Passport Requirement

[ScottyinSLC 0]

"A passport valid for six months from the intended date of entry into the U.S."

It's pretty self-explanatory. But my fiance and I are actually hitting a snag and is interested in advice.

My fiance, the beneficiary, works as a Foreign Domestic Helper in Hong Kong and is contracted there through mid-August. She is from Indonesia. Her passport expires on March 26th of next year, but her intended date of entry, which we can't change due to other circumstances, is December 4th of this year. Her passport will not meet the six-month threshold required for the interview with the Consulate in Hong Kong where she is.

She can't renew her passport in Hong Kong unless she signs another one-year contract to work there.

She can renew her passport in Indonesia, but she isn't able to do that until she returns there in August. Her interview with the Consulate is supposed to be before she leaves Hong Kong within the next month or so.

She is contacting the consulate of Indonesia to Hong Kong about it, but beyond that, we don't know what else to try and are unaware of any exceptions to that six-month stipulation requirement.

Edited June 14, 2016 by ScottyLDS

[subwayguy 100]

she cannot renew her passport until a new contract is signed? well, what if she lost her passport?

and if she has a Hong Kong ID (non-permanent), she can apply for a "DI" which is a Hong Kong issued travel document for people who cannot obtain a national passport.

[ScottyinSLC 0]

Yeah, they won't allow her to renew her passport in Hong Kong unless she signs another one-year contract to work there as a Foreign Domestic Helper.

Would the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong accept a DI travel document to make up for the shortage on the six-month timeframe? I mean, she plans to renew her passport as soon as she returns to Indonesia in August in which that six months wouldn't be an issue, but that won't do any good for her interview with the Consulate in Hong Kong.

[ScottyinSLC 0]

So I actually called for visa inquiries at the Embassy in Hong Kong and was redirected to a Visa service calling center.

The guy told me that my fiance' is exempt from that six-month stipulation because her native country is on some list, which provides exemptions for NON-immigrant visas.

Inquiring on this question, I went here:

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/family/fiance-k-1.html#5

.....and found this under the section for K visa required documentation asking for a valid passport:

http://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Six%20Month%20Club%20Update_0.pdf

Could this be what that guy is talking about? Somehow, I still feel uneasy about this.

Edited June 14, 2016 by ScottyLDS

[ScottyinSLC 0]

I heard that she might be able to renew her passport at the Indonesian Embassy in Hong Kong.

Anyone know if passports can be renewed at government embassies?