Passport Expiration date

[James and Joan 4]

Hi Friends.

Just realized my US passport will expire in August of 2016 and I believe the parameters for the K-1 process requirements is that my passport needs 6 months validity? , I just received the NOA1 forwarded to CSC, So based on timeframes and history of the process is there a need to renew now and how could I even try at the moment because obviously the passport is still valid at the moment. Don't want something so simple to add another 4 or 5 weeks.....Hopefully I'm golden in this matter.

Thanks for your input.....

[nachocheese 0]

Are you using your US passport to prove that you are a USA citizen?

If you look at the instructions for the 129-F, under the requirements it says:

"In place of any of the above, you may submit a copy of your valid, unexpired U.S. passport issued with a validity period of at least 5 years. You must submit copies of all pages in the passport."

For me, I live overseas with my fiancee and did not have my birth certificate on hand so I had to use the passport. I had to renew the passport at the Shanghai consulate and wait until I had the new passport in hand before I mailed in my 129-F.

[James and Joan 4]

Are you using your US passport to prove that you are a USA citizen?

If you look at the instructions for the 129-F, under the requirements it says:

"In place of any of the above, you may submit a copy of your valid, unexpired U.S. passport issued with a validity period of at least 5 years. You must submit copies of all pages in the passport."

For me, I live overseas with my fiancee and did not have my birth certificate on hand so I had to use the passport. I had to renew the passport at the Shanghai consulate and wait until I had the new passport in hand before I mailed in my 129-F.

Yes I used my passport to validate my citizenship and submitted all my copies in the package and now its in the NOA1 stage at CSC , I guess then I should try and renew asap since it expires next year in August and should explain to USCIS why I'm trying to renew an unexpired passport.

[Guam PHL 1]

Hi Friends.

Just realized my US passport will expire in August of 2016 and I believe the parameters for the K-1 process requirements is that my passport needs 6 months validity? , I just received the NOA1 forwarded to CSC, So based on timeframes and history of the process is there a need to renew now and how could I even try at the moment because obviously the passport is still valid at the moment. Don't want something so simple to add another 4 or 5 weeks.....Hopefully I'm golden in this matter.

Thanks for your input.....

Your passport expires in 8 months. If you think you will receive your K1 visa and enter the U.S. before the end of Feb 2016 then you will be good to go but, with the amount of time it will take for you to undergo your medical exam, going to your visa interview, and waiting to receive you visa once approved, this process might drag you into a situation whereas by the time you arrive at a U.S. port of entry your visa will be valid for less than 6 months so it is best to renew your visa now to prevent that situation. I spoke to a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer at a U.S. port of entry airport regarding passports that will expire in less than 6 months upon entry into the U.S.. The officer stated that the visa holder should renew his/her passport prior to traveling to the U.S. and that the visa holder must also bring his/her old passport containing the "Visa".

[James and Joan 4]

Oh I understand but my fiancé is coming from Hong Kong and she is good to go with her passport, I'm the petitioner and referring to my own US passport that will expire in August , will it cause a delay from my side in the overall process?

[nachocheese 0]

Hate to say it- but you might get an RFE and delay here unless you also sent in a copy of your birth certificate as the instructions leave little room for interpretation on the "five year validity".

Renewing an unexpired passport isn't anything unusual. I just went to the passport office with the renewal form/pictures, paid the passport fee, and waited about two weeks before receiving the new passport. They don't take your old passport during that two week period so you can still travel internationally if you want. When you get your new passport, however, they do "invalidate" your old one by punching holes in the ID page.

Make sure that when you send in the copy of your passport, you send in a copy of EVERY single page (including cover, info pages). I've heard of people getting and RFE because they only sent in a copy of the ID page.

[James and Joan 4]

Hate to say it- but you might get an RFE and delay here unless you also sent in a copy of your birth certificate as the instructions leave little room for interpretation on the "five year validity".

Renewing an unexpired passport isn't anything unusual. I just went to the passport office with the renewal form/pictures, paid the passport fee, and waited about two weeks before receiving the new passport. They don't take your old passport during that two week period so you can still travel internationally if you want. When you get your new passport, however, they do "invalidate" your old one by punching holes in the ID page.

Make sure that when you send in the copy of your passport, you send in a copy of EVERY single page (including cover, info pages). I've heard of people getting and RFE because they only sent in a copy of the ID page.

Yea I did send in every sheet of my passport including front cover and back....I will just go ahead and renew my passport and although I was instructed to either use one or the other Passport or B/C ...but great thanks for your advice and I will get it in since I just started in the NOA1 stage.

[NikLR 13,227]

Okay to clarify for everyone, the US citizen does NOT need a valid passport for any of this process. It does not matter that your passport is going to expire. The only passport that matters is the beneficiary's.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

The passport for the K-1 applicant must be valid for 6 months. This is not about the USC petitioner. The K-1 applicant is the one that needs the K-1 visa approved and placed in their passport to enter the US, not the USC petitioner.

