airfare for my fiance.....?

[Bckapp 0]

I am going to the interview with my fiance the middle of this coming June.. It is in Manila.. If everything goes well, and the visa is approved, i would like to return home with her. It has not been easy at all to get a coinciding airfare one way for her, but the travel agent said i could get a roundtrip ticket with my same itinerary, and just not use the first portion of the ticket to get to Manila.. She would then use the return,,.. Is she able to do this . This is already somewhat of a gamble that the visa will be cleared, and i cannot afford to make those kinds of costly mistakes.. It is not a cheap way to go, but from what i have seen , there really is not a inexpensive way to do this.. grrr... Any advice, or experiences would be greatly appreciated, .. Thanks everyone, Brian

[broma25 2]

I am sure that I read on here that if you fail to use the first flight then they cancel your return flight. It is ok though to buy a return and only use the outbound ticket.

Check before you do this as you dont want to lose a whole bunch of money!!

[wpaulino0613 0]

I am going to the interview with my fiance the middle of this coming June.. It is in Manila.. If everything goes well, and the visa is approved, i would like to return home with her. It has not been easy at all to get a coinciding airfare one way for her, but the travel agent said i could get a roundtrip ticket with my same itinerary, and just not use the first portion of the ticket to get to Manila.. She would then use the return,,.. Is she able to do this . This is already somewhat of a gamble that the visa will be cleared, and i cannot afford to make those kinds of costly mistakes.. It is not a cheap way to go, but from what i have seen , there really is not a inexpensive way to do this.. grrr... Any advice, or experiences would be greatly appreciated, .. Thanks everyone, Brian

I think the best route will be to wait until the interview and then try to buy the ticket either onlina, by phone or at the airport... I'm sure the airline can accomodate. They handle with those kind of situations often with people like you (having their relatives approved) or even with death situations. Sometime ago a relative of mine died over seas, nobody had a ticket, we all went to the airport (luggage ready and averything) and we got on a plane. All you have to do is explain the situation.

Might cost a little bit more than buying it ahead of time, but you will not be risking loosing your money.

Congrats for your interview and best of luck for your aproval!!!

[MM_MS 0]

Hi Brian,

Congratulations on the interview!!

This is going to sound awful, but if you can't afford to risk losing that $$, then I wouldn't take the gamble. You don't know if a) she'll pass the interview or B) if she'll be placed under Administrative Review following the interview. She may be approved, but you'll run into c) delays receiving the visa. As you'll hear on VJ, consulates won't jump through hoops to assist when you plea that you have: plan reservations you need to meet; wedding reservations made/paid for; a baby on the way.

Everything may go fine at the embassy and without a hitch, but there's a lot that can go wrong(!). Personally, I wouldn't take the gamble. I know you what to fly to the U.S. together (it's a long trip and of course you want to celebrate together), but if she's been approved and has the visa, it's only a little while longer. Hang tight.

Much good luck at the interview!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MM and MS

I am going to the interview with my fiance the middle of this coming June.. It is in Manila.. If everything goes well, and the visa is approved, i would like to return home with her. It has not been easy at all to get a coinciding airfare one way for her, but the travel agent said i could get a roundtrip ticket with my same itinerary, and just not use the first portion of the ticket to get to Manila.. She would then use the return,,.. Is she able to do this . This is already somewhat of a gamble that the visa will be cleared, and i cannot afford to make those kinds of costly mistakes.. It is not a cheap way to go, but from what i have seen , there really is not a inexpensive way to do this.. grrr... Any advice, or experiences would be greatly appreciated, .. Thanks everyone, Brian

[Nanusia & Lukaszek 0]

I think the best route will be to wait until the interview and then try to buy the ticket either onlina, by phone or at the airport... I'm sure the airline can accomodate. They handle with those kind of situations often with people like you (having their relatives approved) or even with death situations. Sometime ago a relative of mine died over seas, nobody had a ticket, we all went to the airport (luggage ready and averything) and we got on a plane. All you have to do is explain the situation.

Might cost a little bit more than buying it ahead of time, but you will not be risking loosing your money.

Cost a little bit more? I think that is a very big understatement. I remember yrs ago when my grandma died and my family had to get tickets in like 2 days, they cost over twice as much as normal ones and it was super super hard to get on such short notice. Especially with summer around the corner & more people traveling, I would not recommend showing up at airport, or buying your ticket there.

I agree with one of the previous posters, that if you buy a roundtrip like yours, and she doesnt use the outbound ticket, they may cancel the return ticket. Be safe, and wait until the outcome of the interview. Once you have a visa in hand, then look online or visit a travel agency (sometimes they can find the magic last seat that we can't online).

Good luck

[GrenadianCrix 1]

Just a thought,

What about reversing you original idea?

You buy your round trip ticket (I'm assuming you need to do that and can't get away with a one way)

When her visa is approved and in hand, if you can't get her a flight matching yours,

Scrap your return flight and buy two one way tickets together.

It seems to be about the same amount of money at risk, or maybe even less.

Your travel agent may have suggested the othe way around so s/he wouldn't lose the commission on the return trip!

Sue

[*JG* 2]

On my many trips to Jamaica, I have changed my flight plans a time or two. Sometimes they did it for free, sometimes, they charged me $100, depending on what airline I flew. I've never had any issues at all changing. If it is going to cost you that much difference, you could make the reservations and then just change the flights if necesary. Tickets are good for a year.

[john_and_marlene 162]

When I booked our tickets (me round-trip/Marlene one-way) I called the airline (NWA) reservations (since I couldn't make such arrangements online) and made the arrangements so that we were on the same flight coming home. Marlene's visa was delayed beyond our original plans, but we were able to change the dates of the flights for a reasonable fee.

