Renewing Your Passport in the United States


Check Passport

In general, your passport should always be kept unexpired for at least 6 months into the future. If, however, your country of citizenship is on this list you may enter the U.S. using your passport until its actual expiration date.


Contact Consulate

Contact your consulate/embassy well in advance of your passport expiration.

Contact the nearest consulate or embassy in Washington D.C. seven to eight months before your passport's expiration date to learn what you must do to renew it and how long it will take. This process often takes longer than expected!


Keep your expired passport.

You should keep your expired passport for your records. If your expired passport has an unexpired F-1 or J-1 visa in it, you can continue to use the unexpired visa along with your new passport. Be sure to travel with both passports.