To renew or not to renew?

[ajigglin 0]

my us passport expires in january 2011 but i have to fly to dakar, senegal at any given moment for my husband's visa interview once we are given an interview date. i am assuming it will either be in september or october. i don't anticipate having an issue getting into dakar, because i have dual citizenship and my ecowas passport expires in 2012. my question is, will i have a problem coming back into the states? i plan on being there no longer than 10 days.

also, i plan on getting a one-way ticket to dakar because my husband and i want to come back together on the same flight, so we are going to get our return tickets together in dakar. would you recommend that, or should i get a round-trip ticket where i can change the dates for free or for a small fee?

thank you so much!

[ghanagal 2]

Dont take any chances renew your US passport.

[Zee Bee 61]

I would renew. You can get the process expedited for a fee. I think its 2-4 weeks if I am not mistaken.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

AP is getting to be more common in west Africa and with Nigerians especially ( thank you undie bomber ) so I wouldn't count on having a visa in hand 10 days after the interview. The cost of 3 one way tickets may be rather high especially last minute. Hopefully it works out.

[ajigglin 0]

AP is getting to be more common in west Africa and with Nigerians especially ( thank you undie bomber ) so I wouldn't count on having a visa in hand 10 days after the interview. The cost of 3 one way tickets may be rather high especially last minute. Hopefully it works out.

hmmm. you think so? i guess then i will have to look for a round trip ticket, but make sure i can adjust the date if need be. the other issue is that i'm not sure i would even be able to purchase a one way ticket. even though i have dual citizenship (US and Nigeria), i don't know if i can enter senegal with a one-way ticket. i just can't figure out how else to ensure my husband and i can come back to the states together.

ugh. that (AP being more common) is exactly what i don't want to hear. i don't want to have to go off on some senegalese person, but this entire process has really tried the patience of someone that unfortunately is impatient by nature. that was the reason we decided that we should go to the interview together in the first place. can you think of anything additional we should bring or do?

i don't know if they think we are ballers and have all this excess money to be flying back and forth across the atlantic, but we really are not...

thanks to everyone for the advice!

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

What may be the cheapest is to book your ticket RT then his oneway on your return flight. Even non refundable tickets are changeable usually for a fee. ( Booking his RT with a unknown return date may be even cheaper ) If you get unlucky and get AP , you come home and change his ticket . Check the embassy info to see how long it takes to get a visa in hand assuming you are approved. AP is just frustrating as can be , better than an outright - nope we aren't giving you a visa which is what we got our first time .

[taurean 0]

I agree with the others, it's probably best to renew your US passport. From what I remember about the Dakar embassy, if the interview is on Monday for example, and the person is approved, the passport with the visa embossed inside should be ready for pick-up on Thursday. That is, IF everything goes as planned.

This process is so unpredictable, that I think I would wait until the approval happens before purchasing airline tickets. However, I do understand wanting to travel back to the US with your husband if he is approved. So if you want to take the chance, I would go ahead and purchase a round trip ticket for yourself, and then purchase the one-way ticket for your husband with you two departing Senegal on the same day. Or, purchase a round trip for you from US-Senegal, and then a round trip for your husband Senegal-US. You might come out cheaper doing the latter. If you take South African Airways I think they will allow you one free change before you depart, but once you are there and change your flight, you will have to pay a change fee.

ETA: Nigeriaorbust had the same suggestion I did about how to do the airline tickets! Sorry for the redundant information.

Edited August 18, 2010 by taurean

[PurpleSky 19]

Definitely renew. As for the airline tickets...just as Nigeriaorbust and Taurean suggested roundtrip ticket for you. If you want to go a little cheaper Air Morocco has pretty good rates for a oneway. When FH is approved, a one way from Dakar to NYC was only $736 that was including taxes.

[ajigglin 0]

What may be the cheapest is to book your ticket RT then his oneway on your return flight. Even non refundable tickets are changeable usually for a fee. ( Booking his RT with a unknown return date may be even cheaper ) If you get unlucky and get AP , you come home and change his ticket . Check the embassy info to see how long it takes to get a visa in hand assuming you are approved. AP is just frustrating as can be , better than an outright - nope we aren't giving you a visa which is what we got our first time .

thank you all for the advice. i'm going to get on the phone with south african airways and hash it out with them over the phone. these days, their ticket prices seem to be cheaper than what delta is proposing.

whoops! i did this multi quote thing all wrong. taurean and purple sky, thank you as well.

[PurpleSky 19]

thank you all for the advice. i'm going to get on the phone with south african airways and hash it out with them over the phone. these days, their ticket prices seem to be cheaper than what delta is proposing.

whoops! i did this multi quote thing all wrong. taurean and purple sky, thank you as well.

You're welcome! Also if you didn't know this already, you can call the airlines (ie Delta) often their rates over the phone are lower than what's published on the website. I believe it has something to do with trying to deter scammers.

[ajigglin 0]

You're welcome! Also if you didn't know this already, you can call the airlines (ie Delta) often their rates over the phone are lower than what's published on the website. I believe it has something to do with trying to deter scammers.

hmmm. i didn't know that. i will call them, too. thanks for that tip.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Check kayak.com they are pretty good with international rates. So is vayama. Some of the common domestic sites ( exedia, priceline and such ) are high for Africa.

[ajigglin 0]

Check kayak.com they are pretty good with international rates. So is vayama. Some of the common domestic sites ( exedia, priceline and such ) are high for Africa.

yeah, i do use vayama and kayak. my favorite is sidestep, though.