Booking a flight to the US from UK

[bf__ 501]

Hi,

 

I've seen a thread on here today about an AOS application being denied due to leaving the country when they hadn't, due to having a return flight.

 

I tend to fly United from London Heathrow to Chicago, can someone tell me the best way to book this flight when leaving the UK on a K-1 visa with no intention to return?

 

Do I just book a one-way flight, or do I book a return flight and cancel the return part? What are the costs involved with this?

 

Thanks!

 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

17 minutes ago, brandonflude1 said:

Hi,

 

I've seen a thread on here today about an AOS application being denied due to leaving the country when they hadn't, due to having a return flight.

 

I tend to fly United from London Heathrow to Chicago, can someone tell me the best way to book this flight when leaving the UK on a K-1 visa with no intention to return?

 

Do I just book a one-way flight, or do I book a return flight and cancel the return part? What are the costs involved with this?

 

Thanks!

 

Most book a return because it's cheaper on United than one way. Immigration doesn't care about your flight when you go through POE. Just remember to cancel the return. The only case of that being a problem was a fluke in my opinion that somehow the person who failed to cancel did not get removed from the manifest when the ticket was resold. So it appeared the AOS applicant had left the US without having the I-131 approved.  When choosing your flights, try different return dates and times to find the cheapest ticket...off season, red-eyes, etc. There is no requirement that it be within a certain time frame because you aren't going to use it anyway and POE will not ask anything about your ticket.

Edited November 17, 2018 by Wuozopo

[bf__ 501]

1 minute ago, Wuozopo said:

Most book a return because it's cheaper on United than one way. Immigration doesn't care about your flight when you go through POE. Just remember to cancel the return. The only case of that being a problem was a fluke in my opinion that somehow the person who failed to cancel did not get removed from the manifest when the ticket was resold. So it appeared the AOS applicant had left the US without having the I-131 approved.  When choosing your flights, try different return dates and times to find the cheapest ticket...off season, red-eyes, etc. There is no requirement that it be within a certain time frame because you are going to use it anyway.

Awesome - do you know what the charges are for cancelling half a flight? Is there insurance or something? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions!

 

[K & R 343]

14 minutes ago, brandonflude1 said:

Hi,

 

I've seen a thread on here today about an AOS application being denied due to leaving the country when they hadn't, due to having a return flight.

 

I tend to fly United from London Heathrow to Chicago, can someone tell me the best way to book this flight when leaving the UK on a K-1 visa with no intention to return?

 

Do I just book a one-way flight, or do I book a return flight and cancel the return part? What are the costs involved with this?

 

Thanks!

 

It’s better to be safe than sorry. I suggest booking a one way ticket. Saves you a lot of worrying (even if sometimes it costs more).

 

My husband and I swear by Hopper, Skyscanner, Kayak, and Expedia. However for his trip with his K-1 visa we got creative.

 

What we usually did to travel was Heathrow to NYC, PHL, CLT or ATL and then on to Jacksonville. However for his K-1 that was super expensive (but cheaper to book round trip). So instead we got creative and booked him from Gatwick to Orlando. It was a direct flight and much cheaper and it was a one way. So if you can find a cheaper flight to an airport in the US a little further away it might be worth it!

 

We love Heathrow but because of how great it is it can sometimes be more expensive than the other London airports. 

 

another suggestion is not to rush getting over here the minute you receive your visa in hand. You have 6 months to enter the country and use it so take your time and wait for a date that’s in a price range you can afford. I hope this helps ☺️

[Wuozopo 4,293]

5 minutes ago, brandonflude1 said:

Awesome - do you know what the charges are for cancelling half a flight? Is there insurance or something? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions!

 

I did it with United and just said I was cancelling because I couldn't make the flight on that day. They asked if I wanted to rebook another date. I said I was undecided and would call back when I knew. There was no charge, problem, etc. I always fly United and don't mess with those other sites. 

 

edit to add: I don't mean I waited until the day of the flight to cancel. I cancelled at least a month before.

Edited November 17, 2018 by Wuozopo

[bf__ 501]

4 minutes ago, K & R said:

What we usually did to travel was Heathrow to NYC, PHL, CLT or ATL and then on to Jacksonville. However for his K-1 that was super expensive (but cheaper to book round trip). So instead we got creative and booked him from Gatwick to Orlando. It was a direct flight and much cheaper and it was a one way. So if you can find a cheaper flight to an airport in the US a little further away it might be worth it!

Clever thinking! I did not think of that.

 

I'm just in between the booking a return cause it's cheaper, and what I'm used to  - and then the one-way, because I don't have to worry about cancelling but it costs a bomb more.

 

Did you guys get any issues with a one way ticket at the POE?

[bf__ 501]

2 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

I did it with United and just said I was cancelling because I couldn't make the flight on that day. They asked if I wanted to rebook another date. I said I was undecided and would call back when I knew. There was no charge, problem, etc. I always fly United and don't mess with those other sites. 

