Nah wah oh.So this things wey we dey see for hoollywood.tv about america nah lie! guys keep em coming!

^^^ Hollywood is make believe, and only celebrities and the super rich
live like the way u see them in the movies.
Life is not like milk and honey anywhere in the world. But if u
work very hard, u will be successful in America.

Elaineh:

Gimbus, Elpieda, Gongo_aso. Thanks a lot for your input and encouragement.
Davidylan, thanks for reminding me of a fact that I am already painfully aware of. I'm looking for advice given my circumstances not a judgement call.
Gimbus, I want to get in touch but your email addie is hidden.

Elaineh Please post an email i can reach you with, Thanks

stepo707:

Nah wah oh.So this things wey we dey see for hoollywood.tv about america nah lie! guys keep em coming!

Na my first surprise be that too. Say why Americans no dey buy too much clothes or wears except their celebrities. Why they don't turbo their cars at the last of speedometer like I used to see in their movies. Why they don't show on TV that most of them are really fat(BBW) ? I no no say na different case entirely. Still the place sweet sha.

pls everyone, i am the luckiest, my story start like this, i got my visa approved on the 12th of jan which was my appointment date and it was a day before the deadline on my i-20, now i managed to get to the us feb 10 but my visa was issue 18th of january,

the big problem now is i want to defer my course till may which means i will fall out of status, so i can work illegally cos i have a cousin that can give me his pali to work, abeg i dey open here, now that i am here, can u tell me what do do in terms of re-instatement, my school is a community college in texas and cheap tho i just need advice help. since i am already here, i want to study but i came from a very poor family,

strict:

pls everyone, i am the luckiest, my story start like this, i got my visa approved on the 12th of jan which was my appointment date and it was a day before the deadline on my i-20, now i managed to get to the us feb 10 but my visa was issue 18th of january,

the big problem now is i want to defer my course till may which means i will fall out of status, so i can work illegally cos i have a cousin that can give me his pali to work, abeg i dey open here, now that i am here, can u tell me what do do in terms of re-instatement, my school is a community college in texas and cheap tho i just need advice help. since i am already here, i want to study but i came from a very poor family,

I love this part.

imperioux is u have anything to contribute pls do, i am serious here, tried to talk to you on yahoo but u never respond, i thought u guys are here to advice and share experience, my yahoo is strongeecharmer@yahoo.com, i am always online

I'm JJC here. The gurus will soon land.

ok, what school are u attending and where r u based

@ strict: Try and go to the international student office at your school and see if they can place a 'hold' on your SEVIIS. I'm not 100% sure about this, but this is likely the immediate solution.

@ oZreal, thanks, have u experienced this before, just asking, i will try and go to the school tomorrow, and tell me pls, if they put a hold on my sevis what does it mean

strict:

pls everyone, i am the luckiest, my story start like this, i got my visa approved on the 12th of jan which was my appointment date and it was a day before the deadline on my i-20, now i managed to get to the us feb 10 but my visa was issue 18th of january,

the big problem now is i want to defer my course till may which means i will fall out of status, so i can work illegally cos i have a cousin that can give me his pali to work, abeg i dey open here, now that i am here, can u tell me what do do in terms of re-instatement, my school is a community college in texas and cheap tho i just need advice help. since i am already here, i want to study but i came from a very poor family,

It's precisely people like you that have destroyed Nigeria's image in the eyes of the world and by so doing make life extremely difficult for the would be students of the future. Can you read the part in bold again? Why would you come to US and the next thing on your mind is to fall out of status immediately and take to criminal activities of impersonation? It's obvious you are not a genuine student. Go get a life!

@bayoo what is wrong with you, i wish i see u , i thought this forum was meant for advice and ideas, do u think i purposely came here ,to purposly fall out of status abi na ur papa get this place, bruv, i am not a new traveler man, i just got a sudden problem that landed me in this situation, i wish i hadn't posted this online for people like u just to have a say to peoples post anyhow.

i asked for opinions not just for u to say bullshit, if u havn't got one pls mute.

strict:

@bayoo what is wrong with you, i wish i see u , i thought this forum was meant[b] for advice[/b] and ideas, do u think i purposely came here ,to purposly fall out of status abi na ur papa get this place, bruv, i am not a new traveler man, i just got a sudden problem that landed me in this situation, i wish i hadn't posted this online for people like u just to have a say to peoples post anyhow.

i asked for opinions not just for u to say bullshit, if u havn't got one pls mute.

