Travel from Canada to the US with a passport expiring in < 6 months

January 17, 2011 4:37 PM

Will I be able to enter the US with a Canadian passport that expires in 4 1/2 months?

Much of the information online about passport requirements is outdated, but I did manage to find some documents on the US State Department website:

From 9 FAM 41 NONIMMIGRANT VISAS:
The document "9 FAM 41.104 PASSPORT REQUIREMENTS" says that the passport must be more than 6 months away from expiry (requirement INA 212(a)(7)(B)(i)(I)). However, the document "9 FAM 41.104 NOTES" mentions that there are countries (listed in "9 FAM 41.104 EXHIBIT I") for which there is an agreement to extend the validity of the passport by 6 months for the purposes of section INA 212(a)(7)(B)(i)(I). Canada is one of these countries.

According to the law, as I understand it, I should be OK. What I'm worried about is, will the customs agent give me a hard time or not let me in at all? Basically, has anyone tried this recently and been admitted to the US?

posted by Pruitt-Igoe to travel & transportation (6 answers total)

Here's a better link to INA 212(a)(7)(B)(i)(I)
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 4:45 PM on January 17, 2011

Are you seeking a visa (for work/study/etc), or are you visiting on a passport alone? If it's the latter, I really doubt you'd get any grief, as long as you plan on leaving before your passport expires.

I don't see anything about passport expiration here.
posted by neal at 4:47 PM on January 17, 2011

I'm not seeking a visa. I'll be there as a visitor for a few days, for meetings at one of my employer's US offices.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 4:52 PM on January 17, 2011

I was in a similar situation in December and it wasn't a problem (my passport will expire on St Patrick's Day). I did, however, bring a print-out of my e-ticket for my flights in and out, as well as my hotel reservation, just in case the customs officer wanted to see proof that I was only staying for a few days.
posted by monkeymonkey at 5:03 PM on January 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

I was in the US on my canadian passport a week before it expired last winter. They just reminded me it was about to expire, and I might have trouble next time if I didn't renew it. You should be just fine.
posted by renderthis at 8:27 PM on January 17, 2011

Incidentally, if you aren't seeking a visa as a third party national, the State Department has no authority over your trip. Customs and Border Protection would be the people you want to ask and they say this: Canadian Citizens' passports are NOT required to be valid for six months past their intended date of departure. Their passports must only be valid up until the date of their intended departure.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 5:10 AM on January 18, 2011