Book flights before Visa appointment??
Jul 29th 2015, 9:06 am
#1
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 128
Book flights before Visa appointment??
Hi all,
We have our interview at the Consulate next Tues 4th Aug.
We know it takes a week or so to get all our documents back.
We're on a time budget so need to get over there asap.
We've booked removals/shipping people in on 13th & 14th and want to fly out there on 16th/17th.
My question is, should we wait until we've at least had the appointment before booking flights? Will we get told at the appointment if everything is ok or do we have to wait until we get the docs back?
I'd like to get the flights booked and am concerns about waiting until after 4th when we want to fly on 16/17.
Thanks 😀
We have our interview at the Consulate next Tues 4th Aug.
We know it takes a week or so to get all our documents back.
We're on a time budget so need to get over there asap.
We've booked removals/shipping people in on 13th & 14th and want to fly out there on 16th/17th.
My question is, should we wait until we've at least had the appointment before booking flights? Will we get told at the appointment if everything is ok or do we have to wait until we get the docs back?
I'd like to get the flights booked and am concerns about waiting until after 4th when we want to fly on 16/17.
Thanks 😀
Jul 29th 2015, 10:01 am
#2
MODERATOR
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 58,679
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
What visa are you getting?
You can book flights now, as long as you don't mind paying a change fee if your case takes longer.
Rene
You can book flights now, as long as you don't mind paying a change fee if your case takes longer.
Rene
Jul 29th 2015, 10:33 am
#3
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Posts: 128
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
Jul 29th 2015, 12:18 pm
#4
DE-UK-NZ-IE-US... the TYP
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,854
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
I was traveling while mine was being "stamped" so I don't know exactly how many days it took for it to come back by the DX courier service in London, but I think it was maybe 5 working days or so.
Jul 29th 2015, 1:28 pm
#5
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,439
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
You, yourself already know if there are complications to your application (criminal record, drugs, previous overstay), though there is always a risk of something else, perhaps erroneous, being identified that takes time to resolve.
If your L1 is an employer sponsored visa and your employer is paying for the tickets, how do your managers see the risk of having to change/ rebook the tickets?
If your L1 is an employer sponsored visa and your employer is paying for the tickets, how do your managers see the risk of having to change/ rebook the tickets?
Jul 29th 2015, 3:21 pm
#6
Just Joined
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 7
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
Booked our flights for the 16th a month ago, had interview at consulate yesterday and was approved.....phew. Knoxville here we come!!
Jul 29th 2015, 4:13 pm
#7
Turning into a PA gal!
Joined: Feb 2013
Location: State College PA, finally!
Posts: 3,563
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
Especially after the unexpected hiccup in visa production recently I wouldn't book flights until I actually had my passport complete with visa in my hands. Until you actually have your passport returned to you, you aren't going anywhere. Why add further stress and time pressures to an already stressful, even though exciting, time?
Jul 29th 2015, 4:39 pm
#8
Just Joined
Joined: Oct 2014
Location: Cambridgeshire
Posts: 20
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
We had our L1/L2 appointment on the Wednesday, 15th July. They told us at the interview that the visas had been approved - and the embassy staff were universally lovely. She told us that would take 2-3 days to have our passports returned.
Personally, I would not (and we did not) book flights until the status on the ais.usvisa-info.com website changed from 'Administrative Processing' to 'Issued'. In our case, this happened on Friday afternoon (the 17th).
We therefore booked our flights on Saturday morning. We collected our passports from our local DX depot on Monday 20th, and flew out to California on the 22nd.
A tip ref the flights: BA wanted an extortionate £17,000 for return flights, since we were booking so late (i.e. within 7 days) and at peak season. Admittedly this was Club, but still - they wanted £7,000 for Economy! In the end, we flew American Airlines from Madrid via JFK and paid a much more reasonable £1400 per person for a Club class fare. So, do consider other departure ports if LHR proves too costly. We used KAYAK to locate the fare. This site is good because it allows you to easily change the departure port, so you can easily compare costs/locate the best deal. We tried DUB, DUS, FRA, AMS and settled on MAD as it was the cheapest. Obviously the further out you book, the cheaper it is. Due to my status with BA, we are locked into oneworld carriers in order to get an extra baggage allowance, which we obviously took full advantage of (and it did save us money). Good luck!
Last edited by evanstim; Jul 29th 2015 at 4:50 pm.
Jul 29th 2015, 5:11 pm
#10
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 128
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
We had our L1/L2 appointment on the Wednesday, 15th July. They told us at the interview that the visas had been approved - and the embassy staff were universally lovely. She told us that would take 2-3 days to have our passports returned.
Great to know you had such a seamless experience!
Personally, I would not (and we did not) book flights until the status on the ais.usvisa-info.com website changed from 'Administrative Processing' to 'Issued'. In our case, this happened on Friday afternoon (the 17th).
We therefore booked our flights on Saturday morning. We collected our passports from our local DX depot on Monday 20th, and flew out to California on the 22nd.
