Single-letter middle name

eric239

New Member
Hello,

I have a fairly confusing situation with regards to my middle name. Being from the former USSR, I do not have a middle name per se, but rather have a patronymic name which, from the USCIS perspective, is interpreted as a middle name.

Here's what I have on various documents:
- Russian passport: first name, patronymic name, last name in russian, only first and last name in english.
- SS card: first name, middle [derived from patronymic] name, last name, all fully spelled out
- GC: first name, middle initial, last name (yes, even at the bottom part where they have <<< characters, as well as at the top part)
- I-485 application: as on SS card (fully spelled out).

So I do assume that USCIS has my full middle/patronymic name on record somewhere and perhaps it was considered too long to fit even at the bottom part of GC.
Based on that assumption I plan to put my fully spelled out name in the "legal name" section of N-400.
Of course I put what's exactly on my GC into the appropriate section, with just the initial for middle name.

Now the tricky part. Once naturalized, I don't want to carry my full patronymic middle name with me -- just doesn't make sense. I would like to keep the initial though -- there're way too many instances where I'm known as XXX Y ZZZ and there're quite a few computer systems that require a middle initial. Hence the question: can I request a single-character "full" middle name in the appropriate section of N-400? I know they state "no initials", but is a single-letter name acceptable?

Any comments will be appreciated...
 
Eric, my GC also had a similar format " First M. Lastname " even though my middle name is included in my passport and other documents. But I used my complete name while filling out the n400 which was basically in the format of "First middle Lastname" .
 
thanks, aabbcc11 -- good to know I'm not alone in that regard.
My biggest question remains the one of whether single-letter middle name is "acceptable"...
 
Eric, if asked for full name you should expand the middle initial. They don't care how you got it or what it stands for, they just want the expansion.
 
What he wants to know is if you are allowed to have a name comprising of a single letter. (no expansions)
 
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