Originally posted by mvinays
I am an Indian citizen travelling to India on Nov 21st, 2003 for first time H-1B stamping at Chennai on Dec 1st, 2003. My F-1 visa expired in August 2002. Since then I am in legal H-1B status. I am traveling to India via London, UK. Will I need a UK transit visa?
According to the UK Embassy website
http://www.britainusa.com/visas/yestransit.asp
Exemptions: You are exempt from this requirement if:
You hold a valid US or Canadian visa who also hold a ticket to or from the US or Canada routed via the UK. This will include a period of 48 hours after the expiry of the US or Canadian visa for those leaving the US or Canada to allow for those who choose to leave at the very end of the validity of their visa
Please note that my F-1 visa expired last year in August 2002. Do I really need a Transit Visa?
I have a Canadian visitor visa valid till Dec 1, 2003. I am travelling to India on Nov 21, 2003 via London, UK. Please note that my ticket is from the US (Washington, DC) to India (Bangalore) via London (UK). I am not travelling to India from Canada although I have a valid Canadian Visitor visa. Will my Canadian visitor visa stamp help me avoid getting a UK Transit Visa?
I called the British Consulate Geenral in New York City.....but their automated system sucks. I cant get to speak to a Visa Officer!!!
Anybody please help!!!
Originally posted by mvinays
I am traveling to India today. I will let you know the H-1B stamping details. Regarding Transit Visa, it is a very easy process. I wen to Britsih Consulate in NYC personally. They issued me a British Transit Visa for 2 years. They checked proof of legal H-1B status in USA (I-797) and stamped it in an hour (only if you go there personally). I have heard horror stories of people sending passports to British Consulate in New York and not getting back their passport and documents in in time. So be careful!! There is a possibility of things getting lost in mail.
Good luck and have a great day!