Some countries need a certain amount of validity time on a passport before you can enter their country.

Question:  My son will be turning 12 in a few days. We need to get a U.S. Passport for him as his will be expiring soon. We currently live in Ireland. We would like to go to our home in the U.S. for a summer vacation. His passport will still be valid when we get to the U.S. My issue is that I know some countries need a certain amount of validity time on a passport before you can enter the country. Will we have any issues getting back in the U.S.?

Answer:  As an American citizen, you re-enter the U.S. up until the last day of expiration date on the passport. Extra validity time on a U.S. passport after your stay in a country will be applicable to countries outside of the U.S.

After you arrive in the U.S. using your son’s current passport, you should apply for a new passport. You will be in the U.S. for the summer which will allow plenty of time to get a new passport for your son. Usually, passport processing in the U.S. takes about 4-6 weeks. There are instances where this time frame can take longer. This may occur due to missing documents or a spike in passport applications. You can request an Expedited Service that will take about 2-3 weeks to process. This process will have an additional fee.

I recommend that you visit the American Consulate in Ireland if you have the time to do that before your vacation. The process of obtaining a passport through this method will be quicker. Processing of a passport through a U.S. consulate will take about 10 working days.

You can also get this process expedited through a regional passport agency in the U.S. This will get your passport processed within two weeks. There will also be fees with this service. For more information, use this link. expedited service fee.