Anonymous wrote:I didn't know this.

Does anybody know why this is the rule? I find it strange.

My guess is that it is because a lot of people's travel plans change after they go. Some people who are traveling to visit family or for business have to extend their stay due to health issues, family issues, work extensions, etc. Visas expire with passports and it probably saves the state department a lot of time and money to ensure that passports are valid for possible extensions. Although many people come back when they plan to, there are probably enough people who stay for a few extra days or weeks to cause quite a lot of issues for US embassies and the state department that they have this rule in place to ensure that any temporary extension is still covered.

I did know this. That stinks for your trip OP!

Yes I learned this when I looked up online about renewing mine recently.

I didn't know this.

Does anybody know why this is the rule? I find it strange.

Wow, I had no idea about this, although the most recent international trip I took was 6 years ago.

I thought this was common knowledge.

It's not.

I don't know if it is common knowledge, because I don't travel much, but the materials we were provided when we applied for my son's passport did advise us that we needed to be aware of this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yes, i know this. Sorry you had to find out this way.

+1

+2

Wow, I did not realize this! We are traveling to France, July 2-18, and my son's passport expires 2/4/16. Sounds like we should be OK, right?

I am currently abroad and my passport expires in August. I checked beforehand, and it was fine. I did know about some countries needing 6 months. My issue is that my visa for this country is put in my passport, and although my passport expires in August, my visa is good for much longer. If I return to this country, I will need to bring my new passport, and then my expired passport which has my visa. Never do something silly like cut a visa out of a passport. In the future, I will have to carry my old and new passports to this country.

I usually check the dept of state website for entrance requirements wherever we are going so I have seen this.

I knew about this rule because our travel agent always checks with us that our passports are good for at least 6 months after return.

I did not know. Thanks for the heads up, OP. So sorry about your trip.

It's a good rule of thumb to make sure your passport will be valid at least 6 months past the return date of your planned travel. As PPs have mentioned, the rules vary by country, but where there are rules, the countries are really strict about it, and you will be turned away at the airport.

Anonymous wrote:yes, i know this. Sorry you had to find out this way.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I knew this.

+1

Not to be snooty, but I thought this was common knowledge.

It's not. The only thing that makes you sound snooty is that you said "not to be snooty".