When to buy flights to US

[brderenne 3]

hi guys! we are in the CEAC state of my husbands I-130 application process. I am trying to gain a little information on when everybody buys the flight for their spouse to come to the US? We have been waiting so long for this visa and are trying to not have my husband stay in his home country longer than he needs to.  can you buy flights before the interview or do they not give you your passport till way after? I haven't found much information on what happens after the interview. thank you. 

[EandH0904 1,184]

Never ever buy a ticket before visa IN HAND unless you can afford to lose the money. Some days it's a few days sometimes it's a few weeks before you pick up visa. Besides what if you get AP for some reason? Nothing is 100% certain until you have it 

[arken 4,197]

Of course you can buy the flight tickets any time you want, just be prepared to pay more for cancellation or date change depending on when he gets the passport with the visa.

[mtempelaar 190]

6 minutes ago, brderenne said:

hi guys! we are in the CEAC state of my husbands I-130 application process. I am trying to gain a little information on when everybody buys the flight for their spouse to come to the US? We have been waiting so long for this visa and are trying to not have my husband stay in his home country longer than he needs to.  can you buy flights before the interview or do they not give you your passport till way after? I haven't found much information on what happens after the interview. thank you. 

Wait until you have in hand unless you are buying refundable.   I bought beforehand due to a fare war, and the stress was horrible.  There's no way to know how quickly after the interview you will get your passport and docs.  When my husband got his packet, the cover letter had his named spelled wrong and we had a mad scramble 2 days before his flight.  He ended up getting on the plane with the bad cover letter and we crossed our fingers since the embassy wouldn't respond..

[brderenne 3]

ok thanks guys, that makes sense. I know there can  be a risk for sure. im thinking to buy a refundable fair. I am curious though, you have to go back to the same embassy that they had their interview at to pick up the visa? such a lame process, as most people don't live in the city they have to go to for their interview. 

[kris&me 572]

If his interview is approved and fiancee has visa ,  the person must travel within 6 months of the medical exam

a lot of us have need to stay a little longer to sell property or take care of some family business

 

so, i advise to make the medical exam as close to the interview date as possible to give you the extra time needed

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

18 minutes ago, brderenne said:

ok thanks guys, that makes sense. I know there can  be a risk for sure. im thinking to buy a refundable fair. I am curious though, you have to go back to the same embassy that they had their interview at to pick up the visa? such a lame process, as most people don't live in the city they have to go to for their interview. 

Generally the cost of a refundable fare is so much higher than a normal one that it usually doesn’t make sense. 

Not sure Brazil specific, most embassies courier to non local applicants.

[p-ana 933]

30 minutes ago, brderenne said:

ok thanks guys, that makes sense. I know there can  be a risk for sure. im thinking to buy a refundable fair. I am curious though, you have to go back to the same embassy that they had their interview at to pick up the visa? such a lame process, as most people don't live in the city they have to go to for their interview. 

It can be sent to their home address 

 

best to wait til passport is on hand. People had passports stolen from the post office delivery truck, some others had wrong visas... you never know 

[E & J 2018 132]

I was constantly checking flights for good fares before the interview and when I saw two tickets for $350 each,  I couldn't pass them up. They are normally $900-$1400, each, for the flights I would normally select. I just bought the travel insurance for $35 per ticket just in case and luckily everything has worked out perfectly for us.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

1 minute ago, E & J 2018 said:

I was constantly checking flights for good fares before the interview and when I saw two tickets for $350 each,  I couldn't pass them up. They are normally $900-$1400, each, for the flights I would normally select. I just bought the travel insurance for $35 per ticket just in case and luckily everything has worked out perfectly for us.

Careful with travel insurance - it doesn’t cover every eventuality. I looked into this before but it often only covers unforeseen/unavoidable issues, not getting a visa on time doesn’t fall under that.

[carmel34 3,650]

2 hours ago, brderenne said:

ok thanks guys, that makes sense. I know there can  be a risk for sure. im thinking to buy a refundable fair. I am curious though, you have to go back to the same embassy that they had their interview at to pick up the visa? such a lame process, as most people don't live in the city they have to go to for their interview. 

Read the Brazil forum for more details on the passport delivery after the visa is approved--it takes one to two weeks after the interview in Rio for the passport delivery to the home address if all goes well.  But as others have said, there can be delays, problems, it is a big risk to make assumptions about timing, so either get refundable tickets or be prepared to eat the cost of the ticket if there is a delay.  Many non-refundable tickets allow for a re-booking with a big fee, read the fine print or ask before you buy to make sure.

[Ryan H 3,819]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to Working & Traveling During US Immigration forum.