UK citizen emigrating to the US - advice please
Apr 11, 2011 | 5:28 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 1
UK citizen emigrating to the US - advice please
My wife and I are emigrating to the US and have Greencards for entry but the one-way flight prices are Horrendous! Does anyone know whether it would therefore be a problem to enter the US on a return ticket and just not turn up for the return flight?
Apr 11, 2011 | 5:40 am
#3
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Unless for some reason the return ticket is taken as evidence of not having intent to retain permanent residency status in the US, it shouldn't be a door-closer.... some airlines have award tickets that price one-way travel at half the roundtrip price: British Airways, American Airlines, bmi/British Midlands, Continental/United and others do this. So if you have access to some miles, that may be another thing to try.
Airlines don't fancy throw-away ticketing, but it's done with impunity by most all.
Apr 11, 2011 | 6:28 am
#4
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 181
If the ticket is booked using a U.K. credit card and billing address and the return leg is several months after the originating leg, the chance the airline will try to track you down in the U.S. seems very slim indeed. People change travel plans all the time.
As far as CBP is concerned, the only thing they care about is your intent to make America your permanent home. You are otherwise free to come and go as you please -- if questioned you can always say the one-way tickets were too expensive and you will decide later whether to pop back for a quick visit to the U.K. to see friends or throw away the return leg.
As far as CBP is concerned, the only thing they care about is your intent to make America your permanent home. You are otherwise free to come and go as you please -- if questioned you can always say the one-way tickets were too expensive and you will decide later whether to pop back for a quick visit to the U.K. to see friends or throw away the return leg.
Apr 11, 2011 | 9:50 am
#7
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 858
Shouldn't be a problem. Flew my wife over on a 2-way ticket, since it was just slightly more expensive than a 1-way, leaves some room for us to play with later on. Ended up not using the return trip, this was for the initial greencard entry flight.
Had a friend who needed to fly from UK - US one way, and got him to buy a round trip since that priced out to lower than the one-way. UA changed the flight timings by 2 hours for the return trip and he got 1/2 of the ticket refunded back.
Had a friend who needed to fly from UK - US one way, and got him to buy a round trip since that priced out to lower than the one-way. UA changed the flight timings by 2 hours for the return trip and he got 1/2 of the ticket refunded back.
Apr 11, 2011 | 11:59 am
#8
Join Date: May 2010
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Posts: 138
As others have said, booking a cheap return and not using the return leg should be fine. I made the same move a few years back and just booked the return leg for some random date way out in the future to make sure I got a good price, but never used it.
Apr 11, 2011 | 5:48 pm
#9
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Glasgow, UK
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Irrespective of green card, no green card, entering the US on ESTA, or even as a US citizen, not using the return half of a round-trip ticket would never be a criminal matter. It might put the OP in breach of the airline's ticket rules but that then potentially becomes a civil matter between them and the airline.
Apr 11, 2011 | 6:28 pm
#10
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Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
Both Aer Lingus and Icelandair offer reasonably priced one-way fares from London to the U.S., but a connection en route would be required.
Depending on when the OP plans to travel and how much luggage is being carried, a fall repositioning cruise might also be a cost-effective alternative.
Both Aer Lingus and Icelandair offer reasonably priced one-way fares from London to the U.S., but a connection en route would be required.
Depending on when the OP plans to travel and how much luggage is being carried, a fall repositioning cruise might also be a cost-effective alternative.
Apr 11, 2011 | 7:09 pm
#11
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Oslo, Norway
Posts: 822
The CBP/DHS has no business what so ever about your tickets, they may take a look on the return tickets if entering on a tourist visa or using the visa waiver program, but otherwise they don't care if you use the return or not. The airline can't sue you so this is actually nothing to worry about.
Apr 11, 2011 | 8:11 pm
#13
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Texas
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Posts: 1,752
Welcome to America.