Name Mismatch Across Passport, I-20, I-94, EAD and SSN? Fix Records in This Order So Payroll Works

One misspelled or reordered name can travel from your I-20 to your Social Security record to payroll. Here is which record to fix first, and why the order matters.

Part of our guide to E-Verify.

A name mismatch between your passport, I-20 and SSN record is fixed from the passport outward. Correct each record in the order agencies copy from one another: the I-20 (your DSO updates SEVIS), the I-94 (CBP or USCIS), the EAD (USCIS), your Social Security record (SSA), and only then payroll and E-Verify. Going to SSA or payroll first does not work, because SSA takes a noncitizen's name from the immigration documents and payroll copies the Social Security card.

Status as of November 1, 2026:

• In effect: USCIS replaces an EAD with its own error at no fee, about 30 days after it receives the returned card. A name change, or your own error, needs a new I-765 at $520 paper / $470 online (USCIS correction guide; Form G-1055, edition 10/26/26), on the 08/21/25 edition (Form I-765 page).
• Grace period ends 2026-11-09: the I-765 and I-102 mailing addresses changed on 2026-10-07; old addresses work only for forms postmarked on or before 2026-11-09 (filing-location updates).
• In effect to 2026-12-11: the continuing resolution carries E-Verify, which lapses with it unless Congress passes funding by then (CRS R49353).

Name mismatch on your passport, I-20 and SSN: the short answer

Your passport sets your name for US immigration records. SEVIS names should follow the passport's machine-readable zone, the Social Security Administration takes a foreign-born person's name from the immigration document presented, and payroll copies the Social Security card. So fix the I-20, I-94 and EAD first, then SSA, then your employer, never the reverse.

Which document should my name match?

Your passport, specifically its machine-readable zone (MRZ: the two lines of characters under the photo). The SEVIS name standards say: "Nonimmigrant names entered in SEVIS should match the name in the passport's MRZ." Where the MRZ is unreliable, school officials use discretion.

Social Security inherits from there. SSA's manual, POMS RM 10212.001 (effective 2024-05-31), says "A foreign-born person's legal name is the name shown on the presented immigration document," and for F-1 students tells staff to "consider the name on Form I-20 the legal name." RM 10211.295 adds that this holds "as long as name on the I-20 matches the name on the foreign passport," and that once you present an EAD, "Name on EAD is legal name." Our field-by-field guide to Form I-20 shows where your name sits.

Some differences are conventions, not errors

• Hyphens and apostrophes: SEVIS name fields drop them (only the preferred-name field allows them) and SSA's Numident does not display them. On Form I-9, though, E-Verify says to include them.
• Middle names: SSA says, "We do not consider the middle name or suffix part of the legal name."
• Long names: the passport MRZ and the SEVIS passport-name field each hold 39 characters, so a long name can be cut short.
• Single names: SEVIS puts a single name in the surname field and does not accept placeholders such as FNU as a given name. Other agencies use their own conventions, so ask the issuing agency before calling it an error.

Real errors look different: a surname split differently from the passport, given and family names swapped, a misspelling, or a name from an old passport.

Who fixes which record (as of 2026-11)

Sources: SEVIS name standards, USCIS correction guide (reviewed 2025-02-18), G-1055 (edition 10/26/26), SSA POMS, M-274 section 6.3, IRS Publication 15 (2026).

Why the order matters

Each agency copies the record above it.

• SSA before the I-20 or EAD: SSA records the name on your immigration document as long as your passport supports it, and RM 10212.001 says that if "the required documents show clearly different names, do not accept the evidence." Either way, SSA cannot give you a passport-matching record while the document it relies on (the I-20, or the EAD once you have one) says otherwise.
• Payroll before SSA: IRS Publication 15 (2026) tells employers to "Record the name and SSN of each employee as they're shown on the employee's social security card" and to "Continue to report the employee's wages under the old name until the employee shows you the updated social security card with the corrected name." The employer then files Form W-2c for the most recently filed W-2.
• E-Verify compares what HR enters from Form I-9 with SSA and DHS records, so it exposes whatever is still wrong upstream.

Misconception: "Social Security is the master record, so fix SSA first."

Correction: For a noncitizen it runs the other way. SSA copies your immigration document (the EAD once you have one); the only exception it lists is a name legally changed after that document was issued.

