How do I start a thread on the student room?

What are the ways in which an Indian student in the US can effectively plan a trip home?

• Considering the student is about to graduate. Also see this reddit thread: http://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/20n9x5/indian_student_in_the_us_about_to_graduate/ I'm a master's student on the East Coast who's about to graduate. I don't have a job lined up yet, but I have applied to a few and will be applying to more around April-end, when the big national conference in my field takes place. The situation is mildly complicated by visa requirements and the length of my Optional Practical Training (12 months after graduation.) Ideally, any travel should take place before I begin the 12 month period so that I don't have to cut into it. Should I consider booking a trip home (I have not been back in the nearly two years that I've been here) for May-June, so that I can come back and start a job, if I get one? Should I wait another year and travel back after that? What are the best ways to find tickets/ how much in advance should one look for tickets, etc? I've looked at past posts and have not found any that apply for someone traveling from the East Coast to India.

• Answer:

  I went through this recently, and will attempt to give my $0.02. Timeline: Graduated in August 2012 OPT started in October 2012 Work started in Mid-October 2012 H1B applied in April 2013 H1B approved in June 2013 H1B started in October 2013 Maybe you could extrapolate using this information. I'm sure you would have been scared silly by hearsay, seniors, colleagues, etc. I'm sure you know how tedious the H1B application/ approval process is. I'm sure you also know that getting an H1B approved means nothing unless you get it stamped on your passport and reenter the United States legally at your preferred Point of entry. Relax, and quit worrying. There are 3 (relatively) safe time slots. One is significantly earlier than the others. Pick anyone depending on your convenience. Slot1: This is the earliest possible time slot. Before you graduate. I wish somebody told me this while I was still in grad school. The easiest way to legally reenter the United States is on a student (F1) visa. Your school is responsible for all the paperwork and hassles. You just need your I20 signed and you're good to go. I personally had no money around graduation, and didnt have a job in hand. I was prepared for the long haul and was very careful about where I spent. Ergo, a $1400 SFO-BOM round trip was out of question. Slot2: Assuming you get a job by (worst case) December, save up some cash and build a decent reputation of dependability at your new work place, this slot should be the next best thing. Send out feelers to your boss a month or two into joining that you would like to visit home for a short trip. The January to March time frame works, because most airfares would be cheaper post winter break. Ensure you return before April 1, when your H1B processing starts. That, my friend, is a slippery slope to navigate, and it is best that you are in the United States, working, getting paid, and alert. I lost this opportunity as well. I rented an apartment in San Francisco and spent all my savings as 2 months rent and 1 month deposit. Broke guys cant fly to India. Slot3: This is virtually a repeat of Slot2.. Just 1 year later. This is the slot I took, when I finally went home in January 2014 after 2.5 years. It is best to avoid traveling internationally unless you have a couple of payslips that show you working on H1B and paying appropriate taxes. This matters during your stamping interview. April to December was thus a no-go for me. Now to answer the second and easier part of your question. Shop for tickets on aggregators like Kayak/ Hipmunk. I have done thorough research on this, and Dynamic airfares are cheapest 35 (+/- 5) days before your trip. For domestic flights 25 days is the cheapest. If you want a short flight, fly Air India direct and non-stop from New Jersey to Mumbai/ Delhi. If you want a cheap flight, use the aggregators I mentioned. Make sure you check individual websites before you book the flight, because you may get a cheaper rate. If you want a comfortable flight, time it right. I personally flew Chicago - Frankfurt - Bombay, 1 stop, 2 hour halt on United Airlines+Lufthansa. Each leg is an evenly distributed 8ish hours with enough time in between to get to your next leg without having to worry about killing time at a foreign airport. This could work with several other European airports. P.S: This information is tied to what worked for me. It is by no means the best information available on the topic. In my personal experience it is best to tweak and fine tune your own plans so as to ensure maximum efficiency.