You want to kill me? Ajala traveler, go get a life, that's my advice!

strict:

@bayoo what is wrong with you, i wish i see u , i thought this forum was meant for advice and ideas, do u think i purposely came here ,to purposly fall out of status abi na ur papa get this place, bruv, i am not a new traveler man, i just got a sudden problem that landed me in this situation, i wish i hadn't posted this online for people like u just to have a say to peoples post anyhow.

i asked for opinions not just for u to say bullshit, if u havn't got one pls mute.

Yes you got that right, this forum is for sharing ideas but we don't encourage criminality, people here can't give you idea on how to cheat the system intentionally

Why did you apply for course in US when you are not financially capable?

@ strict: No, I haven't, but I'm an international student at a community college in Maryland. Normally when there is a long holiday or the end of a semester, the international student office usually places a hold on the SEVIS of the F-1 student in order for the student not to be deemed out of status(there are usually 3 semesters: spring, summer,and fall. But I only take classes in the spring and fall). However, your own case seems different; so I think you should go to ISO at your school  immediately and discuss the circumstances of your case extensively with the advisers there.  Good luck!

@ozreal pls can u inbox me ur number strongeecharmer@yahoo.com , i am always online

@ OP and other contributors: great thread, as the Americans would say: This is exactly what the doctor ordered. Abeg make all of una continue to the drop beta advice. Me i be student for community college for Maryland; any of una wey dey around here make una try buzz me o.
@ Strict : Hw far?

I think the experiences of international students differ depending on if they are undergrad/postgrad and if they are on like major scholarships. All this suffer suffer story+ budgeting I did not do when I was in undergrad. $40 a week, man I used to spend $300 on like just one shirt and wear it only for a day and then forget about it.

Man Ralph lauren clothes all the way+nice restaurants and bars. silly I know but man the point of life is to enjoy

Awon kan waiye wa sise awon kan waye wa jaiye

Swag

People are so correct the main hassle in the US is not undergrad but after if you are not a permanent resident. Except you are going to work in an investment bank or maybe a Big 4 accounting firm start packing your bags because most companies are reluctant to sponsor H1Bs. I agree that canada is a very good option that few people decide to take after living in America.

Elaineh:

My fellow F1 visa holders,

Looking for a job in this US where we dey, iss not beans o! Am currently a graduate student with a May 2012 graduate date. I'm seriously looking for a job right now because I don't feel like returning to Naija with its Boko Haram, corruption and other home-grown disasters. I'm looking for a job everywhere - online job boards, alumni networks and milking my few connections but nothing dey happen as of yet. I am facing a huge dilemna with regards to the dreaded "sponsorship" question." Will you now or in the future require H1 visa sponsorship"? Here are my arguments for and against full and honest disclosure:

Lie and say that I do not need sponsorship. Why?:
- If I tell a company that I do require H1 visa sponsorship, chances are that the company's online application system will detect that and trash my resume/application before any human being even gets to see it.
- Even if a human being gets to review my resume, if they see that I require sponsorship, they will not even give me a chance, in spite of my work experience and qualifications.

Be honest. Why?
- When the time comes for me to receive a job offer, I might be asked to show proof of work authorization. When the employer sees that I am on OPT, they will put two and two together. They might wonder why I was deceptive in the first place when asked if I would require sponsorship
- If I am hired despite my need for sponsorship, it will save me headache when the time comes for me to ask if the company is willing to put in an H1 petition so that I can continue to work at the company.


All those who are going through this process or have gone through it and somehow managed to get a job, please weigh in with advice and share your experiences!
Thenx

Network, network, network. That is all that really matters man. You can convince someone who likes you to sponsor an H1B for you.

Please Haribo and any other Engineering graduate majors please post your Email addy let's network please. And anybody in Florida??

strict:

pls everyone, i am the luckiest, my story start like this, i got my visa approved on the 12th of jan which was my appointment date and it was a day before the deadline on my i-20, now i managed to get to the us feb 10 but my visa was issue 18th of january,

the big problem now is i want to defer my course till may which means i will fall out of status, so i can work illegally cos i have a cousin that can give me his pali to work, abeg i dey open here, now that i am here, can u tell me what do do in terms of re-instatement, my school is a community college in texas and cheap tho i just need advice help. since i am already here, i want to study but i came from a very poor family,

My man people here might not like what i wanna say but since they don't know what u have been through they can't tell where the shoe pinches. Am not holier than thou and i will be very blunt here. U can fall out of status anytime any day but reinstatement is not automatic as your school doesn't decide your fate but USCIS does. And considering the state u live in from an immigration angle it might be difficult to be reinstated but u just need what u needs to do.
Cold world no blanket. Goodluck

Hello Good morning everyone

I am new here and I've been reading lots of meaningful contributions on this forum and I must say it is really motivating, I have good news, I actually applied to study Under Grad in the Us last Spring 2011, Now I sent my supporting documents a bit late and I was ask if I had like to defer to either Summer or Fall 2012, I thought the Summer would be nice so I asked for them to defer to Summer 2012, Now I have just received a e-mail from the admissions office that I've been admitted.

