Urgent: Travel on AP - Trasit Visa Mess

N

naamuthi

Registered Users (C)
Hello Friends,

Please advise:
Me and My Wife are on EAD / AP Status (A.P Exires in March-2004).
My Wife is already in India.
And I am going there in Jan.
Both of us are flying in Lufthansa (German Airlines)

Do we need Trasit Visa's ?

When she was travelling to India, nobody bothered to look at any document in Frankfurt. But when Coming back to the US, will they be looking at Visa / Documents.

A friend of mine got a response back from the German Consulate, stating that you need a Trasit Visa via Frankfurt, if you don't have a valid (Stamped) Visa on your Passport.

This is pretty annoying, I called the Travel Agent, and she is saying that there are lot of changes going on and she isn't sure about Trasit Visa stuff.

Please Advise on my Situation.
If there is going to be any problem, I will have her apply for a Trasit Visa in India.

Any information is appreciated.

Thanks Guys.
 
1) Search Lufthansa web site. See any changes for transit visa.
2) Call German embassy (USA) and search German consulate website.
3) Ask your wife to call German consulate in India.
4) Call travel agent.

When going to India, visa or AP do not matter, as long as you have valid passport. Nobody asks anything. When coming back you have to be careful.
 
Also Transit Visa matters even if you are going to India from US. I have seen in Atlanta, Lufthansa didn't allow one person to board the plane when he didn't have Transit visa and his US visa in the passport was expired.

So, it's better safe than sorry. I went with my wife to get her a transit visa in Atlanta.

Here ins the info from the German Consulate website:

List of countries whose citizens do need a airport transit visa

Afghanistan (please see exception 2)
Angola
Bangladesh (please see exception 2)
Congo, Democratic Republic (please see exception 2)
Eritrea (please see exception 1)
Ethiopia (please see exception 2)
Gambia
Ghana (please see exception 2)
India (please see exception 1)
Iran (please see exception 2)
Iraq (please see exception 2)
Jordan
Lebanon
Nigeria (please see exception 2)
Pakistan (please see exception 2)
Somalia (please see exception 2)
Sri Lanka (please see exception 2)
Sudan
Syria
Turkey (please see exception 1)

If your country is not mentioned, you do not need a transit visa.


Exception 1 to the list above:
If you hold a valid visa or residence permit for a member country of the European Union, Canada, Switzerland or the United States of America you do not need an airport transit visa.

If you are still in doubt whether you need an airport transit visa, do not hesitate to call the German mission which serves your place of residence in the US.


Exception 2 to the list above:
If you hold a residence permit for a member country of the European Union or if you hold a permanent residence permit for Andorra, Japan, Canada, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland, the Holy See or the United States of America you do not need an airport transit visa.

If you are still in doubt whether you need an airport transit visa, do not hesitate to call the German mission which serves your place of residence in the US.

Although this information has been prepared with utmost care, the we can not accept any responsibility for inaccuracies contained herein.


And as per this you need Transit Visa.
 
Thank You da_best and premchopra.

Premchopra,
Can you please let me know, what is the proccess you followed to get a Trasit Visa for Germany ?
List of Documents,
Fees (method of payment)
Time it took to approve it. (Wait Time).

The Problem is : You know its the peak season for travel to India, and my travel plan just got approved so I don't know how much time I will have to get these formalities done.

Any information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.
 
Technically transit visa is required for these countries in you do not have guaranteed entry to the destination country. So If you are citizen of India you do not need transit visa to go to India.

These countries do not consider the AP will provide you guaranteed entry as AP( Similar documents like re-entry permits) is also used by the people like asylum seekers for whom entry may be denied.
 
does this mean that if you are travelling on AP, you will need a transit visa?

Originally posted by tammy2
Technically transit visa is required for these countries in you do not have guaranteed entry to the destination country. So If you are citizen of India you do not need transit visa to go to India.

These countries do not consider the AP will provide you guaranteed entry as AP( Similar documents like re-entry permits) is also used by the people like asylum seekers for whom entry may be denied.
Click to expand...
 
naamuthi:

If you have access to Internet, why can't you find out on German Consulate Website? That way you know exact details. It's not that complicated right?

If you go by person with the required documents to the consulate, they will issue transit visa same day. If consulate is far away from your place, you can mail the documents. Usually it may take one or two weeks.

