Schengen visa (for tourism) requirements for an Indian student in the US

Question

Like the title says, I am an Indian citizen studying in the US and I'll be a student for possibly the next 5 years. The specific visa I am on is the F-1 visa. I would like to visit the Schengen area for tourism over the next few years, but I am unsure about visa requirements.

According to this, as an F-1 visa holder, I am a temporary resident of the US.

Now this says:

As per the foreign nationals residing in the US on a temporary or permanent residence permit, the following do not need to obtain a visa to enter Europe:

1. Foreign passport holders coming from one of the countries that have established the visa-free regime with the EU
2. Foreigners with dual citizenship, one of which is of a country that has established the visa-free regime with the EU (These people will have to travel with their EU-visa-exempt-country passport)
3. Foreigners that hold dual citizenship, one of which is of an EU member country (These persons will have to travel with their European passport)

On the other hand, there are still categories of people residing in the United States that have to obtain a visa in order to be permitted to enter Europe.

These categories are as following:

1. Internationals living in the United States, coming from one of the countries that have not established a visa-free regime with the EU
2. Internationals living in the United States, coming from one of the countries that have established the visa-free regime with the EU, but were previously denied entry to the Schengen Area.

The very first point is of interest to me. I am a foreign passport holder coming from the US and I am a temporary resident of the US.

My understanding is that IF I try to visit, say Germany, I don't need a Schengen visa to enter the country as long as I am coming directly from the US (or any other country which has established a visa-free regime with the EU, say Serbia?). And I will need a visa if I am trying to visit Germany if I am coming directly from India.

Is my understanding right?

As Indian citizens don't need a visa to enter Serbia, can I enter the Schengen area with my F-1 visa while going first from India to Serbia and then to one of the Schengen countries?

Answer 1

No, your undestanding is incorrect. That sentence is basically a reminder that if your citizenship allows you to enter the Schengen area without a visa, you can still do that while living in the US. In that (admittedly somewhat confusing) sentence, "coming from" simply refers to your citizenship. That's also why it's lumped together with info about dual citizenship.

Generally speaking, being a US resident does not exempt you from any visa requirement to enter the Schengen area (it does for airport transit visas) and where you are entering from does not matter. As an Indian citizen, you therefore need a visa, whether you are presently coming from India, from the US, or from Serbia. The only differences is that you can apply for that visa from the US and probably stand a good chance of obtaining one (as you are already a resident in a high-income country, you have already been vetted and present a lower risk of immigrating illegally).