Traveling to India with unstamped visa

[pradeepr1]

Hello,

 

I am planning to travel to India. Stamped visa on my passport is expired but i do have i797 from my renewal petition. Are there any restrictions in terms of what country i transit through?

 

I know Germany, France and UK would need transit visas, i am planning to stay in Dubai for a week on the way to India, will that be any problem? I know i would have to get short-term dubai visa 

 

Please share your experience or your suggestions. Thanks!

 

 

Pradeep

[jairichi]

Dubai should be fine.

[Goluram]

Keep in mind you can not transit thru Canada either if you don't have a valid stamped US visa.

 

 

I dont see any issues with Dubai transit.

[prasanna.sk]

There seems to be varying answer across the board for this question. I am in the same boat now - expired visa stamp, approved visa extn - need to travel to India (and get it stamped when returning).

 

From what I found - one can travel through Germany (Frankfurt etc) when going back to India after using the H1B, because we fall in the exceptions list - returning from USA after having used the visa. 

 

 

Can someone please confirm the same? I know ppl who have traveled thru Germany recently without any issues. But, most of the responses online seem to indicate otherwise. 

 

 

Here is the excerpt from German Consulate website:

 

http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/05__Legal/02__Directory__Services/01__Visa/__Transit__Visa.html

Transit Visa Country List

Transit Visa Country List

Nationals of the following countries are required to be in possession of an airport transit visa when passing through the international transit area of airports in Germany:

AFGHANISTAN, BANGLADESH, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO, ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, GHANA, INDIA, IRAN, IRAQ, JORDAN ** (please see below), LEBANON, MYANMAR, MALI, NIGERIA, PAKISTAN, SOMALIA, SRI LANKA, SUDAN, SOUTH SUDAN, SYRIA, TURKEY

 

Exceptions: Nationals from the above list are entitled to transit through the international transit zones without an airport transit visa:

 

1. If they hold a valid visa for the United States of America
2. If they return from the USA after having used the visa
3. If they hold one of the following residence permits:

• Form I-551 permanent resident card (valid for 2 to 10 years),
• Form I-551 Alien registration receipt card (valid for 2 to 10 years),
• Form I-551 Alien registration receipt card (no expiry date),
• Form I-327 Re-entry document (valid for two years — issued to holders of a I-551),
• Resident alien card (valid for 2 or 10 years or no expiry date. This document guarantees the holder’s return only if his stay outside the USA has not exceeded one year),
• Permit to re-enter (valid for two years. This document guarantees the holder’s return only if his stay outside the USA has not exceeded two years),
• Valid temporary residence stamp in a valid passport (valid for oneyear from the date of issue).
• Please note that the advance parole (I-512) and the approval notice (I-797) are not valid documents for visa free airport transit on your way back to the United States of America.