r2i forum

My mom is planning on visiting us (Dallas) from Chennai by mid oct / early nov. This is her first time air travel and she is pretty nervous rdg travelling alone/managing immigration / transit etc. If any one is planning on traveling from Chennai to Dallas during that time frame and willing to help, pl let me know. It will be of immense help .. Thanks

Ok no luck so far ..

Can any one suggest alternative plan? TIA

I'm sure it is going to be quite difficult to co-ordinate your mother's travel plans along with someone else's at the same time, I do understand your concerns as well.

Both, my mother and and my mother-in-law have traveled to the US unaccompanied three times each by a different airline each time. Neither of them speak English fluently and certainly cannot converse with westerners. However, what has helped them immensely are the step-by-step instructions that I have mailed to them prior to departure. These detailed instructions included steps to follow at the point of departure, during transit in Europe and upon arrival in the US. So far, they have not had any problems at all and have been able to follow directions and come here.

A couple of additional points that I haven't done so far but have made a mental note for myself the next time they travel is to mail them an international calling card that can be used from anywhere in Europe along with instructions on how to use them. This is incase, for some reason, their transit flight gets delayed or for any other reason they need to reach you in the US. Secondly, have them carry USD in change to get a cart for their luggage upon arrival in the US. All along, I have asked my parents to seek the help of skycaps at the airports, but they now feel comfortable enough to get their own luggage. Having sufficient change ($5) would help them do so.

Let me know if you would like a copy of the instructions document that I normally mail to my cousins in India who go over the instructions with my parents before they leave. You can then customize the document relevant to your mother's departure/transit and arrival information.

one suggestion is get wheel chair assistant.

talk to airline personnel, about it.

here is the scenario, the wheel chair will be at the plane door and
take her out to custom and baggage claim area and thru the exit.

you will be at the door to greet her, as simple as that. :emwink:

#4 shdir2i:

Good post. Also I like your offer of sharing your document.

Thanks for the responses.

Bobus,

I was planning to do the same but when I mentioned this to her I felt she was less comfortable. Started looking for alternatives. Probably I should elaborate her the whole process & that might help her.

shdir2i,

Thanks for the tips and pl do send me the document, that will be a good starting place for me. In the past, I have sent brief documents to many of my friends who visited US for the first time. But they all can nverse/read/write in english fluently.

I have sent you a pm with my email id.

ycl1688,

I got this wheel chair assistance tip from a travel agent here & I have the same thought process as shdir2i. I will try my best to avoid this route.

-------

FYI folks:

My mom arrived safely. Thanks to shdir2i, the document he sent was of immense help. Additional to that document, I sent her the sample immigration form and I94. She read the entire document and was mentally prepared prior to her journey. She found a companion in the flight and that made her journey a pleasant one.

:emsmile: