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Travel to the United States on Expired U.S. Passports
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32 MINUTE READ
March 23, 2022

Location: Ireland

Subject: If you are overseas and your passport expired on or after January 1, 2020, you may be able to use your expired passport to return directly to the United States until June 30, 2022.  

You qualify to travel on your expired passport if all the following are true:  

  • You are a U.S. citizen. 

  • You are currently abroad seeking direct return to the United States. 

  • You are flying directly to the United States, a United States territory, or have only short-term transit (“connecting flights”) through a foreign country on your direct return to the United States or to a United States Territory. 

  • Your expired passport was originally valid for 10 years.  Or, if you were 15 years of age or younger when the passport was issued, your expired passport was valid for five years. 

  • Your expired passport is undamaged. 

  • Your expired passport is unaltered. 

  • Your expired passport is in your possession.

You do not qualify to travel on your expired passport if: 

  • You wish to depart from the United States to an international destination. 

  • You are currently abroad seeking to travel to a foreign country for any length of stay longer than an airport connection enroute to the United States or to a United States territory. 

  • Your expired passport was limited in validity. 

  • Your expired passport is a special issuance passport (such as a diplomatic, official, service, or no-fee regular passport). 

  • Your expired passport is damaged. 

  • Your expired passport is altered. 

  • Your expired passport is not in your possession. 

All other passport rules and regulations remain in effect.  The Department of Homeland Security maintains discretion to reject any bearer in accordance with 22 CFR 53.2(b)(7) and 8 CFR 235.1(b). 

If your U.S. passport expired on or before December 31, 2019, please see our website for information on how to renew your passport before traveling. Emergency temporary passports may be available in some cases for urgent travel: https://ie.usembassy.gov/passports/  

Please be advised that while urgent travel back to the United States may be accomplished on an expired passport that qualifies, you will need to renew your U.S. passport, most commonly by mail, in the United States before you can depart the United States again.  For planning purposes, domestic routine passport processing times are currently 8 to 11 weeks.  For an additional $60, domestic applicants can request expedited service.  

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