Airline madness!

[basstof and robi 4]

be sure that they do not need any TRANSIT VISA for any country you might be connecting thru. if you just get direct flights then you are ok....but if you are connecting through another country CHECK TO SEE IF THEIR PASSPORT DOES NOT NEED A INTRANSIT VISA!!!

i didnt know about this

[Alianza Terps 12]

For us, our interview was on a Monday and the visa was processed and ready to pick up from the DHL office on Friday. We bought a round trip ticket from Peru to the U.S. and after my fiance arrived, we canceled the return ticket and asked the airline for travel credit or something. We can use the one-way return ticket anytime within the next year but we will still need to pay fees and taxes or something. Every airline has their own policy though. With how much ticket prices are for the holidays (especially traveling to Peru), we hope that it will help us out a bit!

Edited October 7, 2011 by Alianza Terps

[Azzudiin 26]

The mere thought of buying tickets before you have Visa in hand is totally unnecessary risk, so many things can go wrong.

Worst case, They dont pass interview

2nd, AP

3rd, Any other delay in receiving Visa

Unless there is some type of medical reason they need to travel the instant after the interview, your far better off waiting until you have interview in hand, then making travel arrangements a few months out allowing for you to find the best air fares and best connections on the flights.

[TBoneTX 43,549]

Lest the OP and other readers miss the point: The biggest mistake that can be made during the immigration process, besides lying, is to presume issuance of the visa.

Edited October 7, 2011 by TBoneTX

[Casprd 167]

1st! and most important, from everything I've read, as soon as the interview is complete and if everything goes well, they can come to the States. Is this correct? Before I buy anything I want to know for sure that this is true. I need to know if there's any kind of waiting period to be expected or whatever...

There will be a short wait to receive their passports back with the visa attached. Could be later the same day or could be a couple of weeks. Every consulate and case is different.

2. I'm going to fly down to Peru before the interview to be with them at the interview and help them pack and such. My first thought was to buy round-trip tickets going down there and coming from for the three of us, just obviously they wouldn't use the tickets going down, just the tickets coming home. After some research, however, it looks like if I do that, the flight will be cancelled in it's entirety if they are not on board for the first flight. Is this true? Does anyone know if this is a possible idea?

You would have to get a round trip from Peru to the US and back for them. If you don't use the first portion of the ticket, the remaining legs will be cancelled. Even if it is a multiple leg one way flight, if any segment is skipped then the remaining segments are cancelled.

3. Seriously, one way flights are financial suicide. It'd be great if I could just buy them one-way tickets going out of Lima to where I live, but they cost so sooo much! It'd be cheaper for me to buy them round trip tickets going from Peru to the US then back to Peru, and simply not use the tickets going back! At this point it is my plan to do this, but I'm the paranoid type and worry about unforeseen problems. Would them having a round trip flight back raise suspicion with immigration or customs on the way into the country? How 'bout the airlines? Do they usually have any kind of penalty for doing this sort of thing? Seems like a fairly easy loophole to exploit, I would imagine there could be some kind of safeguard against such an action, such as a fine or whatever.

If the Peru US round trip is cheaper then you can certainly do this. I would also look in to travel agents in Peru. Often they can get better prices flying out of their country then we can find here. The round trip ticket won't cause a problem. CBP is well aware that it is often cheaper to do this so it won't raise any eyebrows at all. The airlines don't care because when you don't check in for the return flight, they can sell that seat again to someone else. Especially if you call and cancel the return leg. If it is refundable then you can at least get part of the money back but often it isn't.

4. Finally, what am I not thinking of? What advice could you give me based on your experience? What did you do to get your loved ones home with you?

There will be quite a few travel agents located just outside the consulate (at least in guangzhou it is that way). Shop around in Peru to see what you can find. If you haven't booked a return flight for yourself (or it is one you can change), you may be better off getting everyone's return ticket then. Have your wife check there to see what kind of prices you can get. One thing you can do also is set the return leg to be 6 months out (I think that is the most the airlines will let you do) and then in 6 months or so, your wife can go back to visit family and the return leg isn't wasted. Of course you then have to pay to fly her back again, but it is always an option to consider.

[Dave&Roza 748]

be sure that they do not need any TRANSIT VISA for any country you might be connecting thru. if you just get direct flights then you are ok....but if you are connecting through another country CHECK TO SEE IF THEIR PASSPORT DOES NOT NEED A INTRANSIT VISA!!!

i didnt know about this

Most countries will let you transit thru them as long as you remain in the airport. Case in point. My flight from England to Kazakhstan was missed due to weather in Denver. The only option I had was thru Moscow. I specifically asked the ticket agent if I could go thru Moscow as I did not have a transit visa. She checked and said it would be okay. I asked her a couple of times just to make sure. When arriving at Moscow, they took my passport and told me to return to this location after 0700 to pick up my passport. It was a rather stressful 2 hours, but my passport was given back to me and I was allowed to continue on. Another example is my wife, she needs a visa to visit the EU, but she does not need a visa to make a connecting flight at Frankfurt airport.

