My Passport is 1 year away from expiring, should I renew it before starting the K-1 process?

[NobleDog 0]

I'm the Foreign alien (Canadian Citizen) and we're assembling our I-129 and my Fiance is the Petitioner (US Citizen), should I renew my passport even tho it's 1 year away from expiring or should I wait until after I recieve the K-1 visa and renew it then? I'm a little confused on what exactly the requirements are. We're also using the Embassy in Montreal if that has anything to do with it. Thanks in advance!

Edit: I know the Petitioner's passport needs to valid for atleast 5 years, but does the foreign aliens passport need to be as well?

Edited August 1, 2016 by NobleDog

[soulstriker 274]

just to be safe id renew it

[arken 4,197]

You don't need your passport for USCIS processing of your i129F, you will need it only during the interview phase which could be 4-6 months away depending on how soon your case will be processed. Your current passport could have 6 months or so left to expire at that time. So it's better to just renew it and use the new passport.

I don't think there is a requirement for Petitioner's passport to be valid for 5 years as well.

Edited August 1, 2016 by arken

[aaron2020 11,651]

Renew it now.

Edited August 1, 2016 by aaron2020

[NobleDog 0]

One more question, will renewing my passport affect anything at all? Since all of my traveling was done on my close-to expiring passport, will that affect anything with my renewed one?

[Ortolan 381]

They'll probably let you keep your old passport; they'll just punch a hole in it. Renew it now, because you will be a long way away from being a citizen, and you might want to travel overseas before you get a U.S. passport.

[Unidentified 2,930]

If you're a man renew it. If you're a woman and you want to take his name after marriage you might as well wait and do it at a Canadian embassy here in the US.

Take copies of your old passport. Most likely you will be given your old passport back with a few holes in them but still. Good idea to make copies of your travel stamps.

[Scandi 3,979]

I was in the same situation and decided to renew my passport right before starting the K-1 journey. I'm very happy I did as this process took much longer than we first expected. I'd suggest you renew it now, name change later on or not.

[chiggins82 87]

I would renew it with lots of time before your interview and ask for the old one back. I would make a copy of it as well, especially if you start the application with the old one.

I hear it is a pain to renew passports abroad.

Even if you plan on changing your name, you may need to renew before the interview anyways since they want a passport with more than 6 months left before the expiration date. Just depends on when everything is approved and interview is scheduled.

If you are not planning to change your name, definitely get the 10 yr passport if you can. Not much more and then you don't need to worry about it again for a while.

[NobleDog 0]

I would renew it with lots of time before your interview and ask for the old one back. I would make a copy of it as well, especially if you start the application with the old one.

I hear it is a pain to renew passports abroad.

Even if you plan on changing your name, you may need to renew before the interview anyways since they want a passport with more than 6 months left before the expiration date. Just depends on when everything is approved and interview is scheduled.

If you are not planning to change your name, definitely get the 10 yr passport if you can. Not much more and then you don't need to worry about it again for a while.

How would I go about asking for the new one back? Just tell them when I had in my papers/documents for the new passport?

[chiggins82 87]

How would I go about asking for the new one back? Just tell them when I had in my papers/documents for the new passport?

I am pretty sure it was in the application... I may have asked when I applied in person, but almost certain there is a check box in the renewal application. You can download the form, it should be there.

I got mine back, they hole punch it to invalidate it. It was handy to have as I started the application with that one, and then finished with a new one.

[TBoneTX 43,422]

It has paid off for beneficiaries to have as fresh a passport as possible.

In addition, in the spirit of thinking ahead: When you get your interview and (it's hoped) your visa, collect copies (plural) of every official personal document from your country that would be expensive, difficult, or impossible to obtain after you're in the U.S.: birth certificates, medical & dental records, vaccination records (at least 2 copies) stamped by your doctor or clinic, school records, divorce certificates if applicable, and anything else that you can think of. Do the same for your children, if you have any. Also, before you depart your country, renew your driver's license for the longest term possible.

You might not need some or most of these instruments after you're in the U.S., but if you do, you'll be extremely glad that you have them. Some of them (school/birth/divorce), you can start collecting now.

As a Canadian, you'd probably have an easier time retrieving these instruments remotely from the U.S. than other readers might. The above is suggested for their benefit as much as for yours.

Edited August 2, 2016 by TBoneTX

[quesma 10]

Renew it. When you will prepare your packet 3.5 you will have to put the passport number on the DS form and you would want to put the latest number. When you will go for interview, you would want your passport to be valid for at least a year. They will ask for passport in interview.