Possible problem??

[Ryan H 3,812]

once he is a LPR he won't need one.

Incorrect, LPR's are subjected to visa requirements of the passport they travel on. While Canada, Mexico, and most Caribbean countries may waive visa requirements for US LPR's, European countries don't.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

Incorrect, LPR's are subjected to visa requirements of the passport they travel on. While Canada, Mexico, and most Caribbean countries may waive visa requirements for US LPR's, European countries don't.

The Schengen visa site said that if he had a resident permit that allowed re-entry for America then he wouldn't need a transit visa. Perhaps I misread it.

[IsrAziz 0]

Yes I also was of the understanding that once he got his permanent residency card for the USA which is what he will have once we enter the USA that means he is able to travel just as an American citizen would. He is able to sponsor others to come to the USA so that residency card gives him almost the same status as a person born in the United States is my understanding.

[Ryan H 3,812]

Yes I also was of the understanding that once he got his permanent residency card for the USA which is what he will have once we enter the USA that means he is able to travel just as an American citizen would. He is able to sponsor others to come to the USA so that residency card gives him almost the same status as a person born in the United States is my understanding.

You have understood incorrectly. As I said in my previous post on this issue, a green card may be sufficient for entry into Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean; but for European nations, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc. where US Citizens are allowed visa free travel, that privilege is not extended to LPR's.

[IsrAziz 0]

You have understood incorrectly. As I said in my previous post on this issue, a green card may be sufficient for entry into Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean; but for European nations, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, etc. where US Citizens are allowed visa free travel, that privilege is not extended to LPR's.

Could you please provide a link to this information that you are providing? I appreciate it thank you so much!

[Ryan H 3,812]

Could you please provide a link to this information that you are providing? I appreciate it thank you so much!

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=0c353a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=0c353a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

International Travel as a Permanent Resident

What documents do I need to travel outside the United States?

In general, you will need to present a passport from your country of citizenship or your refugee travel document to travel to a foreign country. In addition, the foreign country may have additional entry/exit requirements (such as a visa).

Let's use Italia for an example. The link below is from the Italian Consulate in San Francisco:

http://www.conssanfrancisco.esteri.it/Consolato_SanFrancisco/Menu/I_Servizi/Per_chi_si_reca_in_italia/

Nowhere in the link above does it mention that US LPR's are allowed visa free travel to Italia (or the Schengen area for that matter since Italia is a Schengen travel area signer). Also, Morocco is not on that list of countries in the site I linked to where its citizens are allowed visa free travel to Italia or the Schengen area.

As I have stated before and I will state again, when you travel internationally, you travel as a citizen of the country of the passport you hold. Check entry requirements for that country, if it does not specifically state that green card holders are exempt from visa requirements, then they are not exempt said requirements and must obtain visas in accordance with the country's procedure for doing so.

[hayam 8]

He will not need a schengen visa for europe because he is only going to change the connecting flights there. When I was having only a green card & wanted to visit my family in France I needed to apply for the schengen visa because I was going to stay there for some days. My friend when the first time got her visa stamped at the american consulate she changed her flight in France & the only thing happened to her is someone from Immigration in the airport was asking her some questions then checking what she has in her luggage after that she was fine. So no worries everything will be fine for him too. So have a nice trip.

[reese1 68]

He will not need a schengen visa for europe because he is only going to change the connecting flights there. When I was having only a green card & wanted to visit my family in France I needed to apply for the schengen visa because I was going to stay there for some days. My friend when the first time got her visa stamped at the american consulate she changed her flight in France & the only thing happened to her is someone from Immigration in the airport was asking her some questions then checking what she has in her luggage after that she was fine. So no worries everything will be fine for him too. So have a nice trip.

OP stated will have a 19 hour layover which elapses the 6 hour courtesy that is allowed for not having a schengen visa. So unless they can find a flight with a shorter layover they are going to need the visa.

[hayam 8]

That is a long wait unless he is staying inside the International airport & not leaving it. May be I'm wrong but this is what I know.

[Love To Teach 161]

All we need to do is book a flight before the visa expires in April! Why is this harder than getting the visa in the first place???

My husband got his IR1 visa to the USA Alhamdulillah but now we cannot seem to find a suitable flight before our scheduled January 20th trip!!! We booked on Iberia Airlines over 2 months ago right after getting the visa but at the very last minute and unannounced they cancelled our flight!!! Our travel agent caught the problem Alhamdulillah BEFORE we got to the airport in Casablanca only to be told they changed the flight from an 8am departure to a 3pm departure time. Ok fine we would have waited no problem BUT and here is the kicker........Iberia changed the flight time of our FIRST flight without taking into consideration we did not plan on staying in our first destination and had scheduled connecting flights............not only didnt they take it into consideration but they also didnt CARE!!!! Finally after much hassle they refunded our money (minus 20.00 that they kept for Im not sure what reason since it was THEIR error not ours)!!!!

