British Citizen Living in USA with L2 Visa - Passport Question
 

Hi all,

I've read through a few threads and can't find a predicament quite like mine so hoping you can help! :fingerscrossed:

My passport expires 17th Oct 2017. I am trying to avoid sending my current passport via mail for renewal as it has my L2 visa inside it. I'm terrified of it being lost in the mail so I really really want to avoid renewing this way. I have a trip booked to London in May and was planning to renew my passport using the same day service whilst there. But an unexpected business trip has popped up that means I need to travel to Amsterdam April 13th-17th 2017. I am concerned I will experience difficulties when entering back into the US on April 17th. It's exactly 6 months before my passport will expire. There is warning information online for tourists entering the US with less than 6 months on their passport, but no guidelines for visa holders traveling back to the US.

Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,
Beck

Re: British Citizen Living in USA with L2 Visa - Passport Question
 

The 6 month restriction usually concerns getting a visa in your passport. You've already got the visa in your passport. Besides... you're not a tourist. It's a non-issue. Enjoy your trips.

Ian

Re: British Citizen Living in USA with L2 Visa - Passport Question
 

Quite a normal occurence! apply and pay online, send old passport via courier - ensure you have photocopies of all pages etc - and you'll have new passport and old one back in about 2 weeks! HMPO are very efficient - my renewal took 10 days from here, of which 8 days were the courier transit times! HMPO will extend your new passport up to 9 months to include unexpired time in old passport.

Re: British Citizen Living in USA with L2 Visa - Passport Question
 

The six month validity requirement doesn't apply to British citizens in any case.

Re: British Citizen Living in USA with L2 Visa - Passport Question
 

:goodpost: Wot 'e said! ..... Mine took 8 days last year, including the day I sent it and the day it came back - that was in the UK, but the courier shouldn't add more than a day or two at each end.

Re: British Citizen Living in USA with L2 Visa - Passport Question
 

Hi
We are in a similar position, my children's passports run out and they have an L2 visa in it.
If I send the passport off to be renewed , do you know how to get the visa renewed as well. When I spoke to the passport office they said they will leave the visa page intact and cut the rest. Then when we travel we have to go with both passports? How have you got the visa put in your new passport?
Many thanks
Aimie

Re: British Citizen Living in USA with L2 Visa - Passport Question
 

Visas are not reissued. You travel with both passports, it is perfectly normal and that is the way most countries handle visas in expired passports.

Re: British Citizen Living in USA with L2 Visa - Passport Question
 

Hi!
Thanks for all the answers - so helpful!
I'm sending my passport off for renewal as advised. I have a quick concern that I'm hoping is nothing: I applied and paid online, I printed declaration and signed but I noticed the page printed a little smaller to fit US paper size and the deceleration says 'PRINT AT CORRECT SIZE'.
Any thoughts on whether this might pose an issue?

Also the passport photos I got are the correct size but have round corners. It doesn't say 'no round corners' anywhere but wondering if this is going to be an issue?

Thanks!

Re: British Citizen Living in USA with L2 Visa - Passport Question
 

Round corners sounds odd; I wouldn't take the chance on that. I got my kids' photos done at Walgreens, who knew exactly what I was talking about and had a setting on their machine for the UK. They even understood about the requirements for the mm measurement from chin to crown and whipped out a ruler to check, and for having a background of either cream or light grey (they used the regular US photo white one but darkened it a touch).

The photos were accepted no problem by the UK, and the passports were done and returned within 10 days. I was reassuringly able to track them all the way there, and all the way back.