Passport Validity at the time of F1 Visa Interview

[pm_0103]

Hello Everyone
I have an urgent query. I am an Indian Passport holder and looking forward to applying for US F1 Visa for fall 2020. My current passport is expiring in June 2021 and my education program will be from Sept 2020 to june 2022. Could you please let me know if the current validity is fine for Visa application. I am getting mixed responses to this situtation. Should the poassport be valid for 6 months at the time of entry or at least 6 months beyond intended period of stay in US. At this stage passport renewal would be very difficult considering that I have more than a year validity on my passport and also due to Covid 19, only emergency cases are being taken care of.

[R78]

The six month rule is usually for short stay visas like B1/B2.
F1, H1 are considered longer stay visas.
India is exempt from the 6 month rule and as such, the passport must only be valid for your duration of short stay (example visitors B1) in the US.

In your case, the existing passport will suffice for the F1 visa stamping and entry into the US. You can then send it to the Indian Consulate (jurisdiction based on your US state) for renewal.