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Travelling on advance parole from India to the US through Frankfurt

  • The person at the Lufthansa counter accepted the combo EAD/AP card
  • The immigration official at Indian customs examined the card closely, looked at my expired H1-B visa stamp, asked me if they would let me in with this card (I said yes) and then let me pass
  • At Frankfurt, I was asked if I have a visa, I said "Yes, a German visa" (I had a one year multiple entry German visa). She did not flip through the passport to actually find the visa, she just let me through after looking at the front page. Current regulations state you need a transit visa if you are on AP and are not from one of the visa waiver countries.
  • At US immigration I was asked to fill out the white I-94 card and sent to secondary inspection
  • At secondary inspection the lady asked a few questions about my specialization and then stamped the I-94 card as "DA/AOS" and let me through. She also "Cancelled Without Prejudice" my expired H1-B visa stamp
  • I did not have to show any documents other than my passport and EAD/AP card to anyone.

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