Booking a flight before the interview date

[CowBoE 429]

My philosophy is...

"Do What You Want...But...Be Willing To Accept Consequences Of Your Choice"

Basically, if the plan doesn't work out, it will cost you hundreds, or possibly

the full price of a new ticket...for benefit of meeting each other ASAP.

Also, you are not factoring in the time it will take to receive the passport and visa

after you pass the interview. And passing the interview is not trivial.

One missed spelling, mistake on date or passport number, etc.,

can cause more processing time.

[Shauneg 762]

The standard response always seems to be "never book until the visa is in hand", but I don't think the answer is that simple. Last minute tickets can be VERY expensive, and some tickets allow changes for a fee. For my fiancée and I, we followed similar timelines to ours very closely to get a good idea how long the process would take. We also researched airline ticket prices. Tickets booked a couple of months in advance could be as cheap as $2,000 for both of us (me flying round trip from Denver to Bangkok and her flying one way from Bangkok to Denver). Last minute tickets were priced around $6,000! The change fee was $300 per ticket.

Once the U.S. Embassy had our documents in June of 2015, we book our tickets for 2 moths later in August. Maybe we just got lucky, but my fiancee's visa was issued with a couple of weeks to spare. Worst case, we would have been out $600 in change fees, much better than being out $2,000 to $4,000 by waiting until after the visa was issued.

My recommendation is to do the math and evaluate your specific situation. Sometimes buying the tickets early makes good sense.

Sure but people are always so quick to want to come as soon as they get their visa, so it's a game and a risk. I bought ours after medical but before the interview, but the thing is I bought it three months out after interview date......

[Shauneg 762]

I think I say it everyday on here to someone, but our visa interview was nice and quick with no questions.....we didn't get our visa for exactly 30 days.

Visa status was ready for 3 weeks, then changed to AP then issued in same day and visa in hand one week later.

It is a risk you have to take with your money and do what you can afford. I'd advise to wait at least after medical, that's what we did and bought before interview but ticker was three months out

Bought ticket June 10, interview June 18, flight Sept 2.

[Shauneg 762]

Maybe I just have a way out in left or right field way of looking at this, but if a visa applicant has been waiting 6-18 months for processing, what REAL difference does another 2-3 months make? I understand the logic of a $600 change fee vs $6000 late ticket purchase cost but I'm (we're)frugal and $0 is even better than $600. I can assure you that those final days of waiting will fly (no pun intended) by when you know that all the bureaucracy ####### is behind you. You've got a lifetime of togetherness to look forward to and 3 months on that clock face will be only a blip.

My wife has found that even that time has not been enough to visit all the extended relatives, classmates, and friends; decide what to take, what to leave, what to give away; get copies of all the original docs that she used up during the process and obtain those that she didn't need during the process. As well as a myriad of other things that she has found either necessary or desirous to do.

Just my $0.02 way of looking at it. Everyone's personal case is different. But this is what we found worked best for us.

Fiancee has had her visa for a month and she is coming sept 2....the time has absolutely flown by since then and now it's seems like it's coming too fast, lol. In a good way of course, but dang it flies. You are absolutely correct.

[Brassballs 47]

Your plan of attack is exactly what I would recommend to all travelers. Really the best of all worlds.

Definitely wait until after the SLEC exam is complete because that is most susceptible to delays. Then go ahead and book your flight 3 or so months out. I would schedule it at least 2 months after the expected interview date. Then you can play with the best rt and 1 way travel dates that is most economical or convenient.

For those that in the rush rush mode I personally think they are foolish. 99% work out with no change in plans, but if you are in that 1% group you're screwed financially as well as emotionally.

[BS1982 13]

Your plan of attack is exactly what I would recommend to all travelers. Really the best of all worlds.

For those that in the rush rush mode I personally think they are foolish. 99% work out with no change in plans, but if you are in that 1% group you're screwed financially as well as emotionally.

As long as the risks are understood and acceptable, how is that foolish? In 2 days I will be with my fiancée instead of waiting another 2 months. If there had been a problem with her visa, $600 in change fees wouldn't have "screwed" me financially or emotionally.

My initial post was to simply illustrate that there is not a "one size fits all" answer as to when to buy tickets. My method isn't for everyone, but it may very well be a good choice for some. Waiting another 2 months and paying high season airfare was not the best of both worlds for me and my fiancée, and I don't think I am foolish.