Now my questions are, Do I go ahead to book appointment against Summer 2012 once I get my I-20 form? Would it just be nice that I take my time and wait till Fall 2012. I was advised by a friend that I should defer to Fall 2012 because he says that when the Us consulates grants more visa's to applicants.

At everyone I will need your advise on this before I turn my application in for Summer 2012, Thanks y'all I will be waiting for your meaningful contributions.

Av been reading this thread right from the begining. Its so informative and gives a really good picture of student life in the US especially for those of us still salivating for F-1. Now we this informations we will know how to plan before we hop on the plane. Thanks all the contributors. Am looking forward to getting to the other side and talk about my own experiences too.

Hi guys,

Elpieda was very correct about his advice on tax return - thanks bro.

Pls house make sure you do your tax return the right way so that it doesn't backfire later especially in a period when you least expect. As a Nigerian on F1 you are only entitled to about half of what you have on W02 form. I made inquiries and I was told some tax agent could help you to get all but pls Nigerians are not allowed because of the bilateral agreement on tax. I was able to get the 1040NR and 8843 forms advised by Elpieda. If you can get someone certified to treat Int'l students tax return; that was what I did.

I have a challenge about this. I went to H&R Partners and they told me they would be charging me about $130 and when I told my sister, she complained about the fees and my brother in law called his friend who is a CPA holder based in Dallas. The guy came to my school and now when he did the filing, I am getting more than I have on my W02. I tried telling him what my thoughts were and he claimed since I had some funding, I am entitled to some amount and also because I paid the balance in cash. To the gurus how true is this?

GboyegaD:

I have a challenge about this. I went to H&R Partners and they told me they would be charging me about $130 and when I told my sister, she complained about the fees and my brother in law called his friend who is a CPA holder based in Dallas. The guy came to my school and now when he did the filing, I am getting more than I have on my W02. I tried telling him what my thoughts were and he claimed since I had some funding, I am entitled to some amount and also because I paid the balance in cash. To the gurus how true is this?

I am not a tax expert but the part in bold is a red flag. Ordinarily you can get all you tax withheld returned to you but not more that that. I made a similar mistake of using Turbo tax in my first year but had to file an amendment to correct it and as expected had to pay back some money. It may backfire when you are filing for residency if they look into your tax records.

Bayooo, how do I go about the amendment? What link did you use?

GboyegaD:

Bayooo, how do I go about the amendment? What link did you use?

You need to file 1040X. Check this link: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040x.pdf

Thanks a lot. I will do that once the thing comes out.

Loads of great student-life advice here. Thank you all for such contributions.

Let me add my own voice to it. If some of it sounds repetitious, it's because I skimmed over the thread and also because I feel someone will still benefit from reading it again somehow. So, here goes.

-Do all that's within your power to have a strong first year GPA.
-Visit KhanAcademy.com for a lot of free and great tutorials in maths, finance, economics, history, etc .
-Someone in the thread said, GET ATLEAST ONE SUMMER JOB. That's a very valid point that i'll like to reteirate slightly - FOR YOUR FIRST SUMMER, DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO GET A SUMMER INTERNSHIP, if legally possible that is and even if you don't need the money. That'll be a foundation that'll allow you to build a successful US live (in my opinion).
-If you can bring a reliable phone to the US, some wireless phone companies (T-mobile, simple mobile) have a no-phone contract that can give u unlimited talk + text rather cheaply.
-Join Studentrate.com (it's free) to search for ideas on discounts on some of your monthly bills. e.g. i was able to reduce my Tmobile bill using an idea from studentrate.
-As soon as possible, do some paying job on campus. It's an avenue to get that all important Social security or ITIN early.
-For 50 bucks or so, you can join Sam's club or Costco or similar and it'll pay back for itself in discounts on various items in less than 2 months.
-Visit dollartree or family dolar from time to time - you never know what you'll see and like for the "everything for $1 price tag".
-9ja international driving license works in the US, at least for the first 6 months in the US. Well, this might be state specific, so check your state's DMV website. So arrange for one if you still can.

Internships! Get one especially if you are in a STEM or business program.

@Elpieda,
Thanks for your post on taxes!! That was brilliantly written.

Do you mind answering this - What's the issue with filing as a Resident alien for tax purposes before 5 years in the US on F-1 visa? I'll really appreciate hearing more from you.