I just spoke with Lufthansa Airlines...
We are flying to Bombay from Los Angeles in the end of April via Lufthansa. Our 485s were recently approved and we (spouse and I) have the I-551 stamps on our passports.
Based on this thread I just called Lufthansa airlines and at first the lady had no clue what stamp I was referring to, but after talking with her supervisor she said that if you have the I-551 stamp you do NOT need a transit visa to fly thru Germany. So I guess u do not need this visa if u have the actual GC or the I-551 stamp.
Dee, we just did some extensive analysis of flight times from LA to Bombay and believe it or not, Lufthansa takes the least amount of time (approx 18.5 air hours on the outbound as compared to well over 20 hours by some of the other pacific route airlines like Singapore, Cathay, etc. - I know it surprised me too, but I guess they fly over the pole rather than the equator so it makes sense). Though of course you would pay a premium of about 50 to a 100 bucks per ticket, maybe more depending on the airline, to fly via europe vis-a-vis via the pacific. So, if travel/air hours was a priority (which I guess it would be if you had a small kid with you), then flying via Europe would be the best way to go (from LA to Bombay)...
Anyhoo, thanks for starting this thread here - it really spooked me there for a second (oh no!! not another gawd dammned visa, puh..lease), but I guess all\'s well that ends well ;-).
Thanks guys!!!