If my provisional patent is about to expire, will my deadline to file a nonprovisional in the US be extended another 18 months if I file a PCT?

Question

I filed for a provisional patent almost one year ago. If I plan on going international with this patent, is it smarter to submit a PCT application before filing for a nonprovisional patent in the US? Or does the US not extend the 12-month deadline within which you must file for a nonprovisional after filing for a provisional patent? I know other PCT member countries grant you an additional 18 months from your priority date but does the US? Subsequently, can my provisional patent application be used as my PCT application or must it be changed first?

Patents
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United States
COUNTRY
Jul 23, 2015
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2
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Steven weinrieb
Patent Attorney

When you file a provisional application, you have one year to file a US non-provisional and/or a PCT application if you intend to seek patents in foreign countries. If your funds are limited, you can file a PCT application and then come back into the US as a national stage application within 30 months, however, the PCT application is much more expensive than filing a US application. Filing a PCT application will probably cost between $3K-$4K, whereas a US non-provisional will cost under $800 for a small entity, $400 for a micro-entity. If the provisional application was in fact a good provisional application, in other words, up to US patent application standards, you can use the provisional as your PCT application with no real changes.

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