How to fix your records in order, step by step

1. Compare your passport photo page, visa, Form I-20, I-94 (from CBP's I-94 website), EAD and Social Security card: surname, given names, order and spelling.
2. Fix the passport first if it is the wrong one, through your country's passport authority or consulate.
3. Email your DSO your passport photo page and ask for a SEVIS correction and a new Form I-20. Study in the States lists "changes to a student's personal information" as a reason for a new I-20 (Students and the Form I-20).
4. Check the I-94. For a CBP-issued record, USCIS says to "go to the nearest CBP port of entry or deferred inspection office to correct the document"; a USCIS-issued one takes Form I-102 (fixing I-94 errors).
5. Correct the EAD with USCIS. A USCIS error goes through an online service request plus returning the card to the Lee's Summit production facility. A name change or your own error takes a new I-765 under filing category 1.b; in our reading, a card that repeats a wrong name you typed on the I-765 is your error (our EAD error guide).
6. Apply to SSA with Form SS-5, your passport, the corrected I-20, I-94, EAD and any legal name-change document.
7. Show HR the updated Social Security card so payroll changes the reported name and Form I-9 Supplement B records any legal name change.
8. Check myE-Verify before your next start date. E-Verify's employee tips say: "Before you complete Form I-9, use myE-Verify to verify that your government records are accurate."

No SSN yet? SSA builds your first record from what you bring, so bring matching documents. The current I-765 has no SSN request, and SSA will not process an OPT-based application before your EAD start date; our guide to getting an SSN and driver license covers that visit.

Worked example: a split surname found during onboarding

Ananya's passport reads surname KULKARNI, given names ANANYA RAO. Her 2024 I-20 recorded surname RAO KULKARNI, and her Social Security record, created from that I-20, followed it. Her OPT EAD and I-94 match the passport. Her E-Verify employer start date is Monday 2026-12-07.

Because the EAD name controls under RM 10211.295, SSA might have accepted her EAD alone; fixing the I-20 first means no document she shows disagrees. The dates show sequence, not speed. If SSA has not finished by 12-07, she still completes Form I-9 in her legal name, and any SSA mismatch follows the normal TNC steps.

My I-20 and passport names differ. Will that cause problems at the border?

It can draw questions. You present your passport, visa and I-20 together on entry, and your DSO can correct the I-20 more easily before a trip than you can explain it at a port of entry. Check your I-94 after landing: if it matches the passport but not the I-20, the I-20 is the record to fix.

With an initial OPT application pending, Cornell's international office writes, "We suggest you do not travel internationally before it is approved" (Cornell, travel on OPT); Johns Hopkins and USC say much the same. Talk to your DSO before any trip.

How do I fix a name mismatch with Social Security?

Bring documents that already agree. For a legal change, SSA needs evidence of the change event, the new name and your identity as shown on its latest record (RM 10212.015). RM 10212.010 lists accepted events, including US and foreign marriages, divorce or annulment, and US court orders. For a correction with no legal change, such as a name-order error, RM 10212.150 points back to the legal-name rule, so your immigration documents decide.

Will a name mismatch cause an E-Verify TNC?

It can. E-Verify's mismatch overview lists "You did not report your name change to SSA" and "Your name, Social Security number, or date of birth is incorrect in SSA records" as SSA mismatch causes, and a name that differs from DHS records as a DHS mismatch cause. It adds that a mismatch "does not necessarily mean that you are not authorized to work in the United States."

It usually surfaces at a new hire: a first OPT job, a STEM OPT employer or an H-1B employer change. USCIS's M-274 section 6.3 says that without a new Form I-9 an employer "should not create a new E-Verify case," and that "Your employees should record their legal name change with the SSA to avoid mismatches in E-Verify." If you get a mismatch, our guide to the E-Verify tentative nonconfirmation covers deadlines and rights; a start after 2026-12-11 also raises the E-Verify funding question.

Do I need a new EAD after a name change?

Not automatically. USCIS's wording is "If you would like to update the name reflected on your document," with evidence "such as a court order, marriage certificate, divorce decree, or other vital document record." That goes on a new I-765 under category 1.b, a "correction of your EAD not due to USCIS error," sent with "The EAD containing the incorrect information," a statement, and $520 on paper or $470 online (G-1055 lists a lower fee for some applicants with a pending I-485).

The card goes back with the filing, so you have no EAD to show a new employer until the replacement arrives; talk to your DSO (or attorney on H-4) and HR before mailing it. On 2026-11-01 the USCIS processing-times tool showed 5 months for (c)(3) student I-765s and 17.5 months for standalone (c)(26) H-4 I-765s (80% of cases). Those are category-wide figures; check the tool for your case. H-4 (c)(26) I-765s are paper only.

