Hi all,
I leave for a rtw trip in a couple of weeks and I just got my new passport. I see that they put a space in my last name that shouldn't be there (my last name is LeBlanc and the spelled it Le Blanc). All my other identification and my airline tickets have the spelling without the space and I'm going to a lot of different countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. Has anyone had a similar issue with their passport and have a hard time crossing borders due to the fact the surname on the passport isn't exact?

I've spoken to two different people who work for travel.state.gov and they both told me something different. One said I'd be fine and the other said I really need to fix it. I leave in a few weeks so I'm not sure if I want to risk having to send away for a new passport and not get it before I'm supposed to leave.

Anyone have something similar happen and can tell me what they did?

Thanks!!!!!

No, but you should use the emergency services and have an expedite to fix it. Many countries and airlines are very festidicious about such matters.

My brother recently had trouble with his passport. He was listed as a woman on it. My parents contacted the local office in Frisco, they had his passport sent in 2 weeks before they we're supposed to leave. It never got to him in time. He stopped by the office on the way to the airport and they issued him an emergency passport because it was thier fault. If you have an office near you or will be near one then I would suggest you stop by and get yourself one of these emergency passports issued. I say its always better to be safe than sorry. Wouldn't want to be denied because the names don't match.

Thanks for your advice!!

I actually went to the closest passport agency and asked them about it. They told me that is how they handle names with capitals in the middle of them these days. They put a space in it. So if my last name was McDonald they would have it in the passport as Mc Donald. They said it is fine and can't be changed.

So here's to hoping that the woman at the passport agency knows what she is talking about and I don't have any issues getting past borders!

Unfortunately, many border people in some countries are leery of any potential problems with names, and may give you trouble. But.. if the picture is close enough to your actual appearance, they may look up and down at you and the passport and let you through anyways. The good news is that customs people usually don't care about other ID usually, so the the name they see and your picture is what counts, that and your passport number.

Just checked my passport and sure enough, there's a space between the "Mc" portion and the rest. I've never even noticed it.