When traveling internationally, one of the essential points that citizens, naturalized foreigners, and visitors must consider is that the passport they will use to enter and leave the United States must be valid for the competent authorities. Although keeping it valid is essential in these cases, it is often not enough for it to be current when traveling; other requirement standards about this point and the physical condition of the document must also be checked, since failing to meet the standards can cause inconveniences with airlines and different agents. Presentation of a document in good condition is also required, since those showing severe damage, large stains, and other serious tears—such as torn visa pages—cannot be used for this type of travel. On the other hand, USA.gov advises checking, depending on the destination you want to travel to, how much validity the passport must have: “Some countries and airlines may deny you entry if your passport expires in less than 6 months,” it states. American adult passports have a maximum validity of up to 10 years, while in the case of minors under 16, the documents cannot be renewed and are valid for 5 years. In these cases, for travel to the country to be authorized, as a general rule the United States requires a future validity of 6 months beyond the initially planned travel period. If the passport presented was issued so far in advance that it does not meet the six-month requirement, it will not be considered valid when applying for the visa to travel. CBP keeps the list of countries that are exempt from complying with this regulation updated on its official website. In the case of these nations, they only have to present a valid passport during their stay. Latin American countries included in the list The complete and updated list of countries that do not have to follow this rule can be consulted by clicking here. In addition, to avoid any inconvenience upon leaving the country, travelers must preserve the physical integrity of their document to avoid delays and complications.