Purchasing plane ticket before having visa in hand

[Silky 41]

What are the steps for purchasing a plane ticket for my fiancée thru the K1 visa.  Can we  purchase the ticket before she has the actual visa in hand or do we have to wait to have that before booking ticket?  Want to try and get ticket as much time in advance to be cheaper. We are in final steps of process and about to do interview. Thanks 

[Crazy Cat 41,608]

It is strongly advised to avoid making ANY non-refundable expenditures prior to receiving and visually checking visa.  Too many things can happen.  

Edited August 21, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[Silky 41]

4 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

It is strongly advised to avoid making ANY non-refundable expenditures prior to receiving and visually checking visa.  Too many things can happen.  

Yes, will make sure it’s refundable.  

[TBoneTX 45,023]

15 minutes ago, Silky said:

wait to have that before booking ticket

Never ever presume that a visa will be granted.  In Middle Eastern countries, AP (administrative processing) can often be expected.

 

If the visa is in hand and you find that a round-trip ticket is cheaper than one-way, be sure to cancel the return leg as a priority when you land in the U.S.

[Redro 4,611]

13 minutes ago, Silky said:

What are the steps for purchasing a plane ticket for my fiancée thru the K1 visa.  Can we  purchase the ticket before she has the actual visa in hand or do we have to wait to have that before booking ticket?  Want to try and get ticket as much time in advance to be cheaper. We are in final steps of process and about to do interview. Thanks 

USCIS/NVC suggest you do not quit your job, sell your house, make travel plans until you have the visa in hand. 

Unfortunately some people do not receive the visa soon after the interview. 

Some have to wait weeks or months before it is issued. 

It will be a lot more expensive if you buy the ticket and your partner can only travel to the US in 3-6 months. 

 

[powerpuff 6,604]

~~ Topic moved from Progress Reports to Process ~~

[Beth & Achraf 328]

16 hours ago, Silky said:

What are the steps for purchasing a plane ticket for my fiancée thru the K1 visa.  Can we  purchase the ticket before she has the actual visa in hand or do we have to wait to have that before booking ticket?  Want to try and get ticket as much time in advance to be cheaper. We are in final steps of process and about to do interview. Thanks 

Don't do anything until Visa is in hand.   If approved, she could be put into AP after interview.

They are doing AP even for women now from MENA countries.

[mari04 100]

I did buy tickets before the interview. Usually, if it gets approved at the embassy it takes about a week to receive the passport with visa. The rational for buying tickets ahead of time is that expected risk-adjusted savings from advance purchase exceeds the expected risk-adjusted loss on having to pay change fee on non-refundable tickets. However, this is true for Ukraine, which is not high fraud country (they are visa-free with EU for a while) and AP is very rare. In case of Egypt you need to adjust for risks differently. Egypt citizens face more frequent denials and longer and frequent AP, which delay things. 

[TexasRafael 128]

That is NOT recommended, no even if after the interview you are told that you passed..... it is recommended that you do not purchase the tickets until after you actually receive the visa and are able to review it for accuracy to make sure that there are no mistakes, (it happens that there are mistakes and you have to return the visa to the Embassy for them to fix it.)  It would be a costly mistake if you buy a non refundable ticket and then cannot use it. 

[Verrou 1,960]

if you want to get airline tickets asap because of pricing, i will choose the one that's 100% refundable or only small fee to change ( depend on the ticket class)

its not advisable to purchase without visa in hand but i understand ur POV. 

[SalishSea 17,745]

On 8/21/2023 at 2:24 PM, Silky said:

What are the steps for purchasing a plane ticket for my fiancée thru the K1 visa.  Can we  purchase the ticket before she has the actual visa in hand or do we have to wait to have that before booking ticket?  Want to try and get ticket as much time in advance to be cheaper. We are in final steps of process and about to do interview. Thanks 

I wouldn’t.   Egypt is a high fraud/high risk embassy, and extended administrative processing is common.

 

Best advice is to either wait, or get a completely refundable ticket.

[Mahmoud Kassab 17]

On 8/22/2023 at 12:24 AM, Silky said:

What are the steps for purchasing a plane ticket for my fiancée thru the K1 visa.  Can we  purchase the ticket before she has the actual visa in hand or do we have to wait to have that before booking ticket?  Want to try and get ticket as much time in advance to be cheaper. We are in final steps of process and about to do interview. Thanks 

Hello,
I wouldn't recommend it, I will wait until I get the visa in hand even if they say approved on interview day. 
I read about two recent experiences with our embassy but it was a marriage visa
In the first case, they took almost 6 months in the administrative processing stage.
In the second case their interview was July 12, 2023 they told them approved on interview day, but when they checked it stayed refused on ceac website until they contacted the senator on July 19 and got issued on August 3rd

I am doing my medical next week, please let me know how it is when you finish your interview

[Just Paul 4,595]

Unless it is a fully refundable ticket I would wait until the visa is in hand. 

[powerpuff 6,604]

A hijack post and reply removed. Please start your own thread to ask your own questions.

 

VJ Moderation 

[IWander 589]

I wouldn't.  Even a reliable Consulate such as Manila can't be trusted.  They delayed my wife's visa by more than two months which was past our original planned departure date.  

Edited October 2, 2023 by IWander