As to the requirements of the I-129F and using your passport to prove US citizenship: You met those requirements. Your US passport was not expired and was issued with a validity of at least 5 years. Passports are issued for a 10 year validity period. The passport does not need to have 5 years remaining. That is not what the instructions state. You will not get an RFE for it.

Edited December 21, 2015 by KayDeeCee

[nachocheese 0]

Okay to clarify for everyone, the US citizen does NOT need a valid passport for any of this process. It does not matter that your passport is going to expire. The only passport that matters is the beneficiary's.

This is incorrect for the OP's case. Read the instructions for the I-129F. It very clearly states that in lieu of other documents (such as a birth certificate), the US citizen can use their passport to verify their citizenship as long as it has five years of validity on it. From what was said, it is looking like the OP was doing this and in this case the US citizen's passport's expiration date emphatically matter. It does say issued with a validity of 5 years- however, this part is open for interpretation. I (native English speaker) read it as it needs to have 5 years left on it- but maybe I just misread it. Why chance it though?

Edited December 21, 2015 by nachocheese

[Guam PHL 1]

Oh I understand but my fiancé is coming from Hong Kong and she is good to go with her passport, I'm the petitioner and referring to my own US passport that will expire in August , will it cause a delay from my side in the overall process?

The expiration of your passport only matters at the time you submitted a copy of your passport with your

I-129F and it doesn't matter whether your passport is valid for 6 months or less just as long as your passport is valid at the time USCIS processes your petition. The purpose of submitting a copy of a valid U.S. passport with the petition is to establish that you are a U.S. citizen as per one of the requirements by USCIS that in order to petition a foreign fiance the peitioner must be a U.S. citizen. Once you have established that you are a U.S. citizen during the petition approval/disapproval process at USCIS, you will no longer have to provide continuous proof of U.S. citizenship as you will have already fulfilled this requirement.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

This is incorrect for the OP's case. Read the instructions for the I-129F. It very clearly states that in lieu of other documents (such as a birth certificate), the US citizen can use their passport to verify their citizenship as long as it has five years of validity on it. From what was said, it is looking like the OP was doing this and in this case the US citizen's passport's expiration date emphatically matters. It does say issued with a validity of 5 years- however, this part is open for interpretation. I (native English speaker) read it as it needs to have 5 years left on it- but maybe I just misread it. Why chance it though?

You are incorrect. See my post above.

You posted the instructions, but are reading and stating what they say wrong.

The passport needed to be issued with at least a 5 year validity, not that it needs to have at least 5 years remaining before it expires. Passports for adults are issued with a 10 year validity. Passports for those 15 and under are issued with a 5 year validity, so there is really no worry about the issue of validity. You can use it to prove your US citizenship as long as it is unexpired, which the OP's was/is.

Edited to comment to the part that was added in by the poster after I replied > Yes, it does say it needs to be unexpired and issued with a validity of at least 5 years. It is not open to interpretation though. It is exactly as it states it. The validity period it is issued with is not the same as how much validity it currently has left before it expires. It would be issued with a 10 year validity period, and someone can use their passport as proof of citizenship as long as it is unexpired, even if it has only a month or less left. People have used their unexpired passports with a varying amounts of time left on them without any issues. Why? Because the instructions clearly state as long as it was issued with at least 5 years of validity and is unexpired, then you can use it. The OP is not chancing anything, and will not receive an RFE for using their unexpired US passport as proof of US citizenship. They are good.

From the I-129F instructions >

5. What Documents Do You Need to Show That You Are a U.S. Citizen?

a. If you were born in the United States, submit a copy, front and back, of your birth certificate.

b. If you were naturalized, submit a copy, front and back, of your original Certificate of Naturalization.

c. If you were born outside the United States and you are a U.S. citizen through your "parent(s)", submit:

(1) A copy of your original Certificate of Citizenship; or

(2) Your Form FS-240, Report of Birth Abroad of a United States Citizen.

d. In place of any of the above, you may submit a copy of your valid, unexpired U.S. passport issued with a validity

period of at least 5 years. You must submit copies of all pages in the passport.

Edited December 21, 2015 by KayDeeCee

[Cathi 5,748]

Your passport has noting to do with any of this...it is HERS that counts

[rutabaga 209]

The crucial phrase, like KayDeeCee notes, is "issued with" and the intention of the language is in all likelihood to exclude using things like emergency (i.e. temporary) passports (which are generally issued with a validity of no more than one year) to prove citizenship.

Edited December 21, 2015 by rutabaga

[Chris and ZhiJia 146]

Your passport has noting to do with any of this...it is HERS that counts

He used his passport in lieu of a birth certificate to prove citizenship, as part of the requirements for filing the I-129F.