How long does passport have to be valid?

[Mykonos 10]

Hello everyone,

I have my interview set for Dec 15, 2015. I won't be heading to the US until March 2016. My passport expires November 2016. The site I went on to schedule my interview says "The passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the period of stay in the United States". Now I thought that your passport just had to be valid 6 months past interview date, or 6 months past your entry into the US (forget which one). I will renew my passport before I leave in March, but I just wanted to know if I should have it done before the interview or what?

If I want to renew my passport over a year early, I have to provide an explanation, and I'm not exactly sure how to explain it, as I dont know the details of what the point of reference is for validity.

I appreciate any help!

[Hypnos 6,576]

If possible I'd try to renew it now to head off that problem prior to your interview.

[newacct 688]

Canada is on the list of countries that recognize the passport for 6 months after its expiry, so the passport has to be valid for the period of stay only.

[Anthony and Becky 6]

My interview was scheduled on Sept 28th with an anticipated POE around November (2 weeks away now!). My passport was set to expire in March 2016. I only got my passport renewed after packet 4, so the passport # referenced throughout the process was the one that was expiring. It wasn't a problem at the interview, I just brought both passports with me. They never even asked for the expired one.

Get your passport renewed before the interview because your visa will be put into it.

[Anthony and Becky 6]

My interview was scheduled on Sept 28th with an anticipated POE around November (2 weeks away now!). My passport was set to expire in March 2016. I only got my passport renewed after packet 4, so the passport # referenced throughout the process was the one that was expiring. It wasn't a problem at the interview, I just brought both passports with me. They never even asked for the expired one.

Get your passport renewed before the interview because your visa will be put into it.

[Unidentified 2,930]

Hello everyone,

I have my interview set for Dec 15, 2015. I won't be heading to the US until March 2016. My passport expires November 2016. The site I went on to schedule my interview says "The passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the period of stay in the United States". Now I thought that your passport just had to be valid 6 months past interview date, or 6 months past your entry into the US (forget which one). I will renew my passport before I leave in March, but I just wanted to know if I should have it done before the interview or what?

If I want to renew my passport over a year early, I have to provide an explanation, and I'm not exactly sure how to explain it, as I dont know the details of what the point of reference is for validity.

I appreciate any help!

For K1 it only needs to be valid for 6 months from the day your visa is issued. How do I know this? I asked the US embassy in Stockholm because my passport was going to expire in December, got my visa in May and left in July. I had no issues.

But if you are not going to live close to a Canadian Embassy once you're in the US I recommend renewing it before your interview.