with the new added name, and THEN come back to the US after re-applying for a VISA with the newly added name.




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