The cheapest air flight & immigration documents

The year 2021 looks better than the previous year in terms of vaccine distribution and embassy re-opening. Still, international students are wondering if they need to get vaccinated before they travel to the U.S. and what will be the institutional policy on vaccination and self-quarantine.

SEVIS SAVVY cannot answer the questions regarding vaccination as U.S. colleges and universities have different institutional policies. Instead, this post will provide helpful resources on buying affordable air flights, when is best to buy air flights, COVID 19 negative result requirements, and required documents for immigration for F-1 and J-1 visa international students.

If you haven’t checked the most recent ICE guideline yet, I strongly encourage you to read this article first: Have you checked the Fall 2021 updates for international students?

2022 ICE update: 2022-2023 ICE update for international students

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Contents

• How to find the cheapest air flight
• What to bring to the U.S. immigration as an international student for Fall 2021

How to find the cheapest air flight

Even if this is your first international trip, you may be heard of Expedia.com or Skyscanner.com. However, not many students including returning students know that there are actually cheaper options.

To see which website offers the cheapest flight options, I set the same criteria to find the air deals on each website:

• Airport: From DEL (Indira Gandhi International Airport) to JFK (John F. Kennedy International Airport)
• Travel date: Fall 2021 dates (August 9th to December 17th)
• Stopover options: Nonstop

Based on the research, I summarized the costs and some noteworthy features that you don’t want to miss out on.

As you can see, Travelocity.com offers the cheapest airfare. In addition, most deals had a “no change fees” badge which allows students to change flights with no additional costs. This is a great advantage especially for international students who would like to purchase the ticket before it gets super expensive but the school hasn’t decided the official arrival date yet.

Although CheapAir.com didn’t have the lowest flight options, I noticed a few handy features for students. First, it offers “Buy now, pay over time” services. This means students can get 0 ~ 30% interest fees and pay over time. As it will decide the interest fee based on the credit history, it is recommended to use your parents’ credit card, if possible, to get the lowest interest rate. Moreover, if the price drops after you purchase the ticket, CheapAir.com will pay you back.

Other things to note- if you would like to see the trend of the prices, you can set the email alerts even if you don’t log in and you can do so with CheapAir.com and Skyscanner.com. In terms of the loading speed, Skyscanner took the longest to show the search results.

In conclusion, if you…

• would like to find the cheapest ticket options, purchase through Travelocity.com.
• would like to pay overtime, purchase through Cheapair.com where tickets are slightly higher than Travelocity.com but offers email alerts and payment options.

Best time to buy the airplane tickets

Have you wondered when will be the best time to purchase the air flight tickets? According to CheapAir.com’s research in 2019, the best time to buy the flights varies by season. It also found that what ay of the week you purchase the ticket doesn’t have a huge impact on the ticket price.

• Winter Flights:
  • The average best time to buy is 94 days from travel (just over 3 months)
  • The prime booking window is 74 to 116 days (about 2.5 months to nearly 4 months)
• Spring Flights:
  • The average best time to buy is 84 days from travel or nearly 3 months
  • The prime booking window is 47 to 119 days (about 1.5 months to just under 4 months)
• Summer Flights:
  • The average best time to buy is 99 days out from travel
  • The prime booking window is 21 to 150 days (about 3 weeks to 5 months)
• Fall Flights:
  • The average best time to buy is 69 days from travel
  • The prime booking window is 20 to 109 days (about 3 weeks to 3.5 months)

COVID-19 negative testing requirement

As of June 2021, the mandatory COVID19 negative testing requirement is still in effect. Pasted below is the summary from my previous post about this requirement. To learn more, click this article: International students must bring proof of COVID test from 1/26

CDC has made the order that requests all international travelers flying into the United States to carry proof of COVID negative test results or documentation of recovery from 1/26/2021. Thus, international students who plan to come to the U.S. on and after 1/26 must bring proof of the COVID19 test.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS MUST BRING PROOF OF COVID TEST FROM 1/26

What to bring to the U.S. immigration as an international student for Fall 2021

Once you purchased the ticket, it’s time to prepare for U.S. immigration at the airport. Pasted below are the required documents to bring to the immigration that I wrote in my previous article. To learn more about each requirement, go to 2020 Student visa re-entry required documents.

1. A Form I-20, if you are returning students, your I-20 should be endorsed for travel and signed by your DSO (look at page 2)

2. A current passport valid for at least six months after the date of your reentry or, if you are from one of the countries listed below, a passport that is current through the date of entry

3. A valid, current visa or you traveled to the contiguous country or adjacent island for less than thirty days

4. Financial information showing proof of necessary funds to cover tuition and living expenses (As financial information can be found in Form I-20, some students have no issues with entering the U.S. without any financial documents. However, it is always a good practice to prepare the one to play safe.)

2020 STUDENT VISA REENTRY REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

On top of these requirements, it is encouraged for new students to bring a course schedule or announcements that say the university will not operate entirely online per the ICE guideline.

If international students forget to bring any of the aforementioned documents (except the financial documents), his/her entry may be denied or he/she might be given Form I-515A. To learn more about what to do with Form I-515A, go to All about F1 immigration status; entry date, Form I-515A.

As an international student, it is important to know the responsibility and eligible programs regulated by immigration regulations. SEVIS SAVVY put immigration regulations in plain English for foreign students and all the F-1 visa-related information and important news can be found on the F-1 visa info page. To learn more about OPT and STEM OPT programs, click OPT and STEM OPT pages.