I am going Nepal this summer to renew my F1 visa via Abudhabi. I am almost positive that I wont need any transit visa in Abu Dhabi but I wanted to verify from you guys. I have arleady called UAE embassy in DC and was not able to get hold of anyone. Anyone have any idea?

I went to Nepal via abu dhabi 3 months ago...u won't need a transit visa, but u'll have to stay within the airport even if u have a long transit...mine was 17 hours and i spent it hanging around in the lobby and shopping in the duty free stores...it wasn't bad...if u have a long transit, i highly recommend you to ask your travel agent to reserve a room for u at the airport hotel...they can provide u with room and meal free of cost provided that your travel agent makes a reservation for u early enough...hope this helps.

Well thats gonna help me too. Thanx sajhababa.

sajhababa, thanx. how long was your transit? Mine is 15 hours and the consulate of UAE in DC says I will need a visa for more than 12 hours of transit.

I travelled via Abu dabhi few months ago......U dont need a VISA AT ALL....Trust on me. Don't listen to consulate. Sometimes they don't know such things...If you want to go outside of the airport, yes you'll need visa but if you're just staying inside the airport. U don't need visa.
BTW Etihad is pretty good. New aircraft. Nice service. 3000% better than Gulf.

But renewing F1 is more difficult these days..i know 2 of my friends were denied for renewal when i was in Nepal.Good luck with that.

mine was 17 hours...and like i said before, u won't need a visa if u do not plan to go outside the airport...as a matter of fact, they do not issue visas to travelers with Nepali passport even if u wish to go outside...travelers from most other countries can...that's what I was told at the airport.