Typically transit visas are required for travel other than air as they cannot guarantee that you will not enter their country uninspected, but checking on this is a good idea before getting surprised.

Dave

[Al and Patricia 23]

I am not sure in what city you live but, if you buy a few weeks in advance, try Spirit Airlines. They have the cheapest flights I have seen from Lima to FFL ( Fort Lauderdale). Hope this helps you

[xxxwabbiexxx 70]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you say you don't want the whole flight thing to break you financially, why don't you just not go to the interview?? It doesn't really gain you more points.

I'm sure you want to support your wife, my husband (fiance at the time of interview) would have loved to have come but we just could not do it financially and I totally, beyond a shadow of a doubt understood that.

This process is financially crippling as it is so why no save money where you can, and this to me is a no brainer, you would save a fortune on your own flight, hotels (if you need them), car, food, presents etc. Why not just book your wife and her son a ticket when they have their visa's??

[Gosia & Tito 199]

My wife and stepson have their interview scheduled for November 22! YAY! I'm so excited, finally this whole process is coming to a close. But now, how do I get them home??? I've been breaking my head against the wall trying to work out flights for them that won't completely destroy me financially. I've been working out various possibilities and I want to run them by you guys now and get your opinions on them, also to see if there's any flaws in my thinking....

1st! and most important, from everything I've read, as soon as the interview is complete and if everything goes well, they can come to the States. Is this correct? Before I buy anything I want to know for sure that this is true. I need to know if there's any kind of waiting period to be expected or whatever...

2. I'm going to fly down to Peru before the interview to be with them at the interview and help them pack and such. My first thought was to buy round-trip tickets going down there and coming from for the three of us, just obviously they wouldn't use the tickets going down, just the tickets coming home. After some research, however, it looks like if I do that, the flight will be cancelled in it's entirety if they are not on board for the first flight. Is this true? Does anyone know if this is a possible idea?

3. Seriously, one way flights are financial suicide. It'd be great if I could just buy them one-way tickets going out of Lima to where I live, but they cost so sooo much! It'd be cheaper for me to buy them round trip tickets going from Peru to the US then back to Peru, and simply not use the tickets going back! At this point it is my plan to do this, but I'm the paranoid type and worry about unforeseen problems. Would them having a round trip flight back raise suspicion with immigration or customs on the way into the country? How 'bout the airlines? Do they usually have any kind of penalty for doing this sort of thing? Seems like a fairly easy loophole to exploit, I would imagine there could be some kind of safeguard against such an action, such as a fine or whatever.

4. Finally, what am I not thinking of? What advice could you give me based on your experience? What did you do to get your loved ones home with you?

Please help me out with this, I'm trying to get my travel arrangements figured out ASAP so as to get the best possible rates. Thank you in advance for you assistance, and thank you Visa Journey for helping me get to this point!!!

If you happen to have miles from a frequent flyer program, that could be a saver. COntinental, American ar the ones you want.

Additioanlly, look into low cost, Spirit that even allow one way without the high penalties (or used to at least).

One thing you could do is join a frequent flyer, get their CC (many of them are no fee 1st year and upon first purchase or cumulative purchases of 1000-1500, get you up to 30,000 miles, which together with the mile you can get, result in at least 1 free ticket. If you have a carrier that allows one ways mith miles (American), then you have 2 one ways tickets free. Depending on whether there are low mile tickets (I have gone to Peru myself 1st class in American for 35k round trip), you might get all for free.

This might require that they wait a bit, maybe until after the Xmas-New Year holidays (which is highway robbery time for the airlines if you know what I mean)

Other airlines that have miles programs are Taca with stopover in Houston and/or Central America. Earlier this year I had an emergency in Lima and I got a Taca next day ticket for a bit under 1000 (from Houston); and to top it over I had to change the return date (to an earlier return, 6 hours before this return flight) once I was in Lima, and at no charge!!

Also, look into other stopovers. Frontier flies to Costa Rica (from Denver, and other cities) and it is a popular connection for people in Lima back and forth

Not thinking of: how to bring their life stuff....luggage I mena. Take that into account when booking flights, some airlines only allow 1 bag, some 2, at different weigths. Also, might be cheaper to mail/ship their stuff.....

Good luck.....

[bigdog 376]

You made a command decision, good luck.

