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/səˈvilitē/ Noun
1.Formal politeness and courtesy in behavior or speech.
2.Polite remarks used in formal conversation.
FYI, I'm reporting posts which lack it, because I am done with your harassment.
Also, just in case, you do not need to complete the ESTA if you have a visa, either.
Are you sure the 6 months is not just the entry period rather than the validity period?
@Max, yeh I will be there 4-5 months so needed the visa. May only be 15-16 weeks but still needed the visa for that!
@SoloHobo Yeh thanks, the guy at the embassy made it fairly clear to me about that as well :p
Thanks for all the help! I'll update once everything is done etc
So you are saying that with my B2 Visa I can enter into the USA multiple times using the same visa? I thought that it would apply for up to 6 months after I first enter the country...?
IIRC, there are single entry visas, but these are very rare.
Also be prepared for tickets being very very expensive during summer. High season usually kicks in mid- or early June. So you might find that when you change your ticket in May or whenever, you will face a several hundred £ fee all of a sudden. You avoid this by booking far in advance or flying outside of high season.
Agree that you may have to pay a hefty difference in fare unless you fly back sometime before June. Prices go up in the summer. That said, if you're pretty flexible on your return date, you ask the airline to find the cheapest day to fly when you know your approximate schedule.
You only need to keep the routing and change the date without a fee (typically) if you're booking a flight with frequent flyer miles.
But can you typically also change the routing on these non-refundable tickets? If so, that sounds like a good option, but in my experience it is more rare. Last month for example, I needed to change the routing for a non-refundable flight with ANA from the US to India, but they were very strict -- I could change the date or cancel the ticket (for a ~$300 fee), but the routing and layover times had to be exactly the same. Perhaps other airlines are more lenient, I don't know all the details, but since it was mentioned in the OP that he didn't know where he wanted to fly out of, he should be careful about this and consider what the best option is.
I can't believe that about the visa! I thought that I had six months from when I first entered the country before it would expire for good, but that I could just enter the country for that time at any point in the next ten years. But I checked and it is a multi-entry visa! This is going to make the next couple of years so much easier!
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15
Again my little friend [...]
ci�vil�i�ty /səˈvilitē/ Noun
1.Formal politeness and courtesy in behavior or speech.
2.Polite remarks used in formal conversation.
FYI, I'm reporting posts which lack it, because I am done with your harassment.
you are talking about things you have read on a website, while I am talking about how things work in the real world
I will simply repeat what the moderator said during our last spat on the subject:Visa information changes often so we always suggest you contact your nearest American Embassy or consulate rather than rely on anecdotes from other travellers.
And the signature of another poster:The plural of "anecdote" is not "data."
And that Visa you have, also includes anytime spent in Mexico or Canada, or Caribe Islands, as time in the USA, just so you know.
If it's a visa, it doesn't. That is a provision of the VWP only.Also, just in case, you do not need to complete the ESTA if you have a visa, either.
I have a 6 month travel and tourism visa
I have never heard of a 6 month visa. With a visa, you can enter for up to six months, but they are usually valid for 1, 5 or even 10 years (you can make many 6 month trips in that time).Are you sure the 6 months is not just the entry period rather than the validity period?
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Just been on the phone to various airlines and it is going to be stupidly cheaper just to buy a return ticket with the cheapest option on the way back I can fine (some time in June probably) and then just pay the fee they will charge me when I decided when I am coming home. Will get charged on average £100 + difference in ticket price so should still be under £600 or maybe £700 at a push. Where as any open ended ticket or fully flexible one is in the £1700 range if not higher!@Max, yeh I will be there 4-5 months so needed the visa. May only be 15-16 weeks but still needed the visa for that!
@SoloHobo Yeh thanks, the guy at the embassy made it fairly clear to me about that as well :p
Thanks for all the help! I'll update once everything is done etc
17
@bzookajSo you are saying that with my B2 Visa I can enter into the USA multiple times using the same visa? I thought that it would apply for up to 6 months after I first enter the country...?
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So you are saying that with my B2 Visa I can enter into the USA multiple times using the same visa?
US viasas are not like, say, Russian visas, where they give you certain dates you have to enter and leave, or where you have to apply for single or multi-entry types. They are almost always multi-entry, and are valid for a specified period, from the day they put it in your passport to the day it expires, usually 1, 5 or 10 years. You can enter as many times as you'd like until the expiration, barring a denial at the border or a revocation of the visa. Each time you enter, you can stay for up to 6 months, which may be extended one time (per trip) another 6 months.IIRC, there are single entry visas, but these are very rare.
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Jjay: If £600-£700 is all you end up paying, it doesn't sound too bad. But can you change the departure point on these tickets? Sometimes, all they allow you to do is change date, but the routing must be the same. If that's the case, and you do not know from where you will end up traveling home, west coast, east coast, florida, etc, you could look into buying a return to NY like I mentioned before, then rely on domestic one-way tickets from there. Or an open-jaw into SF and out of NY.Also be prepared for tickets being very very expensive during summer. High season usually kicks in mid- or early June. So you might find that when you change your ticket in May or whenever, you will face a several hundred £ fee all of a sudden. You avoid this by booking far in advance or flying outside of high season.
20
You can usually change almost any non-refundable ticket by paying $150 and the difference in fare (book directly via the airline website, not a broker btw to avoid additional broker fees). That's what I mentioned in my original post. Cheaper to buy a roundtrip and change it later.Agree that you may have to pay a hefty difference in fare unless you fly back sometime before June. Prices go up in the summer. That said, if you're pretty flexible on your return date, you ask the airline to find the cheapest day to fly when you know your approximate schedule.
You only need to keep the routing and change the date without a fee (typically) if you're booking a flight with frequent flyer miles.
21
You can usually change almost any non-refundable ticket by paying $150 and the difference in fare
But can you typically also change the routing on these non-refundable tickets? If so, that sounds like a good option, but in my experience it is more rare. Last month for example, I needed to change the routing for a non-refundable flight with ANA from the US to India, but they were very strict -- I could change the date or cancel the ticket (for a ~$300 fee), but the routing and layover times had to be exactly the same. Perhaps other airlines are more lenient, I don't know all the details, but since it was mentioned in the OP that he didn't know where he wanted to fly out of, he should be careful about this and consider what the best option is.
22
I know where I will be flying back from, just not exactly when yet. But I should know by mid March at the latest, so should be fine I think actually.I can't believe that about the visa! I thought that I had six months from when I first entered the country before it would expire for good, but that I could just enter the country for that time at any point in the next ten years. But I checked and it is a multi-entry visa! This is going to make the next couple of years so much easier!

