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audrie1984 · Jul 22, 2009, 01:53 PM

My boyfriend has been in the usa since 1994. His passport expired in 2003. We are not married yet and do not have the thousands of dollars to get his papers yet. He just found out that his father past away in mexico. Is there anyway he can renew his passport so he can go to mexico and come back?

DCcityboy · Jul 22, 2009, 03:13 PM

A new passport will not allow him re-entry to the US. He does not need it to leave the US and he will need a visa to re-enter.

It does not cost thousands to file for permanent residence. The USCIS filing fees are about $1400.

audrie1984 · Jul 22, 2009, 04:28 PM

My sister in law just came to the us with a passport that was good for 10 yrs. How was that possible. My boyfriends was like that to when he came. They both never had a visa

DCcityboy · Jul 23, 2009, 07:23 AM

A passport is issued by the home (foreign) country and generally valid for 10 years. Inside the passport is generally a visa, that is what controls the entry to the US and type of activity allowed. At the port of entry, the applicant is given an I-94, a small white index-card like document which controls immigration status and date of stay. Most are valid from 6 months to 3 years at a time. there are no nonimmigrant visas and I-94's that allow someone to stay in the US for 10 years continuously. Extensions are generally filed and usually time limited to a maximum of 5-7 years.

Some countries are visa exempt for visitor visas. They get green I-94's. What country is your sister-in-law from?