Coming to US on K1 visa

[Diane and Chris 651]

Hello to all.  We are finally getting ready to purchase the airline ticket for fiancé to come to the US on the K1!  Perhaps 10 days out. We have a couple of questions. 

 

1) Is a round trip ticket ok to use even though the return portion will not be used?  It is much cheaper to go that route. 

2) Will fiancé pay any fees upon entering at customs?

3) Should flight be directly to US with no stops in other countries for layovers?

4) Any suggestions as to which point of entry is better?  Fiancé's final destination will be Atlanta but it looks like there are no direct flights from Switzerland to Atlanta at this time of year.

 

Thanks so much for your responses. 

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

6 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

Hello to all.  We are finally getting ready to purchase the airline ticket for fiancé to come to the US on the K1!  Perhaps 10 days out. We have a couple of questions. 

 

1) Is a round trip ticket ok to use even though the return portion will not be used?  It is much cheaper to go that route.  If round trip is cheaper (one way was cheaper for us) then buy a round trip. Book the return flight like 5-6 months out, just remember to cancel it after arrival (also make sure there aren't any cancellation fees or what ever)

2) Will fiancé pay any fees upon entering at customs? No, unless bringing an excessive amount of delcarable items.

3) Should flight be directly to US with no stops in other countries for layovers? Doesn't matter as long as the country doing the lay over in does not require some sort of t;ransit visa (most don't i don't think just for international layover inside the terminals)

4) Any suggestions as to which point of entry is better?  Fiancé's final destination will be Atlanta but it looks like there are no direct flights from Switzerland to Atlanta at this time of year. Really doesn't matter. Long as at the POE into the US there is about 3-4 hours between flights to ensure adequate time to get through customs and make it to the next flight.

 

Check here: http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/poereviews.php for reviews of POE's in the US

 

Thanks so much for your responses. 

 

[Dashinka 23,247]

4 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

Hello to all.  We are finally getting ready to purchase the airline ticket for fiancé to come to the US on the K1!  Perhaps 10 days out. We have a couple of questions. 

 

1) Is a round trip ticket ok to use even though the return portion will not be used?  It is much cheaper to go that route. 

You can buy a RT ticket, just make sure you cancel the return leg, so your fiancés doesn't show up on some manifest somewhere as leaving the country.  Many airlines (for a fee) will allow you to bank the return leg for 6-12 months, so you may still be able to use the return leg at some point for a different trip.

4 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

2) Will fiancé pay any fees upon entering at customs?

Not that I am aware of.

4 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

3) Should flight be directly to US with no stops in other countries for layovers?

Depends on the ease of setting up a direct route.  With my fiancé, she had to fly through China prior to the US, and she had no issues. 

4 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

4) Any suggestions as to which point of entry is better?  Fiancé's final destination will be Atlanta but it looks like there are no direct flights from Switzerland to Atlanta at this time of year.

Since you are in Georgia, I assume Atlanta would be the closest major airport to you.  My advice would be to have your fiancé enter at the airport you plan on meeting at if at all possible to avoid needing to clear Immigrations and customs and also hunt for a connecting flight.

4 minutes ago, Diane and Chris said:

 

Thanks so much for your responses. 

Good Luck!

[zilchfox 296]

Just a side-note. If your layover to the U.S. happens to be in Canada, your POE will be in Canada, NOT the U.S., so keep this in mind as you'll want your layover to be a few hours so you don't miss your connecting flight to the U.S., because you were stuck in U.S. customs in a Canadian airport. Departing a Canadian airport to a U.S. one will be a domestic flight, you won't need to do customs when you land.

Edited April 28, 2017 by zilchfox

[YecaCruz 374]

24 minutes ago, zilchfox said:

 If your layover to the U.S. happens to be in Canada, your POE will be in Canada, NOT the U.S., so keep this in mind as you'll want your layover to be a few hours so you don't miss your connecting flight to the U.S., because you were stuck in U.S. customs in a Canadian airport.

