“I am applying for my EAD this week. My first name is listed as FNU and my last name is my actual name on my SSN, Massachusetts ID, and visa. What do you recommend I put in the first and last name fields on the EAD forms?”
Seeing FNU on several records does not, by itself, settle what your legal first name is. You can give USCIS your supported legal name and explain the FNU version rather than silently choosing between them.
The deciding fact is whether you have a real legal given name or only one legal name—not how many existing cards display FNU.
Put your legal family name in Part 2, item 1.a, and your actual legal given name in item 1.b—even if your visa, Social Security card, and Massachusetts ID say . Use your birth certificate or documented legal name change to establish that name; list the FNU version under other names used. [Form I-765 and instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-765instr.pdf); [USCIS legal-name policy](https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-1-part-e-chapter-5).
Put that single name in item 1.a, Family Name (Last Name). On the paper form, put “N/A” in item 1.b because you have no legal given name; explain that FNU appears on your other documents. USCIS treats a as the family name and may itself insert “No Name Given” as a given name; its I-765 instructions say to write “N/A” when a question does not apply, unless otherwise directed. [USCIS legal-name policy](https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-1-part-e-chapter-5); [Form I-765 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-765instr.pdf).
Do not put FNU in item 1.b solely because three records display it. The visa instruction to enter FNU belongs to the DS-160, while Form I-765 asks for your legal name. The exception is if a genuine legal-name document actually establishes FNU as your given name. [State Department DS-160 FAQ](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/forms/ds-160-online-nonimmigrant-visa-application/ds-160-faqs.html); [Form I-765 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-765instr.pdf).
For either case, disclose and explain the FNU version shown on your existing documents.
These steps let you complete the I-765 name fields and account for the FNU entries this week.
Before filling the name boxes
Identify the name your legal documents support
Use your birth certificate or documented legal name change to determine whether you have a given name as well as a family name, or only one name. USCIS may examine other qualifying identity documentation when a birth certificate is unavailable. [Form I-765 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-765instr.pdf); [USCIS legal-name policy](https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-1-part-e-chapter-5).
Requirements
On the 08/21/25 paper edition
Enter your legal name in Part 2 of Form I-765
Use [Form I-765, edition 08/21/25](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-765.pdf): item 1.a is Family Name and item 1.b is Given Name. Enter your legal surname in 1.a and your actual legal given name in 1.b; if you genuinely have just one legal name, enter it in 1.a and write “N/A” in 1.b under the paper-form instruction for an inapplicable question. The September 15, 2026 edition is not accepted under USCIS’s [October 7 notice](https://www.uscis.gov/i-765).
Requirements
Before submitting the application
Explain FNU and include the matching records
In Part 2, items 2.a–4.c, disclose the version of your name shown on the FNU records—for example, your actual surname in the family-name box and FNU in the given-name box for that other version. In Part 6, identify the relevant Part 2 item and briefly explain whether you have a genuine given name or a single legal name, and that the listed records show FNU; include copies connecting the two versions. USCIS expressly asks for other names used and evidence of them. [Form I-765 instructions](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-765instr.pdf); [Form I-765, Part 6](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-765.pdf).
Requirements
You are not the first to go through this. Here is how it went for others who asked the same thing.
u/Embarrassed_Space188r/USCISFeb 15, 2026
This answer relies on USCIS’s Form I-765 and legal-name policy, the State Department’s DS-160 guidance, and Social Security’s name instructions.
Form I-765 Instructions
Your I-765 name should be supported by your birth or legal name-change record, not copied automatically from your visa.
Part 2, Item Numbers 1.a.–1.c.
Provide your full legal name as shown on your birth certificate or legal change of name document in the spaces provided.
Form I-765
Item 1.a is the family-name box.
Part 2, Item 1.a.
Family Name (Last Name)
Form I-765
Item 1.b is the given-name box.
Part 2, Item 1.b.
Given Name (First Name)
Form I-765 Instructions
The paper-form instructions give a general N/A rule for a question that does not apply.
How To Fill Out Form I-765
If a question does not apply to you (for example, if you have never been married and the question asks, “Provide the name of your current spouse”), type or print “N/A” unless otherwise directed.
USCIS Policy Manual Vol. 1 Pt. E Ch. 5
USCIS places a genuinely single legal name in the family-name position and may add its own given-name notation.
Chapter 5, One-Word Names
For purposes of properly filing benefit requests, data entry in USCIS systems, and issuing secure documents such as Permanent Resident Cards or travel documents, when a benefit requestor has a single name, USCIS considers the single name as the family name. USCIS may insert No Name Given as the given name in this circumstance.
Form I-765 Instructions
The form provides a place to disclose the FNU version appearing in your records.
Part 2, Item Numbers 2.a.–4.c.
Provide all other names you have ever used, including aliases, maiden name, and nicknames.
Form I-765 Instructions
Supporting documents help connect the legal name you enter with the FNU version on other records.
Part 2, Item Numbers 2.a.–4.c.
Submit evidence of any other names you have ever used, for example, a birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce documents, government ID, or passport identity page.
Form I-765
Part 6 gives you room to explain the difference between your legal name and records showing FNU.
Part 6
If you need extra space to provide any additional information within this application, use the space below.
DS-160 FAQ
The State Department’s FNU instruction is explicitly for the DS-160 visa form.
Help: Given Names
If your passport does not include a first or given name, please enter 'FNU' (meaning “first name unknown”) in the space for “Given Names.”
SSA POMS RM 10205.130
Social Security recognizes that FNU on an immigration document may indicate a person has only one name.
RM 10205.130
If the individual has a single name and the immigration document shows FNU (First Name Unknown) or other acronym indicating the person does not have a first name, process the SSN in the applicant’s single name.
USCIS Form I-765 notice
The court-related USCIS notice identifies which I-765 edition to use this week.
ALERT
USCIS continues to accept the 08/28/24 edition of Form I-539 and 08/21/25 edition of Form I-765 and is not accepting the 09/15/26 edition of Forms I-539 and I-765.
These are the official rules as published on the cited dates; rules can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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