The whole thing is we booked that far in advance hoping to get a better price. NOW we have to rebook and are running into all kind of problems.

There is one flight that goes from Casablanca to Frankfurt Germany and although I didnt care for the 19 hour layover we were going to accept it anyway. We were denied that flight because they said my husband needs something called a "transit visa" which we never even heard of before! They said because we are changing airlines in Frankfurt (we originally start with Royal Air Maroc airlines in Casa then in Frankfurt switch to Lufthansa) but because of the airline change he is not allowed to stay longer than 6 hours in the airport! What kind of nonscience is this???!!!

I just want to go home already! Sooooo tired of Morocco.....no offence to Moroccans but its not my home!

So how do we get this "transit visa" by Sunday (2 days from today) and why didnt anyone at the Consulate tell us we would need this if our travel takes us somewhere other than directly to the USA???

Here is some advice: AVOID MADRID AIRPORT AT ALL COSTS. They hate Moroccans. I have a friend whose husband was not allowed in the airport while changing from an Air Maroc flight to another flight. This was during his first flight coming to the US on K-1 Visa. They made him go outside of the airport. His wife was with him. She was allowed in, he was not. Finally an airport worker saw him standing outside the doors, felt sorry for him, and rushed him to the plane right before takeoff. This same man has a friend who had a long flight layover in Madrid. The airport made him go back to Morocco because he had a long layover. He was coming over here on a K-1 also, by himself. He had to go back to Morocco and get a totally new flight NOT going through Spain. I would never go through there again unless I was a US citizen. They are brutal!!!!

PS--Iberian Airlines is the armpit of the airline industry!!!! Sorry if this posted twice!!!!

Edited January 19, 2013 by Love To Teach

[IsrAziz 0]

Here is some advice: AVOID MADRID AIRPORT AT ALL COSTS. They hate Moroccans. I have a friend whose husband was not allowed in the airport while changing from an Air Maroc flight to another flight. This was during his first flight coming to the US on K-1 Visa. They made him go outside of the airport. His wife was with him. She was allowed in, he was not. Finally an airport worker saw him standing outside the doors, felt sorry for him, and rushed him to the plane right before takeoff. This same man has a friend who had a long flight layover in Madrid. The airport made him go back to Morocco because he had a long layover. He was coming over here on a K-1 also, by himself. He had to go back to Morocco and get a totally new flight NOT going through Spain. I would never go through there again unless I was a US citizen. They are brutal!!!!

PS--Iberian Airlines is the armpit of the airline industry!!!! Sorry if this posted twice!!!!

Wow you really scared me with this information! I really hope we have better luck then the ones you know who had these issues because at this point we have no choice but to fly Iberia airlines and through Madrid. These were the only options left for us.

I totally agree Iberia Airlines is the armpit of the airline industry and believe me I will NEVER deal with them again after this trip is over. We will be praying that Allah will bless us and protect us on this trip because Iberia is telling us that they will refund the money for our tickets that we booked the flight they cancelled on us BUT they plan on keeping 500.00 DH for EACH ticket!!!! We cant continue our journey with that much missing from our funds so we are being forced basically at gunpoint by Iberia to use their airline!!! NEVER have I ever been treated this badly by ANY company but you live and you learn which I definately have!

So we have no choice you see. We will have to take our chances.

I want to thank EVERYONE of you who offered your advice and information. I found it all extremely helpful. I did a little investigating on my own as someone here suggested and used Google. I found this information on one of the sites so I am pasting it here just in case someone else might ask this same question again. Anyone reading this will be able to answer them.

R32) TWOV

....

Transit Without Visa (TWOV): Passing through an international

transit area of the airport in order to board a connecting (or

to proceed by the same) flight, without entering the country

(i.e. clearing immigration).

Unless stated otherwise, passengers wishing to TWOV must:

- be en-route to a third country (e.g. itinerary TYO-LON-TYO

is not considered TWOV);

- prove that they will continue their journey within the

prescribed period (e.g. hold onward tickets);

- have documents required for entry into the country of

destination and for transit through countries en-route;

- remain in the transit area (airside) or on the aircraft.

TWOV is not intended for those holding stand-by tickets, e.g.

airline staff or other passengers travelling on industry

discount.