A tip ref the flights: BA wanted an extortionate £17,000 for return flights, since we were booking so late (i.e. within 7 days) and at peak season. Admittedly this was Club, but still - they wanted £7,000 for Economy! In the end, we flew American Airlines from Madrid via JFK and paid a much more reasonable £1400 per person for a Club class fare. So, do consider other departure ports if LHR proves too costly. We used KAYAK to locate the fare. This site is good because it allows you to easily change the departure port, so you can easily compare costs/locate the best deal. We tried DUB, DUS, FRA, AMS and settled on MAD as it was the cheapest. Obviously the further out you book, the cheaper it is. Due to my status with BA, we are locked into oneworld carriers in order to get an extra baggage allowance, which we obviously took full advantage of (and it did save us money). Good luck!
Great to know you had such a seamless experience!
Personally, I would not (and we did not) book flights until the status on the ais.usvisa-info.com website changed from 'Administrative Processing' to 'Issued'. In our case, this happened on Friday afternoon (the 17th).
We therefore booked our flights on Saturday morning. We collected our passports from our local DX depot on Monday 20th, and flew out to California on the 22nd.
A tip ref the flights: BA wanted an extortionate £17,000 for return flights, since we were booking so late (i.e. within 7 days) and at peak season. Admittedly this was Club, but still - they wanted £7,000 for Economy! In the end, we flew American Airlines from Madrid via JFK and paid a much more reasonable £1400 per person for a Club class fare. So, do consider other departure ports if LHR proves too costly. We used KAYAK to locate the fare. This site is good because it allows you to easily change the departure port, so you can easily compare costs/locate the best deal. We tried DUB, DUS, FRA, AMS and settled on MAD as it was the cheapest. Obviously the further out you book, the cheaper it is. Due to my status with BA, we are locked into oneworld carriers in order to get an extra baggage allowance, which we obviously took full advantage of (and it did save us money). Good luck!
I guess we could book flexible fares now and then change them if needed.
Or we'll just wait at least until we've had our appointment.
Thanks for the advise!
Jul 29th 2015, 5:19 pm
#11
Just Joined
Joined: Oct 2014
Location: Cambridgeshire
Posts: 20
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
My company paid for our fares, but nevertheless, we have a budget which we have to adhere. We did not want to fly economy. It is possible to get Club fares for similar amounts to full-fare Economy, if one is prepared to shop around.
Jul 29th 2015, 5:31 pm
#12
DE-UK-NZ-IE-US... the TYP
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,854
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
I always booked cheapest tickets on Continental/United, I would say I had to change my tickets about 50% of the time (I was doing LHR/DUB-EWR maybe 2 or 3 times a month), as long as you book with an american carrier all tickets are basically flexible, you just pay a change fee of about $200 plus any fare difference, worst case you end up having paid $200 more for an individual ticket assuming you pay a full Y fare and the change fee, but on average you save. I worked out that even if I had to change every ticket once it was still cheaper on average per ticket than buying a "full fare" ticket every time with free changes. The difference is basically that you are prepaying to change even when you don't need to.
Jul 29th 2015, 6:40 pm
#13
Joined: May 2008
Location: DFW
Posts: 987
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
I thought I was all set when I had my H1-B visa appointment in 2005. It transpired that my passport, which looked like new except for a 2mm peeling of the laminate at one corner was deemed invalid and I was told to get a new passport.
I ended up losing my flight (long story, but I booked American via British Airways and each said a change was the others responsibility), and having to pay £800 for a same day flight when I resolved the problem. Paying all cash, for a same day flight, not many years after 9/11 flagged me for special treatment by Mr Touchy Feely in secondary screening.
Expect the unexpected
I ended up losing my flight (long story, but I booked American via British Airways and each said a change was the others responsibility), and having to pay £800 for a same day flight when I resolved the problem. Paying all cash, for a same day flight, not many years after 9/11 flagged me for special treatment by Mr Touchy Feely in secondary screening.
Expect the unexpected
Jul 29th 2015, 7:11 pm
#14
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 128
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
I always booked cheapest tickets on Continental/United, I would say I had to change my tickets about 50% of the time (I was doing LHR/DUB-EWR maybe 2 or 3 times a month), as long as you book with an american carrier all tickets are basically flexible, you just pay a change fee of about $200 plus any fare difference, worst case you end up having paid $200 more for an individual ticket assuming you pay a full Y fare and the change fee, but on average you save. I worked out that even if I had to change every ticket once it was still cheaper on average per ticket than buying a "full fare" ticket every time with free changes. The difference is basically that you are prepaying to change even when you don't need to.
Jul 29th 2015, 7:12 pm
#15
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 128
Re: Book flights before Visa appointment??
I thought I was all set when I had my H1-B visa appointment in 2005. It transpired that my passport, which looked like new except for a 2mm peeling of the laminate at one corner was deemed invalid and I was told to get a new passport.
I ended up losing my flight (long story, but I booked American via British Airways and each said a change was the others responsibility), and having to pay £800 for a same day flight when I resolved the problem. Paying all cash, for a same day flight, not many years after 9/11 flagged me for special treatment by Mr Touchy Feely in secondary screening.
Expect the unexpected
I ended up losing my flight (long story, but I booked American via British Airways and each said a change was the others responsibility), and having to pay £800 for a same day flight when I resolved the problem. Paying all cash, for a same day flight, not many years after 9/11 flagged me for special treatment by Mr Touchy Feely in secondary screening.
Expect the unexpected