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I just recently got my transit visa from Guyana (country in South America) to India. Is it possible to get the flight so that it goes from Guyana -> MIA -> SFO -> India instead of Guyana -> New York -> India.

In other words, can I make the flight such that I can visit my uncle? I don't want to apply for a tourist visa.

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  • You will have hard time convincing US consulate that traveling cross country on your way to India is transit.
    – Karlson
    Commented Apr 20, 2015 at 11:49
  • That would not be a transit visa.
    – CGCampbell
    Commented Apr 20, 2015 at 18:39
  • @Karlson Not necessarily. Although the typical transit entry is 24 hours or less, it is possible to enter the US on a transit visa for up to 29 days. But "visiting your uncle" doesn't count as transit. Anecdotally, they won't mind if such a visit takes place at or near the airport between connecting flights, and the flight hasn't been specifically constructed to avoid a short layover. Commented Apr 20, 2015 at 20:42
  • Given thar most flights to India from the US go eastbound....
    – Karlson
    Commented Apr 20, 2015 at 21:30

1 Answer 1

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"Transit (C) visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons traveling in immediate and continuous transit through the United States enroute to another country"

"A foreign citizen whose layover in the United States is for a primary purpose other than to transit, for example to visit friends or sightsee, requires a visitor (B) visa."

Ref: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/other/transit.html

Essentially I believe this would come down to convincing the immigration official that your visit to your uncle was purely incidental to your transit. You could have problems if, for example, you could have got an earlier flight out of the US without visiting your uncle.

On the other hand, if it looks like your stay in the US wasn't longer than it needed to be they probably (probably!) won't mind where you go during that time.

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