H1B passport validity for the in country process

[gofretko]

Hi guys,

I am having the following issue. I am currently in the U.S. on my F-1 VISA (currently on OPT).

My employer's attorneys are preparing the docs for my H1B application. My passport will expire in less than a month (I already applied for a new one but it will take 3 months to get it) and the lawyers say this will not cause trouble during the application process in the U.S. On the other hand the attorneys of a friend of mine who has the same problem say that we need a valid passport when they hand in the documents on April 1.

Can anyone give me some feedback on this issue.

Thanks!

[DMX17]

I think you attorney is probably right.

I-129 application for H1 asks in section 5 if each person has a valid passport and one of the options is "NO - explain on separate paper".

This means that you can explain the circumstance that you are awaiting renewd passport and so on.

[txh1b]

I am interested in which country you are from that takes 3 months to renew the passport. Beats my country!

[gofretko]

I am from Bulgaria. If I am there it will take 1 day to have the new passport but since I am in the US it takes a while. I filled out my application here and it can be sent to Bulgaria only with Goverment mail which happens every other month. So they will send my application to Bulgaria in March and I will get my new passport at the end of May ... I cannot get it how come that goverment mail happens every other month instead of happening several times per month ...

Anyway ... Thanks for the info and I hope my passport problem will cause no trouble in the application process.

Cheerzzzz

[txh1b]

Wow! Don't they have any kind of emergency PP renewal services? What if someone's PP is in the renewal process and they have to travel?