Schengen Visa on H1 ( H1 stamping almost expired but I797 is valid)

[byct1]

HI all,

Question. My H1 stamping expired month is Oct , 2015, while my I797 expired in Oct, 2016. I am planning to go Europe this Sep. Would that be an issue since the stamping is expiring?

Thanks,

Audrey

[Mogu]

HI all,

Question. My H1 stamping expired month is Oct , 2015, while my I797 expired in Oct, 2016. I am planning to go Europe this Sep. Would that be an issue since the stamping is expiring?

Thanks,

Audrey

Do you need a visa to enter Europe? If so, yes.

A new schengen visa might not be issued to you if your old visa is invalid. Also, if your return ticket is to the US and you don't have a visa to come back to the US, airlines might not permit you to board. Similarly, it is possible that if your return ticket and visa don't match (validity periods), they might not let you in at immigration in europe.

I was in Germany last year and they checked that I was able to go back before letting me in.

Essentially, you should be able to show a ticket out of Europe and ability to be let in at your destination country afterwards (visa, visa exemption, passport that lets you in, etc.). This is not an issue if you are going to country where you can otherwise remain without overstaying (home country, have permanent residence in europe, etc.)

EDIT: Sorry, didn't see that your visa expires in October and you are going in September. This is a very close call. If your visa is valid and allows you to come back in, and you have a return ticket within those dates, you would likely be fine. Also, depends on how they see your country of citizenship. I wouldn't cut it too close though lest the immigration people in europe get spooked.