Name change after marriage on OPT, STEM OPT or H-4

Same order, one step earlier:

1. Obtain the marriage certificate, then a passport in the new name from your own government.
2. Ask your DSO to update SEVIS and the I-20 from the new passport (F-1, OPT, STEM OPT).
3. Ask your DSO, or your attorney on H-4, how the new name will reach your I-94, which reflects the passport you were admitted on.
4. Replace the EAD, if you want it in the new name, through a new I-765 with the marriage certificate.
5. Update SSA, then give HR the new card. M-274 says HR should confirm the change, for example with a marriage certificate, and keep a copy with Form I-9.

SSA can record a legal name change while your DHS documents still show the old name, and E-Verify lists a name that differs from DHS records as a mismatch cause. Whether to change every US record at once is a DSO question for F-1 records and an immigration attorney question for H-4 and H-1B.

What to tell your employer meanwhile

Put it in writing: "My legal name is [passport name]. My [I-20 or Social Security record] shows [other version]; a correction is under way and I will bring the updated document." Complete Form I-9 in your full legal name, listing prior names under other last names used ("Do not use nicknames," says E-Verify), and ask HR to keep the payroll name until you show the new card.

Common mistakes

• Fixing Social Security first. SSA follows your immigration documents and may refuse.
• Changing payroll before SSA. IRS tells employers to wait for the updated card.
• Putting a preferred name on Form I-9. SEVIS has a preferred-name field for the name your school uses; Form I-9 takes your legal name.
• Paying for USCIS's mistake, or claiming USCIS error for your own. One wastes the fee; with the other, USCIS sends you to the fee-paid route once it finds the error was yours.
• Assuming the I-94 is wrong when it matches the passport but not the I-20.

Frequently asked questions

Which document should my name match?

Your passport. SEVIS names should match its machine-readable zone, and SSA treats an F-1 student's I-20 name as the legal name only when it matches the passport, and the EAD name once you have one. Get those three to agree before you go to SSA or payroll.

My I-20 and passport names differ. Will that cause problems at the border?

It can draw questions, since you present your passport, visa and I-20 together on entry, so ask your DSO to fix the I-20 before a trip. A CBP-issued I-94 with a name error is corrected at a CBP port of entry or deferred inspection office. With an initial OPT application pending, talk to your DSO before travelling.

How do I fix a name mismatch with Social Security?

Fix your immigration documents first, then apply to SSA with Form SS-5 and documents that match. SSA policy (POMS RM 10212.001, effective 2024-05-31) takes a foreign-born person's legal name from the immigration document, unless the name was legally changed after it was issued.

Will a name mismatch cause an E-Verify TNC?

It can. E-Verify lists an unreported name change, a name that is wrong in SSA records and a name that differs from DHS records as mismatch causes. A mismatch does not necessarily mean you are not authorized to work, and it usually surfaces at a new hire.

Do I need a new EAD after a name change?

Not automatically; USCIS frames the update as your choice. A card in the new name takes a new Form I-765 (a correction not due to USCIS error) with the old card, a statement, evidence such as a marriage certificate and $520 paper or $470 online (G-1055, edition 10/26/26). USCIS fixes its own mistakes at no fee.

Sources

• SEVIS Help Hub, Name Standards and Name Fields Job Aid
• Study in the States, Students and the Form I-20
• USCIS, How to Correct, Update, or Replace Immigration Documents
• USCIS, Form G-1055, Form I-765 and filing-location updates
• USCIS M-274, section 6.3
• SSA POMS RM 10212.001, RM 10211.295, RM 10212.010, RM 10212.015, RM 10212.150
• IRS Publication 15 (2026)
• E-Verify mismatch overview and employee tips
• CRS R49353, continuing appropriations for FY2027
• USCIS processing times, CBP I-94 and Cornell, travel on OPT

How we checked this: on 2026-11-01 we read the SEVIS name pages, USCIS's correction guide, Form I-765 page, filing-location updates and M-274, the G-1055 fee schedule (edition 10/26/26), SSA's POMS legal-name sections, IRS Publication 15 and E-Verify's employee pages, and checked each quote against the live page.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your own passport, I-20, I-94 and EAD, and your DSO (F-1, OPT and SEVIS records) or a licensed immigration attorney (H-4, H-1B and petitions), govern over anything published here. Payroll and W-2 questions go to your employer or a tax professional who handles nonresident returns.

Matching records keep an OPT or STEM OPT start date from slipping. If you want help with the search itself, focused on employers that sponsor, F1Jobs works with international candidates on exactly that.