Need advice!

[Rahloocuh 0]

Hello fellow vj'ers! Um, i have an interview date set for January 27 at the US embassy in Bucharest, Romania! from what i read over here and heard from people, it's a relatively easy consulate and i don't think there will be any problems with our interview and the outcome of it! we have prepared everything related to documents, evidence, Affidavit of Support..we organized them as best and efficient as we could. Neither me nor my fiancé have been married before, filled any other petition. no children involved..he came to visit me in May 2010 and September 2010 more than 2 weeks each time and we can't wait to be able to marry and start our life together. I am optimistic about the interview and i'll be honest about everything they want to know. that's the best strategy, i think. My fiancé wants to buy the plane ticket for me as soon as possible and he mentioned getting a plane ticket for February 4. My question is, did any of you who went through this kind of interview get a plane ticket before the visa was issued? Would that be a problem for us if we choose to do that? We want to be together as soon as possible after the interview, but somehow we're trying not to pay a loooot of money for the plane ticket. Those of you willing to help, please do! Thank you!

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Well, you want to be sure you allow enough time for your Visa to be sent to you if you don't get it in-hand that day.

Beyond that, there's no reason why you couldn't buy an airline ticket. You might buy "trip insurance" as a CYA, but other than that, you should be fine.

[jncsim 2]

Hello fellow vj'ers! Um, i have an interview date set for January 27 at the US embassy in Bucharest, Romania! from what i read over here and heard from people, it's a relatively easy consulate and i don't think there will be any problems with our interview and the outcome of it! we have prepared everything related to documents, evidence, Affidavit of Support..we organized them as best and efficient as we could. Neither me nor my fiancé have been married before, filled any other petition. no children involved..he came to visit me in May 2010 and September 2010 more than 2 weeks each time and we can't wait to be able to marry and start our life together. I am optimistic about the interview and i'll be honest about everything they want to know. that's the best strategy, i think. My fiancé wants to buy the plane ticket for me as soon as possible and he mentioned getting a plane ticket for February 4. My question is, did any of you who went through this kind of interview get a plane ticket before the visa was issued? Would that be a problem for us if we choose to do that? We want to be together as soon as possible after the interview, but somehow we're trying not to pay a loooot of money for the plane ticket. Those of you willing to help, please do! Thank you!

Sometimes it takes a while before you get the visa in hand. If i were in your shoe I would wait until I have the visa in hand before purchasing a ticket. Remember you can pick up you visa today and buy a ticket for tomorrow. Goodluck

[Barbara J 115]

Hello fellow vj'ers! Um, i have an interview date set for January 27 at the US embassy in Bucharest, Romania! from what i read over here and heard from people, it's a relatively easy consulate and i don't think there will be any problems with our interview and the outcome of it! we have prepared everything related to documents, evidence, Affidavit of Support..we organized them as best and efficient as we could. Neither me nor my fiancé have been married before, filled any other petition. no children involved..he came to visit me in May 2010 and September 2010 more than 2 weeks each time and we can't wait to be able to marry and start our life together. I am optimistic about the interview and i'll be honest about everything they want to know. that's the best strategy, i think. My fiancé wants to buy the plane ticket for me as soon as possible and he mentioned getting a plane ticket for February 4. My question is, did any of you who went through this kind of interview get a plane ticket before the visa was issued? Would that be a problem for us if we choose to do that? We want to be together as soon as possible after the interview, but somehow we're trying not to pay a loooot of money for the plane ticket. Those of you willing to help, please do! Thank you!

I had my plane ticket before interview but my visa was held up for 1 week but I was lucky that I could change my ticket date. Cost me $40 so was not a big deal. I made it here 1 week before my wedding.

If your interview is on 27th Jan to be honest I would buy a ticket for the 7th Feb just in case there is a hold up with mail and so on.I was like you and wanted to be with my now husband so bad but realistically I should have been able to fly 3 days after interview only that they did not open mail that I had sent them with document they wanted. Stuck in mail room. 7th and 8th or mid week is always better to get cheaper tickets rather than a weekend or a Friday. Good luck

Just make sure when he purchases your ticket it is transferable to another date in case.

Edited January 12, 2011 by Barbara J

[YuAndDan 153]

The letters from the consulate usually say DO NOT book air fare until you have visa in hand. The interview may result in a denial, Administrative Review, request for more documentation, etc..

Moving to Embassy Consulate forum...

