Validity of passport the time of filing H1 petition

[meavisionary]

My passport is valid until Oct 2, 2012. I recently completed Masters degree in the US and I am starting a job on OPT (valid for 12 months) in the first week of February. My F1 visa is valid 2015. My employer will file an application for my H1B in April. I wanted to ask whether I should get my passport reissued before my employer files for H1 petition. I have also written an email asking about this to my employer, but inorder that I could act fast (i.e. if possible get my passport reissued before joining), I wanted to check here. But since my passport and visa are my identity document, I wanted to apply for the reissue of my passport only after joining work. From what I have read so far, it seems that there is definitely a requirement that the passport be valid for atleast 6 months at the time of H1B stamping on the passport. But it is not very clear if there is any length of validity required for the passport at the time when the employer files the H1 petition. I would appreciate any suggestions/information that could come in handy. Thanks.

[shervin143]

Get your passport renewed before you file the H1B petition. There are chances that your H1B can get denied or end up in an RFE because of the passport expiry. Passport renewal in U.S will not take more than 3-4 weeks. If you need an ID proof, then you should use your driving license. If you don't have a driving license, then get a state id from the nearby DMV.

[meavisionary]

Thank you for the reply. I was thinking of applying for the reissue of my passport after joining work on Feb 6, because I would have to show my passport and visa as required documents, on the day of joining work. Do you think it would be safe for me to apply immediately after February 6, considering that my company plans to file my H1 petition in April. I understand this is something I need to clear with the lawyers of my company.

[shervin143]

Yes. Like I mentioned, it will take only 3-4 weeks to get the passport renewed. If you file the renewal immediately upon joining work, you will have enough time to get the renewed passport before you can file the H1B petition.

Thank you for the reply. I was thinking of applying for the reissue of my passport after joining work on Feb 6, because I would have to show my passport and visa as required documents, on the day of joining work. Do you think it would be safe for me to apply immediately after February 6, considering that my company plans to file my H1 petition in April. I understand this is something I need to clear with the lawyers of my company.