Buying a plane ticket for the interview in Pakistan?

[afridi0729 0]

So my wife's case finally got forwarded from the NVC to the US Consulate.

Her interview is on June 30th in Islamabad, Pakistan.

I am going to go and bring her with me because I don't want her to come to the U.S by herself.

I have heard that they won't necessarily give the visa on the spot.

1st-Should I buy a plane ticket one way or buy a return ticket?

2nd-If I buy a return ticket, how many days should I stay there in Pakistan to make sure that she will get the visa by the time I come back to the U.S.

Another words, I plan on buying the ticket around June 25th but should I stay there for at least 3 weeks or how long so she can come back with me?

The problem with buying a return ticket is that if I try to buy her a ticket later, she won't necessarily have a seat in the plane on the same flight as me.

3rd-Also, when should she get her medical done?

From what I read, it takes a week to 2 to process the results and she should not get her medical done too early either.

So I was thinking around in the middle of June would work.

Does anyone know how much the medical fees might be in Pakistan?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[grad_student 11]

First off, fill your timeline up. It will help others offer you better advise.

I would recommend not buying her a ticket to US. You can never predict the time it will take before she has visa in hand. I would also recommend not buying a return ticket for yourself. Changing dates for air tickets is expensive.

Get here medical about a month before the interview date. Good luck. And please share your experience with the rest of us.

[Amhara 460]

Is your flight on the third week of July? If they approve her, it will take some time - I've read about a week for Islamabad embassy - for the visa to be produced. If they approve her on your interview on June 30th, then maybe that should give you some time. What is the airline's flight change policy? You might find that you can buy the ticket, but if there are changes, you can prepare for the cost of changing the ticket.

[El_killer47 22]

Get yourself a flexible return ticket. Just for planning purposes, you should give yourself more then 3 weeks. It takes about 2 weeks for Amex to deliver the passport with the visa so keep that in mind. But definitely go with her to the interview as it helps.

[amna-h 7]

Yes please show your timeline. I want to know how much time it took after case complete to transfer the case from NVC to ISL

[NikLR 13,220]

1) depends on if you plan on returning before your wife may receive her visa. I suggest one way if you have an open time frame or see what the cost is to change a ticket. Often it's $150-$250 plus the price of the new ticket if it's more expensive than the old one.

2) cannot say. don't buy a return ticket if you want to wait for that.

3) this is regionally specific

4) again regionally specific.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

I went to my (now) husbands interview. I had bought a one way ticket for myself to Haiti. I didn't buy our tickets to the USA until we received his passport back with visa. For us it was about a week and a half after the interview before we got his passport back. Luckily I was able to take a leave if absence for work since I wasn't sure when I would be back in the US. I recommend not buying your tickets to the USA until you have her passport with visa physically in your hands.

[spousewaitingvisa 39]

They might not let you go inside the US embassy with your wife for your wife's interview. Remember if visa is issued, it will be valid for 6 months. so you have to wait until she picks up her visa in her hand then you can have more time to find a cheaper tickets after June 30th and then fly to your wife's country to bring her with you. Changing tickets is more expensive. You never know how long it will take them to issue a visa after interview.

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Asia: South regional forum; topic is primarily about airline tickets as well as other Pakistan specific items and not the visa process itself.

[ahmedm89 2]

Ok so it all depends on what you think how strong your case is... Are all your documents in place? You have good evidence of marriage? If so, your wife will get the visa approved the same day inshAllah and it will take a week or less to get the visa by mail.

I booked my wife's flight before her interview because i was confident about the case. So i would suggest that if you feel evrything is in order, go ahead and book a one way ticket for her and a round trip ticket for yourself. It will cost you only $250 to change the ticket if needed. since the fares in june and july are constantly high and their will not be any fare difference if you change the dates.

Medical is done one month before and it can take 2-3 weeks to get the reports. I would suggest to call the doctor and get an appointment. Not sure about the fees, but i think its 10 thousand rupees.

I agree with the above comment, that they will not allow you to go inside the embassy with her, but its always good to be there for moral support.