 

Wanted to highlight this. Make sure you have PLENTY of layover time at your initial stop. Took my husband 3 hours to get through secondary inspection.

[Becci391 339]

I flew into Atlanta in January this year also as a K1 visa holder.

The longest time I had to wait was actually waiting in line to get to the officer. 

Activating my visa and getting the stamp in the passport only took about 10 minutes (you obviously have to go to two officers. The first asks you questions, takes your pictures and finger prints and the other one checks the documents in the envelope).

The total waiting time was probably 45 to 60 minutes because the waiting line was really long. I didn't have to worry about getting a connection flight since my fiancé (now husband )lives in Atlanta.

[David&Femke 91]

2 hours ago, Diane and Chris said:

Hello to all.  We are finally getting ready to purchase the airline ticket for fiancé to come to the US on the K1!  Perhaps 10 days out. We have a couple of questions. 

 

1) Is a round trip ticket ok to use even though the return portion will not be used?  It is much cheaper to go that route. 

2) Will fiancé pay any fees upon entering at customs?

3) Should flight be directly to US with no stops in other countries for layovers?

4) Any suggestions as to which point of entry is better?  Fiancé's final destination will be Atlanta but it looks like there are no direct flights from Switzerland to Atlanta at this time of year.

 

Thanks so much for your responses. 

I go from teh netherlands to atlanta on a regular bases. I have the best experiance flying with united or lufthansa. with a layover in franfurt or houston texas. I think you can get the same layovers from switzerland. also if you fly with united and you ahve a layover in Texas and get hold up and dont make your conected flight the book you on the next one with no charge, the time that happened to my i only had to wait 1 hour. lufthansa does the same.

Edited April 28, 2017 by David&Femke

[Diane and Chris 651]

Thanks everyone for all the input!  It has been very helpful. 

 

[TBoneTX 43,059]

By the way, all of your questions have been asked many times before and are answered in numerous previous threads.

[Diane and Chris 651]

Thank you for pointing that out, Mr. TBone.  It does appear our question was answered by many and it was helpful.  Thanks again everyone for your input. It is hard to find the proper threads to find answers to questions. But, this part of our journey is over and we hope to find more answers to questions as we continue. 

[Patient 57]

On 4/28/2017 at 5:45 PM, Diane and Chris said:

Hello to all.  We are finally getting ready to purchase the airline ticket for fiancé to come to the US on the K1!  Perhaps 10 days out. We have a couple of questions. 

 

1) Is a round trip ticket ok to use even though the return portion will not be used?  It is much cheaper to go that route. 

2) Will fiancé pay any fees upon entering at customs?

3) Should flight be directly to US with no stops in other countries for layovers?

4) Any suggestions as to which point of entry is better?  Fiancé's final destination will be Atlanta but it looks like there are no direct flights from Switzerland to Atlanta at this time of year.

 

Thanks so much for your responses. 

Only work of caution relates to importing of goods, customs/excise may deem your POE as the tax point not the final destination.

 

1) Is a round trip ticket ok to use - yes, consider a family event in the future when Fiancé's  can fly back ( you have many months before returning c.12mths ....you never know it could be a week of 30C again, not just 2003!

2) Only if loaded with cash, jewels and alcohol ....... 

3) Price determines journey, I fly KLM via Amsterdam to Boston then because of the size of the airport nip to the domestic flight. I have given up on Swiss. Look at new routes like Lufthansa to Charlotte ..... ( one thought to do a road trip to Atlanta ) ... as others with Air France are also opening. It all depends on amount of luggage, hassles and flying same carrier and not swapping from one to another and having 20 or 23 kg issues per bag etc...  

4) Advice is to avoid "big" airports as POE because of possible transfer / airport size........ simply because I hate La Guardia & Miami .....love Boston, Orlando, Atlanta and a few others on a "good rating" ...... the problem for the big ones laround NYC are they are cheap with Swiss. 

 

AND why get to her POE and you both fly down to Atlanta together to start your new life together???? ...... no answer required, just a romantic thought.