Common names for FBI namecheck

O

ordinaria

Registered Users (C)
What is the deal with FBI name checks? I happen to have a very common Spanish name, something like Juan Fernandez-Garcia (that is not my name, just something similar)... With about 45 million hispanics in the US, most of which with the same last name, I'm worried that searches such as Juan Fernandez, Juan Garcia, etc. will come up with tons of felons and law violators...
But, at the same time, people from Spanish speaking countries do get greencards (I mean, they are not all stuck in the check...)
I don't know - I was wondering if there is anybody with a similar experience regarding common (Spanish, maybe?) names, and also whether they separate hyphenated last names for the check (I mean, Juan Fernandez-Garcia is not nearly as common as Juan Fernandez or Juan Garcia). Am I making sense?
 
Hi Ordinaria (not sure why you use this nick, I think that means "ordinary")?

Anyway, I am not of Spanish origin but I am still Latin, and while my name is not very common, it's not very uncommon either. I mean, I know there are many people living in the US with my last name, especially in New York, New England and parts of California where most people of my native language and cultural background live. Most people have no clue about the "logic" behind name checks, and we can't really predict if our name will end up matching some criminal's name. My name check took a "regular" amount of time, and I'm basing that on the fact that I just got my Interview Letter within the expected timeframe (i.e. processing dates posted on the USCIS web site).

Is your processing date past the date you applied?
 
The name ordinaria is from a line in a Pedro Almodovar movie - "no me seas ordinaria" = don't be crass

Thanks for your insight.
 
I have wondered what happens as well. I also have a common name. I know they do take your date of birth into account, so I hope that will help somewhat. I guess we'll see if we both end up stuck in name check!
 
I just filed for my AOS, so I have as yet to reach the AOS name check. But 2 years back whilst renewing my H1-B visa in Johannesburg, South Africa, I had to wait for a month, pending name check clearance. Last year I had no issue and got the visa the same day. This year my I-797 took 4.5 months, supposedly after going through a name check. Then 3 months back I went down to Mexico for my yearly H1-B visa renewal with that same I-797, and am still waiting for them to call me and say my name check has cleared (fortunately I was allowed to re-enter the US). So I think there's more randomness to their name checks as I've experienced so far. Otherwise they'd compare my previous name checks against my date of birth and realize these have all been for the same person, some within weeks of the other. I have a bad feeling I'm going to be waiting for quite sometime when my AOS name check turn comes around :eek:.
 
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