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I am going to travel to India. I was on H1B visa in the USA and it has now expired. I have a valid Indian passport but the American visa is expired.

If I travel from the USA to India, will I have any problem at the US or Indian airport?

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    Why would India stop you from your own country? Even if you don't have a non expired Indian passport, if you are at the border and can prove that you an an Indian citizen, they'll have to let you in. You need no H1B, valid or not, to enter India :)
    – edocetirwi
    Jul 23, 2015 at 21:34
  • @edocetirwi but maybe he'll get in trouble when leaving the USA?
    – Adriano
    Jul 24, 2015 at 3:55
  • Also, your point of transit (if any) would make a difference. In order to transit through the UK, you would either need a VALID H1B or you would need to apply for a transit visa. I believe Germany has a similar requirement. If you to travel via the Middle East then this would not be a problem. If you were to take a direct flight (like ORD-DEL for instance) then this too, would not be a problem.
    – Nishant
    Aug 10, 2015 at 14:17
  • Of course, you will have absolutely no problem going to India. But it goes without saying YOU WILL NOT GET BACK IN TO THE USA WITH AN EXPIRED USA VISA!!!!!!!! Assuming by "expired" you mean "you no longer have the right to work there" re that visa class.
    – Fattie
    Dec 27, 2015 at 20:22

2 Answers 2

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I don't see why the Indian authorities would care about your status in the US, but if they do, explain this (which also explains why you wouldn't have a problem in the US airport):

In the US, a visa is only required as an entry document. Continued stay in the country is not conditioned on the possession of a valid visa.

One official source for this is What the Visa Expiration Date Means on travel.state.gov. The first paragraph:

Sometimes understanding the difference between the visa expiration date and the length of time you have permission to remain in the United States can be confusing. These are very different terms. Also review our “What is a U.S. Visa?” webpage.

I assume you have continued to maintain valid H1B status, in which case you can explain the facts of your employment and so on to anyone who questions it.

Also, the US doesn't have exit immigration controls. They do receive departure information from airlines, but I don't think they would take any action against a departing traveler if they received information indicating an overstay. I suspect they would wait until the next time you tried to enter the country.

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    Given how much H1B traffic there is between the US and India, I think it unlikely that anyone in either country will question it. Jul 24, 2015 at 14:03
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This is not even a problem. I went to india and they dont give a damn about your US visa. You are going back home with an indian passport, thats all matters. This is the same about the rumors floating about travelling through any European country with an expired H1B visa. Nobody checked anything when I went through germany.

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