fionacha

Hi
I'm renewing my J-1 visa while in the UK over Christmas. I just submitted the DS-160 application form (and paid the fee) and stated that my intended length of stay is two years, to match my DS-2019 expiry date in Nov 2020. However, my UK passport expires in Nov 2019. I hadn't realised that my passport must be valid for my entire trip as it didn't mention this during the application, only after I submitted and was preparing to send the documents by courier. What will happen to my application? Will it be refused outright, or will they give me a visa valid until the end of my passport? I have a flight back to the US on Jan 6th so I don't have much time to renew my passport and redo the application (and repay the fee). Help, I don't need this kind of stress before Christmas!

newacct

Your passport does not have to be valid for your entire trip. It just has to be valid on the day you enter (since UK is one of the countries in the 6-month club). What that rule you mentioned means is that, when you enter the US, the date you are admitted to on your I-94 by the CBP officer will be no later that your passport's expiration date. J-1 are usually admitted for "D/S", and not a date, in which case it is not affected by your passport's expiration date.