Edited January 12, 2011 by YuAndDan

[Rahloocuh 0]

Thank you! the US embassy in Bucharest issues the visa the same day of the interview! I don't think that will be a problem! i'm just a little bit concerned about what the person who will interview me would say if i mentioned that we got a plane ticket prior to the interview (of course, that's in case they ask me about any travel arrangements ) I read about 'DO NOT make any travel arrangements before the visa is issued'' and so on...Are they saying that only because in case the visa is not issued, the applicant will lose the money paid for the plane ticket?..or is there some other reason why they say that?

[Barbara J 115]

Thank you! the US embassy in Bucharest issues the visa the same day of the interview! I don't think that will be a problem! i'm just a little bit concerned about what the person who will interview me would say if i mentioned that we got a plane ticket prior to the interview (of course, that's in case they ask me about any travel arrangements ) I read about 'DO NOT make any travel arrangements before the visa is issued'' and so on...Are they saying that only because in case the visa is not issued, the applicant will lose the money paid for the plane ticket?..or is there some other reason why they say that?

My consulate asked me when was I planning on entering the USA and I said as soon as possible when I get my visa in hand lol

[Rahloocuh 0]

Well, yes, i'm thinking about telling them the same thing, in case they ask about it! That was true for you and it's true for me!))

[YuAndDan 153]

My consulate asked me when was I planning on entering the USA and I said as soon as possible when I get my visa in hand lol

Actually this is a question on form DS-156, and the stock answer is "Will travel if/when have K-1 visa in hand"

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thank you! the US embassy in Bucharest issues the visa the same day of the interview! I don't think that will be a problem! i'm just a little bit concerned about what the person who will interview me would say if i mentioned that we got a plane ticket prior to the interview (of course, that's in case they ask me about any travel arrangements ) I read about 'DO NOT make any travel arrangements before the visa is issued'' and so on...Are they saying that only because in case the visa is not issued, the applicant will lose the money paid for the plane ticket?..or is there some other reason why they say that?

Yes, that's the primary reason. You could lose your money if the visa is denied or it's held up for some reason. At some consulates it's a much lower risk than others. Romania is not known to be a tough consulate. If you're fairly confident you've done your homework and your visa will be approved then the risk is probably minimal. Might be worth paying a little extra for a ticket that will allow you to reschedule just in case something unforeseen happens, like maybe the visa printing machine breaks down, etc. If you were interviewing in Ho Chi Minh City or Guangzhou then I'd say that buying a ticket in advance was borderline insanity, but I think it's probably ok in Romania.

[Rahloocuh 0]

Thank you JimVaPhuong! Indeed, Bucharest-Romania is not known to be a tough consulate. I'm confident about the interview..we have everything set related to all the required evidence and i feel like everything will go smoothly! However, i think we'll pay extra money so that we can reschedule the flight in case the visa printing machine brakes down or who knows what So, the interviewer won't think it's suspicious the fact that we got the ticket prior to the interview! That was my main concern!

[YuAndDan 153]

Yes, that's the primary reason. You could lose your money if the visa is denied or it's held up for some reason. At some consulates it's a much lower risk than others. Romania is not known to be a tough consulate. If you're fairly confident you've done your homework and your visa will be approved then the risk is probably minimal. Might be worth paying a little extra for a ticket that will allow you to reschedule just in case something unforeseen happens, like maybe the visa printing machine breaks down, etc. If you were interviewing in Ho Chi Minh City or Guangzhou then I'd say that buying a ticket in advance was borderline insanity, but I think it's probably ok in Romania.

Yep, I was INSANE, I did book my wife's ticket in advance, it WAS a BIG risk, I rolled the dice and got lucky.

Anyway, my advice is if you are risk adverse then don't make any plans that depend on visa approval without complications.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Yep, I was INSANE, I did book my wife's ticket in advance, it WAS a BIG risk, I rolled the dice and got lucky.

Anyway, my advice is if you are risk adverse then don't make any plans that depend on visa approval without complications.

I was partly insane. After my fiancee got the pink slip I went ahead and booked three tickets (K1 and two K2's) for the day after we were supposed to go back to the consulate and pick up the passports. My own ticket was open return so I went ahead and scheduled my return as well. I paid an extra $100 per ticket so that there wouldn't be a penalty if we rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice. Fortunately, the passports were ready when they were supposed to be, and we flew out of Vietnam the next day. Another VJ member wasn't so lucky. There were problems with the biometrics, and his fiancee's visa was delayed by several weeks.

I guess we were lucky.