Foreign national individuals coming to the United States or in the process of filing a nonimmigrant petition or application should make sure they have a sufficiently valid foreign passport to avoid problems due to past or upcoming passport expiration.
U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) rules require most nonimmigrant visa applicants for admission to the United States to have a passport that is valid for at least 6 months beyond the individual’s anticipated period of stay. While CBP can consider the passport validity as automatically extended for at least 6 months beyond the expiration date for foreign nationals from many countries (see https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ci/9-FAM-41.104-Exhibit-I.pdf), CBP does not always follow this guidance, and may admit the individual only until the passport expiration date, which can be considerably earlier than the end of the period of stay for which the individual is eligible. Foreign nationals who overlook that their Form I-94 – the document generated electronically by the CBP system that shows the authorized period of stay – was limited to the expiration date of their passport, risk unknowingly being unlawfully present, and, in turn, becoming deportable. Continue reading “Passport Validity at the Time of Entry into the U.S. and Status Renewal: Plan Early and Often”