Oh cool, this is really helpful to know. Thank you

 

[Wuozopo 4,293]

2 minutes ago, brandonflude1 said:

Oh cool, this is really helpful to know. Thank you

 

Read my edit. You quoted before I did it.

[bf__ 501]

Just now, Wuozopo said:

Read my edit. You quoted before I did it.

Ah! Yes, I would do this anyway.

 

My plan was to fly in on say, July 1st, with a return scheduled for September 1st, but then cancel it on August 1st.

 

What happens to your reservation if you have "no return date in mind?" Does it just get cancelled?

[K & R 343]

20 minutes ago, brandonflude1 said:

Clever thinking! I did not think of that.

 

I'm just in between the booking a return cause it's cheaper, and what I'm used to  - and then the one-way, because I don't have to worry about cancelling but it costs a bomb more.

 

Did you guys get any issues with a one way ticket at the POE?

Not at all because the K-1 is for entering and marrying within 90 days and then AOS so all they really asked was if he was gonna marry me in the 90 days. It wasn’t like when he traveled as a tourist and they wanted to make sure he returned. They also made it clear that if he didn’t marry by the 90th day he had to go home but obviously that wasn’t an issue lol. 

 

But yeah if your fiancé is ok with driving a little bit it’s definitely worth it. 

 

Theres so much you have to do when you get here with the K-1 so not adding worrying about cancelling a return flight or if there would be a fluke in the system was worth it for us. We book his flight for a few weeks after he recieved his visa and it was pretty inexpensive for us (£500).

 

if you get your Visa issued soon (like in November or December) it’s probably worth booking your flight for January. Holiday time airfare is so unnecessarily expensive

 

the extra time between my husband getting his visa in the mail and when he flew out was good for him. He was able to tie up loose ends in England instead of rushing to get everything sorted out before he left. 

Edited November 17, 2018 by K & R

[Wuozopo 4,293]

12 minutes ago, K & R said:

Not at all because the K-1 is for entering and marrying within 90 days and then AOS so all they really asked was if he was gonna marry me in the 90 days. It wasn’t like when he traveled as a tourist and they wanted to make sure he returned.

Ditto

 

26 minutes ago, brandonflude1 said:

What happens to your reservation if you have "no return date in mind?" Does it just get cancelled?

You cancelled it. It's gone. I just said that I would rebook later to get the lady to quit trying so hard to make a new reservation for my return. 

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from K1 Progress Reports to General Immigration-Related Discussion.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,092]

2 hours ago, brandonflude1 said:

I'm just in between the booking a return cause it's cheaper, and what I'm used to  - and then the one-way, because I don't have to worry about cancelling but it costs a bomb more.

FWIW, Norwegian does a direct from Gatwick to O'Hare (Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Sunday right now, might change in summer), and doesn't have any significant mark up for a one-way. Though they don't include meals, a checked bag, or an assigned seat with their cheapest fare (flew with them a few times this year; LAX to Rome and back, and LAX to a connection in Stockholm), so you'll probably want an upgrade from that for moving here.

[TBoneTX 45,329]

When you call the airline to cancel the return portion, get the agent's name & location, write it down along with the time & date of your call, attach any e-mailed confirmation of your cancellation, and store it carefully with your permanent immigration papers.

 

Doing the above will help you fend off accusations of having left the country when instead the airline didn't change the flight manifest.  Otherwise, it will be much harder to "disprove a negative."

[LukeU 413]

11 hours ago, brandonflude1 said:

Hi,

 

I've seen a thread on here today about an AOS application being denied due to leaving the country when they hadn't, due to having a return flight.

 

I tend to fly United from London Heathrow to Chicago, can someone tell me the best way to book this flight when leaving the UK on a K-1 visa with no intention to return?

 

Do I just book a one-way flight, or do I book a return flight and cancel the return part? What are the costs involved with this?

 

Thanks!

 

Hello,

 

Depending on when you want to fly, (I'm going to sound like a salesman here but) I cannot reccomend jacks flight club enough https://www.jacksflightclub.co.uk/, it'll just send you an email once/twice a week with random deals. 

 

I saw someone above mention skyscanner, cracking website for it, Skyscanner/Momondo. I managed to get mine through skyscanner using an OTA (Online Travel Agent) for a return from Heathrow to Detroit for £445 over the christmas period.

 

A return ticket is often cheaper and as people have stated above just ensure that you cancel the return sector so that you're removed form the passenger listings of the trip.

 

There are large sales currently running through until August 2019 with Virgin codeshares with Delta also so they're worth taking a look at, if you don't mind a change over or two you can grab an absolute steal. 

 

Sorry for the rambling, if you want to throw a message regarding flights/booking agents etc I'll ramble some more.

 

Also, it's good to see a fellow Michigander !! 

 

Edited November 18, 2018 by LukeU