Round Trip vs. One Way tickets

[Elmer/Bella 0]

I have heard that once your fiance' is ready to come to the US, that their ticket should be a round trip and not a one way. Is this advice coming from the US Embassy?  I understand that most round trip tickets are even cheaper than a one way. I'm just wondering about the messaging that the Embassy is sending.  What is your opinion? And for those of you lucky enough to have your fiance/wife here already, what did you do?  

[Dashinka 24,213]

You heard wrong.  It simply does not matter, you can take whatever route is cheapest.  In our case, back then, we did a round trip ticket since it was cheaper, we set the return date out six months (the longest span the airline would allow), and when it neared that date, we canceled the return leg.  Now of course we lost a little, but we were able to use the credit for a future flight.

 

Good Luck!

[Zach2015 211]

16 minutes ago, Elmer/Bella said:

I have heard that once your fiance' is ready to come to the US, that their ticket should be a round trip and not a one way. Is this advice coming from the US Embassy?  I understand that most round trip tickets are even cheaper than a one way. I'm just wondering about the messaging that the Embassy is sending.  What is your opinion? And for those of you lucky enough to have your fiance/wife here already, what did you do?  

We booked my wife (At that time she was my fiancé) a one way ticket because it was cheaper that way than the round trip. Obviously we are fine. 

[Loren Y 2,755]

As others have stated, doesn't matter, go with the cheapest route. Either one way or round trip ticket.

[geowrian 22,337]

Agreed with al the others - either route is fine. If you do the round trip, be sure to cancel the return lag after arrival. There are cases where USCIS thought somebody left the country (thereby abandoning AOS) because they were still recorded on the manifests. This should be fixable, but it's not something you want to have to deal with.

[JFH 12,189]

*~*~*moved from “K-1 fiancé visa process avd procedures” to “moving to the US” where this question is often asked*~*~*

[ineedadisplayname 468]

5 hours ago, Elmer/Bella said:

I have heard that once your fiance' is ready to come to the US, that their ticket should be a round trip and not a one way. Is this advice coming from the US Embassy?  I understand that most round trip tickets are even cheaper than a one way. I'm just wondering about the messaging that the Embassy is sending.  What is your opinion? And for those of you lucky enough to have your fiance/wife here already, what did you do?  

You don't need a roundtrip ticket. Sometimes i can cause more problems if not canceled. 

 

You definitely need a roundtrip ticket if using ESTA. Maybe for B too? Never had a B visa so not sure.

 

When got my K1 I bought a one way ticket because it was travel season and it was cheaper than a round-trip.

[geowrian 22,337]

8 minutes ago, ineedadisplayname said:

You definitely need a roundtrip ticket if using ESTA. Maybe for B too? Never had a B visa so not sure.

Not required for a B, although not having one can certainly raise questions about intentions.

[TBoneTX 44,879]

4 hours ago, geowrian said:

If you do the round trip, be sure to cancel the return lag after arrival. There are cases where USCIS thought somebody left the country (thereby abandoning AOS) because they were still recorded on the manifests

Heed this.  Amidst everything else to remember during a hectic time, handling this is crucial.

Record the name of the airline employee with whom you cancel the return, and the date/time.

Keep this information with your permanent file of immigration papers.

[Carpe Vinum 2,327]

We used one way from the Philippines March 2019 no problems...Good Luck!

[AnneA 72]

2 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Heed this.  Amidst everything else to remember during a hectic time, handling this is crucial.

Record the name of the airline employee with whom you cancel the return, and the date/time.

Keep this information with your permanent file of immigration papers.

Why? Asking since I'm about to cancel my return ticket 😊

[SalishSea 17,593]

8 minutes ago, AnneA said:

Why? Asking since I'm about to cancel my return ticket 😊

Because, as referenced above by Geowrian, there have been VJ members who have had issues later with AP/greencard abandonment when they were thought to have left the US on that return ticket.  Airline passenger manifests are not always 100% accurate.

 

By documenting the how/when/who of a cancelled return ticket, you have evidence of never having left.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Jorgedig

[AnneA 72]

1 minute ago, Jorgedig said:

Because, as referenced above by Geowrian, there have been VJ members who have had issues later with AP/greencard abandonment when they were thought to have left the US on that return ticket.  Airline passenger manifests are not always 100% accurate.

 

By documenting the how/when/who of a cancelled return ticket, you have evidence of never having left.

Thank you missed that one when I skimmed through .. I was going to cancel online. Wouldn't the I-94 prove that you didn't leave .. I mean that it would be more valid than passenger manifest?

[geowrian 22,337]

22 minutes ago, AnneA said:

Thank you missed that one when I skimmed through .. I was going to cancel online. Wouldn't the I-94 prove that you didn't leave .. I mean that it would be more valid than passenger manifest?

1) The I-94 being marked as exiting is likely what would alert USCIS that you left. The US does not have immigration counters when you exit - they use APIS for exit controls. If you are on the aircraft's manifest that gets submitted, your I-94 would be updated as leaving the US.

2) Even if the I-94 didn't get updated, it may suggest you didn't leave, but certainly does not prove it. A lack of evidence is not evidence itself. Just because you don't have an I-94 showing you left does not mean you didn't leave, just as the lack of an I-94 when somebody enters does not mean they did not (legally) enter. This is not that uncommon with land crossings, and was sort of the norm at them not that long ago.

[AnneA 72]

6 minutes ago, geowrian said:

1) The I-94 being marked as exiting is likely what would alert USCIS that you left. The US does not have immigration counters when you exit - they use APIS for exit controls. If you are on the aircraft's manifest that gets submitted, your I-94 would be updated as leaving the US.

2) Even if the I-94 didn't get updated, it may suggest you didn't leave, but certainly does not prove it. A lack of evidence is not evidence itself. Just because you don't have an I-94 showing you left does not mean you didn't leave, just as the lack of an I-94 when somebody enters does not mean they did not (legally) enter. This is not that uncommon with land crossings, and was sort of the norm at them not that long ago.

I see 😳 but will a name, date, time be enough to prove it then? And how can you prove you didn't leave?