[Converse34 1]

You def CANNOT only use the inbound portion of the ticket. If the outbound is not used, the inbound WILL be canceled. You may want to consider getting a ticket on a low cost airline to another gateway such as Hong Kong or elsewhere and then tickets may be cheaper from there.

[YuAndDan 153]

Your name will be on the return leg, so I don't think the airline will let her board the plane.

When I went to china, I just booked a RT for my self, and booked a one way on the same flights home for my wife, United had no problems with booking this way, the one way was just a bit less than my round trip.

[payxibka 10,044]

It has not been easy at all to get a coinciding airfare one way for her, but the travel agent said i could get a roundtrip ticket with my same itinerary, and just not use the first portion of the ticket to get to Manila.. She would then use the return,,.. Is she able to do this .

A travel agent said this?

Time to get a new travel agent....

[eric_and_teresa 10]

On my many trips to Jamaica, I have changed my flight plans a time or two. Sometimes they did it for free, sometimes, they charged me $100, depending on what airline I flew. I've never had any issues at all changing. If it is going to cost you that much difference, you could make the reservations and then just change the flights if necesary. Tickets are good for a year.

Yes, most airline's penalty for changes on the date are only $100, so if you want to you can book your tickets now and if something happens you'll have to pay $100 for each ticket, to change the dates.

You can also do some online search to find itineraries with the same return flight, these are great sites that display all the airline's itineraries available : www.kayak.com , www.cheaptickets.com.

My fiance and I, traveled to Europe last year together from different departure cities, and we were able to find on those web sites the exact same return flight with the same conection. We always buy our air tickets online, it is cheaper than doing it through a travel agent and you can choose the itinerary that suits you better. I think is a bit weird that the travel agent said there are no one way flights for your fiance, do some online search yourself to see if there are any available.

Edited May 16, 2007 by eric_and_teresa

[*JG* 2]

On my many trips to Jamaica, I have changed my flight plans a time or two. Sometimes they did it for free, sometimes, they charged me $100, depending on what airline I flew. I've never had any issues at all changing. If it is going to cost you that much difference, you could make the reservations and then just change the flights if necesary. Tickets are good for a year.

Yes, most airline's penalty for changes on the date are only $100, so if you want to you can book your tickets now and if soemthing happens you'll have to pay $100 for each ticket, to change the dates.

You can also do some online search to find itineraries with the same return flight, these are great sites that display all the airline's itineraries available : www.kayak.com , www.cheaptickets.com.

My fiance and I, traveled to Europe last year together from different departure cities, and we were able to find on those web sites the exact same return flight with the same conection. We always buy our air tickets online, it is cheaper than doing it through a travel agent and you can choose the itinerary that suits you better. I think is a bit weird that the travel agent said there are no one way flights for your fiance, do some online search yourself to see if there are any available.

I was not able to make a reservation ORIGINATING in Jamaica (i.e. foreign country) via the internet. I had to call the airlines directly and make Andre's one-way reservation, so I made mine at the same time.

[eric_and_teresa 10]

On my many trips to Jamaica, I have changed my flight plans a time or two. Sometimes they did it for free, sometimes, they charged me $100, depending on what airline I flew. I've never had any issues at all changing. If it is going to cost you that much difference, you could make the reservations and then just change the flights if necesary. Tickets are good for a year.

Yes, most airline's penalty for changes on the date are only $100, so if you want to you can book your tickets now and if soemthing happens you'll have to pay $100 for each ticket, to change the dates.

You can also do some online search to find itineraries with the same return flight, these are great sites that display all the airline's itineraries available : www.kayak.com , www.cheaptickets.com.

My fiance and I, traveled to Europe last year together from different departure cities, and we were able to find on those web sites the exact same return flight with the same conection. We always buy our air tickets online, it is cheaper than doing it through a travel agent and you can choose the itinerary that suits you better. I think is a bit weird that the travel agent said there are no one way flights for your fiance, do some online search yourself to see if there are any available.

I was not able to make a reservation ORIGINATING in Jamaica (i.e. foreign country) via the internet. I had to call the airlines directly and make Andre's one-way reservation, so I made mine at the same time.

That's true, some sites only accept reservations from people who are in the U.S. the kayak site forwards you to the airline website and you can make the reservation directly there, online or through the airline's call center they offer the same airfares. The good thing about looking online is that even when you don't do the online reservation you can ask for the exact itinerary you want and the flight number you choose, you can try different dates and find whatever adjusts better to your plans.

[BishopMnA 0]

I've flown alot, and each time that I missed the outbound flight, the return flight was automatically canceled. So, I wouldn't follow your travel agents advice.

However, you could book her a round trip ticket, originating from her country, with a return date in the WAY far future (which could save money too). Then, she just wouldn't use the return ticket, cuz she's be staying with you in the USA.

I would also be try to be more sure about her chances of passing the interview. I was confident when my fiancee (now wife) went to her interview and I flew over to be with her. As it turns out, we were missing a document, and her visa wasn't issued for a few weeks. I had to book another flight to go back to pick her up later...plus change her original flight. It was expensive...

However, if it is at all possible, I do think it is a good idea for you to travel to the U.S. with her. Most likely, she'll pass the interview. In our case though, the POE was a bit more of an effort. Nothing was wrong, but it was her first time to the U.S., and immigration at Detroit gave us a 'hard look', made us sit in a room for about two hours before they finally said 'OK!'. For me, it didn't seem like a big deal at all, but for her...she was really worried and I was glad to be with her. So, its a tough choice, but if I had to do it again, I would be with her for the entry in to the U.S., before I would be with her at the interview....

But, as you know...every case is different...

Peace!

MK