Here is the site I found this information at: http://www.skyteam.com/en/your-trip/Services/Visa-and-Health/

[amykathleen2005 441]

Wow you really scared me with this information! I really hope we have better luck then the ones you know who had these issues because at this point we have no choice but to fly Iberia airlines and through Madrid. These were the only options left for us.

I totally agree Iberia Airlines is the armpit of the airline industry and believe me I will NEVER deal with them again after this trip is over. We will be praying that Allah will bless us and protect us on this trip because Iberia is telling us that they will refund the money for our tickets that we booked the flight they cancelled on us BUT they plan on keeping 500.00 DH for EACH ticket!!!! We cant continue our journey with that much missing from our funds so we are being forced basically at gunpoint by Iberia to use their airline!!! NEVER have I ever been treated this badly by ANY company but you live and you learn which I definately have!

So we have no choice you see. We will have to take our chances.

I want to thank EVERYONE of you who offered your advice and information. I found it all extremely helpful. I did a little investigating on my own as someone here suggested and used Google. I found this information on one of the sites so I am pasting it here just in case someone else might ask this same question again. Anyone reading this will be able to answer them.

R32) TWOV

....

Transit Without Visa (TWOV): Passing through an international

transit area of the airport in order to board a connecting (or

to proceed by the same) flight, without entering the country

(i.e. clearing immigration).

Unless stated otherwise, passengers wishing to TWOV must:

- be en-route to a third country (e.g. itinerary TYO-LON-TYO

is not considered TWOV);

- prove that they will continue their journey within the

prescribed period (e.g. hold onward tickets);

- have documents required for entry into the country of

destination and for transit through countries en-route;

- remain in the transit area (airside) or on the aircraft.

TWOV is not intended for those holding stand-by tickets, e.g.

airline staff or other passengers travelling on industry

discount.

Here is the site I found this information at: http://www.skyteam.c...isa-and-Health/

It depends on the set up of the airport if he'll have to pass through immigration. What if he has to go to a different terminal to connect?

[IsrAziz 0]

It depends on the set up of the airport if he'll have to pass through immigration. What if he has to go to a different terminal to connect?

On that site link I provided it gives the option to enter what city you will be in with the layover so if there are variations as you say it will most likely state that on the information the site provides. I didnt check every city. I only entered Madrid which is the city we will have our layover. That is the reason I provided the link as well so others can enter their own personal information as I realize not everyone is passing through Madrid.

In the information the site provided me it clearly states he must remain either inside the transit area or on the aircraft so if he must travel to another terminal for his connecting flight this information would not apply to him. I think if you read it the information is very clear as to what the requirements are and the passenger must obviously meet all of the requirements to qualify. Luckily for us in our case we do!

Hope this helps.

[amykathleen2005 441]

To get that you must have put in that your husband is a permanent resident of the US. Technically he does not become a resident until he enters the US.

[IsrAziz 0]

To get that you must have put in that your husband is a permanent resident of the US. Technically he does not become a resident until he enters the US.

No I put that he is a Moroccan resident and where it asks what countries he has visited in the last 6 days I also put Morocco because he has never been out of Morocco.

I know that he doesnt become a permanent resident of the USA until he arrives and his visa is stamped. This transit visa information states that he may stay in the airport in Madrid without a needing a transit visa.

It states the requirements as such:

1. Unless stated otherwise, passengers wishing to TWOV must:

- be en-route to a third country (e.g. itinerary TYO-LON-TYO

is not considered TWOV); - My husband is traveling FROM Morocco PASSING THRU Madrid and EN-ROUTE to a third Country The United States. POINT ONE HE QUALIFIES

2. - prove that they will continue their journey within the

prescribed period (e.g. hold onward tickets); - My husband holds a ticket stating he will continue on with his journey to the United States within the prescribed period as stated on the airline ticket. POINT TWO HE QUALIFIES

3. - have documents required for entry into the country of

destination and for transit through countries en-route; - My husband has his visa stamp on his passport and the packet given to him by the American Consulate unopened as stated on the front. His airline tickets also confirm his beginning, middle and end destination. POINT THREE HE QUALIFIES

4. - remain in the transit area (airside) or on the aircraft. We dont plan on leaving the area that we are allowed to be in. We didnt book the layover in Madrid it was given to us by the airline. We took the flight because we really had no choice. The flight we originally booked and paid for in full a month in advance was cancelled by the airline. This was the alternate booking they provided to us not by our choice but by default. The original flight only had a 2 hour layover in Barcelona and then another 3 hour layover in London. Either way we never intended on leaving the airport so we are good with this one as well.

From this information to my understanding my husband qualifies for the TWOV and will not need a transit visa. He meets all requirements to stay inside the airport in the designated area until our flight to the USA leaves.