[name_m]Hi[/name_m] everyone,
I am syrian and my name is ´Mais´ it is a beautiful Arabic name but unfortunately it is pronounced like ´mice´in english and it is means corn in Italian. I will be travelling to study in the USA for the first time in [name_u]January[/name_u] and I am so anxious about how people will perceive it. I never faced a problem in my home town cause it is very easy to pronounce and has a nice meaning in Arabic. What should I do ?
I would say in my experience most people (particularly younger people like students) are pretty good about learning to pronounce names from other languages. Especially because many colleges/universities in the US have students from all around the world. You may come across some people who say “like mice?” and some people may pronounce or spell it wrong at first, but I think Mais is a lovely name and pretty clear to spell/pronounce in [name_f]English[/name_f], so I’d hope it wouldn’t cause many issues.
If it does become frustrating for you, maybe you could use a nickname like [name_u]Mai[/name_u], [name_f]Mimi[/name_f], or [name_f]Maisy[/name_f]? (although [name_f]Maisy[/name_f] is usually said like may-zee rather than mice-ee) But I would start with your real name – I am an American student myself, and I wouldn’t expect Mais to cause any problems.
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Oh we have so many cultures here and that name isnt hard to say and is pretty. I dont think many will think much of it, at least not negatively. My first reaction would be to pronounce it “my-iss” or “may-iss.” No idea if that is remotely close to accurate (sorry). But either way it sounds soft and feminine to me. And while “maize” is native american for corn, corn is not what came to mind! The name Maizey does that more for me than Mais.
I should also note that in america reactions to anything can vary considerably depending what region you are in or whether in a big city or small town. America is SOOOOO different from part to part, it can feel more like you are going from country to country as you move through it as opposed to being in the same one. Most especially when it comes to accents and pronounciations. But overall, I cant imagine too strong of a reaction one way or another just to the name. We are exposed to so much here, it is not unusual for Americans to ask even other Americans how to say a name. Just ask any school teacher! We ask and expect to be corrected and then hopefully get it right moving forward. It seems to only be tricky when you ask and you cannot understand the answer because their accent (foreign or American!) is so thick, or the name is long and complicated. Which Mais isn’t. You’ll see, we get some pretty inventive and unique names or spellings here by ordinary Americans as it is -Mais can be simple by comparison!
And, personally, I would say to not to change your name to an american-ized version to fit the culture, but to kindly correct people as to the true pronounciation instead so they adapt to yours. Its your name and identity after all!
One last thought, if it is pronounced “mice” and you needed to correct someone to say it that way but you dont like the mouse association, is to say something like, “It’s pronounced ‘Mice,’ rhymes with ‘nice.’” And then subconciously their mind may switch from thinking of little animals to a person with kind qualities. -But mice are pretty cute so there is no harm in that either. Hope this helps. Truly i think you have nothing to worry about. Again, you will not be the first person to have ever corrected an American on how to say a name! I don’t think I know one that hasn’t been. Safe travels and hope your time here goes well (ignore anyone that isnt nice) and try to travel to as many of the scenic and worthwhile places here as possible. 
I agree with EagleEyes— once you introduce yourself with the correct pronunciation most will know you and speak to you as that name! There will be a few fumbles from folks for certain, but don’t be afraid to correct them! It is a beautiful name and deserves to be spoken correctly 
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