[Casprd 167]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you say you don't want the whole flight thing to break you financially, why don't you just not go to the interview?? It doesn't really gain you more points.

I'm sure you want to support your wife, my husband (fiance at the time of interview) would have loved to have come but we just could not do it financially and I totally, beyond a shadow of a doubt understood that.

This process is financially crippling as it is so why no save money where you can, and this to me is a no brainer, you would save a fortune on your own flight, hotels (if you need them), car, food, presents etc. Why not just book your wife and her son a ticket when they have their visa's??

Keep in mind that the interview isn't in London. While the petitioner being at the interview in London "doesn't gain you more points", at some consulates such as Guangzhou, it absolutely does gain you points and for some consulates can be a requirement.

[Wishin-n-hopin 15]

I don't know what the prices are for a flight from Peru, but my fiance will be coming from Scotland and so I do know what a flight from there costs. What I have found is if you book the flights yourself online, as opposed to going through a travel agent, you will save a little bit of money there. But, I've also noticed that being flexible with the day of the flight is also essential. For instance, if my fiance flies over here to the States on a Tuesday, it would cost approximately $3,000 for a flight with just one stop. However, if he flies over on a Sunday, the price drops to LESS than $1,000. That a $2,000 savings!!!!! So....try different days of the week. Also, I agree with buying the round-trip ticket...it is definitely cheaper. If you do that, make sure that the "return" date is a couple weeks away from the arrival date. I've discovered that if it appears that the length of stay is a little longer than a 2 or 3 day trip, it seems to drop the price a bit, as well (I have no idea why). Even though they won't be using the return tickets, the length of time between the arrival date and the return date does seem to make a difference, just do be sure to cancel the return flights after they arrive here in the States.

I hope this helps...and good luck!!

[yachachiq12 43]

We were able to pick our visa up from the DHL office in Lima within a week after the interview.

My personal experience has been that I've never found a cheaper flight within, to, or from Peru with a travel agent in the US or in Peru than flights I've found myself online. Check the usual American-based ones, but also look at LAN (though it's an AA partner, so may be the same price) and TACA. In the past, the LAN website accessed in Peru in Spanish had cheaper fares advertised than the LAN site accessed in English. Don't know if that's still the case...

Waiting until you have visa in hand to make travel plans is good advice but weigh the following: if you buy tix ahead and have to change them to accommodate problems getting the visa, how much will the ticket plus change fees cost? Then, if you have to book with just a few days' notice upon a favorable consulate review, how much will that cost? Choose the cheaper option. If you go with #1, make sure the ticket is transferable. And be prepared to travel home to the US without your family in the worst case.

We used my AA points for a one-way ticket for my husband to avoid the roundtrip pain. However, the advice you're getting about booking the US-Peru return leg far in the future is good -- you can always use that later and change it for a fee if necessary. This has worked well for me in the past when my Peru stays were longer and thus did not allow proper return flight booking.

[StephanieM 60]

Keep in mind that the interview isn't in London. While the petitioner being at the interview in London "doesn't gain you more points", at some consulates such as Guangzhou, it absolutely does gain you points and for some consulates can be a requirement.

This is true, I am not sure about Peru but in my case, when my husband gets his interview, I MUST be present or he will be denied. Every country is different.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Lest the OP and other readers miss the point: The biggest mistake that can be made during the immigration process, besides lying, is to presume issuance of the visa.

This gives the impression that booking a flight before the interview has any bearing on the interview result itself, it has no bearing.

The only risk is money... In my case I am going down for the interview (the Bogota reviews say that the spouse being at the interview helps) and planning on both of us flying back together. The two extra one way flights for her and the package deal I got for the a stop off in Vegas on the way back are partially refundable... So I am risking about 400 dollars of fees that are not refundable if she is not approved or there are delays. The reward is a guaranteed flight back together (there are already several flights fully booked and it is the holidays) money saved on flights (last minute booking the week before thanksgiving - expensive if available) and the ability to do a package deal for a small vacation on the way back at a greatly reduced rate (including tickets to a couple of shows that could be sold out or only have crappy seats left if we waited)

I am putting 400 at possible risk to gain maybe 1500 in benefit... I can look at our situation (both "older", no kids involved, she's never been married, I've been divorced 16 years, neither of us have filed for visas before, no co-sponsor, not on the fringe money wise on the I-864, CR-1 with a female beneficiary at a high-approval consulate) and decide the risk is there but minimal. I know nothing is 100% there is always risk but we decided in this case it was worth the gamble.

And to the comment that the best idea is to wait until the visa is received and then planning several months out to get the best rates: SCREW THAT!

Edited October 7, 2011 by OnMyWayID