Issues leaving US with passport expiring soon

Hi,

I live in Munich and need to go to the US for a week end Oct.

My U.S. Passport expires a few days after my return - I've been told there might be problems leaving the US with an almost expired passport - anyone have experience or information with this?

Many thanks!

Are you going to get a new passport? why not just do it before you leave?

Usually it has to be valid for 6 months or more. The State Department advises: if possible, you should renew your passport approximately nine (9) months before it expires. Some countries require that your passport be valid at least six (6) months beyond the date of your trip. Some airlines will not allow you to board if this requirement is not met.

I would think if you have a residency stamp within the passport it would not be an issue.

Would it be possible to get a new passport while in the US? I prefer to do my Canadian one in Canada since it takes much less time - days instead of weeks.

I see two potential problems for the OP. The airline might not let him board the flight, or else he could later end up in violation of German law stating that he must have a valid id at all times if passport processing takes too long and the old one expires before the new one is done.

Another point to consider: I never got a temporary German residency that was valid for longer than my passport. So when I was supposed to get a 2-year German visa, I instead was given a 1 yr, 8 month visa because that's when my passport expired. Don't know if that applies to the OP. But he could end up without valid ID and without a valid visa in Germany. Not a great situation.

Rhody's correct. I was once hung up between Singapore and Taiwan becasue, and I'm not kidding, my US passport was six months and one day from expiration. I made it in, but only as the result of faxes flying back and forth beneath me on the flight the airline only grudgingly let me take.

As far as I know it is impossible to get a U.S. passport in a week.

Even within the US, mine took 10 weeks. On all apps it says 6-12 weeks.

You can get an expedited passport in 2-3 weeks in the states but you pay abit more. If you make an appointment at a Passport issuing center, arrive with paperwork ready to go and can show you fly out soon you may be able to shave off several days from that. But in a week? That may be a problem.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

I forgot to mention the exceptions, mine was standard issue. Yes you can do expedited. YOu can also do an emergency passport same day. YOu have to go to a specific office, for instance everyone in the pacific northwest must go to Seattle and you pay a lot more (around two to three hundred, last I heard).

You could definitely be denied exit. It really depends on the person checking you in. Someone might let you slide but I wouldn't count on it. The good news is that your problem can be fixed. The bad news is that it's a matter of money. You can get your passport expidited with quite a few services, like this one, in as little as 24 hours. You have to pay dearly for it but options within your time requirements exist.

Disclaimer: I've never used that particular service, I can't for the life of me recall which one I did use but it was hassle free.

YOu should never pay for these private services, most are rip offs like the visa help scans and it is very hard to tell the genuine from the fake. The same services are available directly from the state department. Just deal directly with them, no need to pay extra for a third party service.

Not only can these service be a rip off, but they can also be a channel for Identity thieves to get your data.. NEVER USE THEM, always deal directly with the state Dept.

You can do it in a week or less at an Embassy. I did it in one day in Vienna once, but I was flying out the next.

For $50 extra I know you can get a new Passport the same day..at least in Miami