How to fill out the ESTA application as a Singapore passport holder?

Question

Unlike many other passports, the Singapore passport does not specify the last name and given name fields and instead follows what is reflected on the NRIC (Identity Card). My full name goes by (using pseudonyms) LEE HOWARD JOHN, where "LEE" is my family name/last name and "HOWARD JOHN" is my given names and it is printed in the passport in the same way as well.

The MRZ of the passport does not indicate which is the last name: PASGPLEE<HOWARD<JOHN.

From what I have read, since there is no distinction of a primary identifier, i.e. "<<", I am assuming everything goes under the "last name" field with the first/given name indicated as "FNU"? When I uploaded the passport biodata page, the system automatically threw everything under the Last name field as there are no double filler characters. I submitted the ESTA and got approval. Will this cause any problems at immigration and should I reapply for ESTA?

Should I ideally follow the same format and convention when booking the flight to the US as well? Or put in my actual last name and given names?

Answer 1

I have no direct experience with this, but consider lambshaanxy's comment:

I'm not familiar with US ESTAs specifically, but all my Singaporean colleagues entered their "actual" first and last names when booking flights, getting visas etc and I never heard of anybody having issues with this.

Consider also this question and answer from the official ESTA FAQ:

My name contains letters that are not in the American English alphabet. How should I spell my name in the ESTA Application?

Below are some common substitutions in the American English alphabet for unique European letters. You may also refer to the machine readable portion of your passport (with the chevrons <<< >>>) for the universal spelling of your name.

• ß,ß = ss
• æ = a e
• ö = oe
• [etc.]

This doesn't address your question directly, of course, but note that they do not say "you must ensure that you enter your name exactly as shown in the machine readable portion of your passport"; instead they suggest that you "may refer to" the MRZ. This implies that discrepancies between the MRZ and the ESTA data are not problematic. After all, the passport number and issuing country are sufficient to identify the passport and find the associated ESTAs to see whether there is a valid one.

I further suspect that having your given name as "FNU" on your ESTA record is going to cause more problems than having the distribution of your actual name differ between passport and ESTA. I would therefore be inclined to enter "Lee" for the last name and "Howard John" for the given names.

Whichever you choose, please do come back and answer your own question to let us know how it goes.

Answer 2

It is really important that you fill the forms as it is written in your passport.

If your passport doesn't have a first/last name field, then this is how you are supposed to fill the form

US ICE has a page about name standards

From the example written in the above page :

P<UTOERIKSSON<<ANNA<MARIA<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

After the 3-letter country code (UTO here)

ERIKSSON : Primary identifier - If there is more than one component, they are separated by a single filler character.

If there aren't a

<< : Double filler characters indicate the end of the primary identifier.

Then everyting goes, as you stated, into last name, with first name unknown

Will this cause any problems at immigration and should I reapply for ESTA?

Reapplying with a different name format will defintely cause issues, don't do that, your ESTA is perfectly valid and follows your passport data

Should I ideally follow the same format and convention when booking the flight to the US as well? Or put in my actual last name and given names?

Airlines are way less picky regarding names than immigration but APIS (Advanced Passenger Information System) will be a roadblock (Airlines are required to send a huge lot of info about their passengers to the US before the flight, where they can deny you boarding).

So yes, follow your passport's format so that there aren't any issues.