It appears, AP is not considered as VISA, unlike H1B or H4 visa. If your visa has expired and you want to travel on AP, it looks like all these European countries asking us to get transit visa, even if one do not leave airport. Day by day rules are changing, making our lives more miserable.

I am not sure about Germany, but for UK it is needed.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have returned from India three weeks ago via London/Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic. I did not have a transit visa, I used my AP as my legal reentry document. I did not have any problems. Some countries/airports/airlines do allow AP as a valid document. I had read somewhere that one needs a TV even in London (I only came to know about this a week ago). I may have gotten lucky.
 
Travel Experience via Frankfurt with AP

Originally i booked my ticket via london, but changed the route to via Frankfurt. I DID NOT HAVE TRANSIT VISA AND IT IS NOT REQUIRED IF YOU TRAVEL VIA FRANKFURT. I'm on AP and came to US on 29th of last month.
 
What happened last week and last month is different than today. Check a week ahead to see what are the requirements. You never know when these idiots come up with new rules.
 
got the transit visa

I am flying to chennai from chicago via frankfurt.thro AIR INDIA this monthe. I don't have H1 visa at my PP. But I am having AP. So i called german consulate and chicago AIR INDIA office at O'hare airport office and both told i need DATV.

So i applied Dec 3rd and got the PP alongwith DATV on Nov6th without any probelm.

So i don't want to take any risk. It is very easy process.

Please let me know if anyone need any details,

Thank u

VKT
 
UK Transit Visa

Hi Venkatsri,

Thanks for sharing the details. My wife and I are going to Hyderabad this Thursday. (Our Advanced Parole is still being processed). I have a valid H1 stamped in my PP and I am hoping that DATV should not be a problem for me. My wife is currently on F1 and even she has her F1 VISA stamped in her PP (valid till 2005). So I am hoping that even she would not need a DATV for our flight change in UK on our way to India.

However, she is completing her studies this December and coming back to US sometime in February (so she will not be using her F1 to re-enter. She will be using her AP, which the attorney or I will be sending to her via FEDEX to India). My question:

a) Are these European country guys checking our INS documents also?

b) Is it a reasonable assumption that they will be checking only for the VISA stamp in the passport?

Please advise.

Thanks
Hardworker
 
Hi Hardworker,

Don’t go with out approved AP in hand, check USCIS main site they have clearly written that AP should be approved before departure from US, don’t take the risk.

From Murthy chat:

Chat User : Dear Murthy, thanks for the great service. Can a person leave the country on H-1 while AP is pending? Will it cause problems at the POE?

Attorney Murthy : A person is generally advised not to depart, prior to the AP having been approved, if the person intends to use the AP to reenter the U.S. The POE inspector has the right to deny entry to a person seeking to enter on the AP if, upon checking, it is learned that the AP was issued after the person had already departed the U.S. This could cause serious problems for the person to be able to reenter the U.S.


Hope this helps,

VKT
 
Re: UK Transit Visa

Originally posted by hardworker
Hi Venkatsri,

Thanks for sharing the details. My wife and I are going to Hyderabad this Thursday. (Our Advanced Parole is still being processed). I have a valid H1 stamped in my PP and I am hoping that DATV should not be a problem for me. My wife is currently on F1 and even she has her F1 VISA stamped in her PP (valid till 2005). So I am hoping that even she would not need a DATV for our flight change in UK on our way to India.

However, she is completing her studies this December and coming back to US sometime in February (so she will not be using her F1 to re-enter. She will be using her AP, which the attorney or I will be sending to her via FEDEX to India). My question:

a) Are these European country guys checking our INS documents also?

b) Is it a reasonable assumption that they will be checking only for the VISA stamp in the passport?

Please advise.

Thanks
Hardworker
Click to expand...

Hard worker just side note, Since you have applied for I485 your wife has lost her F1 status.

Per attorney Murthy and Others the officer may deny entry if you leave US before the approval AP. It is there in her recent chat. You can search for that.

If I were in situation I would have gone H4.
 
Re: UK Transit Visa

Hi Venkat Sri/Tammy_2

Thanks for your response.

Currently my wife does not have her H4. Since it is change of status from F1 to H4, she will have to go to the consulate in India to get her H4 stamped and then use her H4 to come back.

Any thoughts or any known problems of issuing H4 VISA in India? That way, she does not have to use her AP.

Please advise.

Thanks a lot.

Hardworker
 
hardworker,

if you dont have any issues in the past like mismatch W2 and no-job&no-salary then she should be fine to apply for H4.

VKT
 
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