We thank God for His favour and grace..Congratulations to all the mamas in the house, all those that were successful at the embassy and the sweet POE stories.. I key into all those testimonies.. We should all stay positive and leave no stone unturned in every situation..
Y'al should stay blessed..

By the way, while I was waiting my turn/eavesdropping on other applicant's interviews, I realised the seriousness and importance of 2 major issues other users on this thread have been stressing.

1. The importance of honesty. Two pregnant women were denied visas just because they obviously lied about their intention of going to birth in the US. One said she was accompanying her father for his convocation cos her mum and other siblings are too busy to go with him amongst other disjointed and obviously false stories which gave her away and indicated that she really intends to birth in the US. Another woman for some reason said she was going for a conference and denied being pregnant altogether regardless of her swollen nose, swollen feet, pregnant posture and obvious baby bump. I really didn't understand her game plan.

2. The importance of a zero balance and keeping your every receipt/proof. Another woman was denied because they found out that her baby delivery was paid for by some insurance that she wasn't entitled to. She didn't deny the fact though. She blamed it on her US based friend for misleading her and claimed that her friend maliciously adviced her to use the insurance. She said after she realised this, she cut all ties with her friend (like the VO cares to know that lol) and that she has tried times without number to get in touch with the people (perhaps the hospital or insurance guys) to clear her bill but they neither take her calls nor reply her email. Thus her reason for wanting to travel this time is to go and approach them in person in order to clear her bill. The VO sha denied her, said there's nothing she can do to help her get in touch with the guys and asked her to go sort it out herself one way or the other.

Moral of the story - Let us all learn from other people's mistakes so we can do better.

@Terese69
I have replied the PM
Please get back to me. Thanks.

mrsmo:
Good afternoon. Can any one confirm how many hours was spent at the passport office downtown Houston to procure baby's passport. Need to know so I can plan adequately. Someone told me 6 hours. So need to confirm from people that processed recently. thanks a bunch in advance.

I got there in the morning at 10am & it got to my turn at 11am, I submitted all forms and showed them my travel ticket explaining the need to process it quickly because I also needed to apply for a Nigerian visa & had less than two weeks to travel. The nice lady said I should wait and I got the passport within one hour 30 minutes.

Hello Parents and Parents to be.

Please do we have those that did their infants baptism (especially Catholics) in the US -Preferably Elpaso and Houston before coming home.

If yes, what are the documentation needed to do this?

Awaiting your kind response.

segbas:
@Terese69
I have replied the PM
Please get back to me. Thanks.

I have replied. Sorry for the delay.

nelly2012:
Enroute to Yankee, infact am writing on transit... we got 8 visibly preggies on flight from naija (could be more, lol). Am sure a NLder follow come... will update you guys soon. Journey mercies & safe delivery to us all... #Godwin!

Update...a very long one....
Flew Air France from ABUJA- PARIS-San Francisco airport in California(23:30 hrs flight time), 3 flights landed same time so queue was overlong but I maintained peace & quietness until it came to my turn. He was an elderly white man with no smile on his face at first...

ME: GOOD DAY SIR(HANDING HIM MY PASSPORT & LANDING CARD)
HIM: GOOD DAY MA'AM AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?

ME: REST AND HAVE MY BABY(SMILING)
HIM: OH GOOD. YOU'RE PREGNANT?

ME: YES (STEPPING BACK FOR HIM TO SEE MY BUMP)
HIM: (SMILING) I WANT TO COME AND VISIT NIGERIA SOON. HAVE LOTS OF FRIENDS THERE.

ME: (CONFUSED. HOW THAT ONE TAKE CONCERN ME NOW?) HMMM.. THAT WOULD BE NICE.
HIM: I LIKE THE NOLLYWOOD MOVIES, VERY INTERESTING( FLIPPING THROUGH MY PASSPORT ANF LOOKING AT MY FACE INTERMITTENTLY)

ME: OH YEAH...( I SAID IN MY MIND THIS MAN WAN ACT PSYCHOLOGIST FOR ME EH..)
HIM: HOW FAR GONE ARE YOU?

ME: I TOLD HIM
HIM: WHO IS THE LUCKY FATHER?

ME: HE'S IN NIGERIA AND WILL BE HERE SHORTLY
HIM: I SEE. DO YOU HAVE AN OLDER CHILD?

ME: YES..
HIM: HOW OLD IS HE AND DID YOU HAVE HIM HERE TOO?

ME: (STILL SMILING) HE'S 2 YEARS AND YES I HAD HIM HERE.
HIM: OK. SO WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO HABE YOUR BABY IN THE U.S?

ME: BLAH BLAH BLAH...
HIM: ANY DOCTORS LETTER TO SUPPORT THAT?

ME: NO. I JUST HAVE A PRENATAL REPORT FROM MY DOCTOR IN NIGERIA
HIM: OK. DID YOU TELL YOUR EMBASSY ABOUT YOUR INTENTIONS WHEN YOU APPLIED FOR THIS VISA?

ME: NO. I WASN'T PREGNANT AT THE TIME BUT I EMAILED THEM AND HERE IS THE REPLY.(HANDS HIM THE COI LETTER)
HIM: OK GOOD. I'M GONNA WALK YOU TO THE SECONDARY INSPECTION AND HABE THEM ASK YOU MORE QUESTIONS OK? JUST TELL THEM ALL YOU TOLD ME.

ME: THAT'S FINE (SMILING)
HIM: YOU SHOULD BE FINE JUST TO CLARIFY SOME ISSUES. CAN I HELP WITH YOUR BAG?

ME: (HANDED HIM THE BAG). THANK YOU.

AT SECONDARY INSPECTION, I SAT FOR ABOUT 20MINS AND A MIDDLE AGED WHITE LADY CALLED ME INTO A ROOM. SHE HAD A PLAIN PAPER AND PEN WITH MY PASSPORT AND LANDING CARD.

ME: GOOD DAY MA'AM (SMILING AND VERY TIRED)
LADY: HI. OK SO TELL ME ALL ABOUT YOUR TRIP, PURPOSE AND HOW LONG YOU INTEND TO STAY?

ME: AM HERE FOR VACATION AND BIRTHING.
LADY: (WRITING IT DOWN) DO YOU HAVE A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT? ANYTHING ON PAPER?

ME: YES( HANDING HER MY APPT LETTER)
LADY: WHAT'S THE COST ESTIMATE? AND ANYTHING FROM THE HOSPITAL?

ME: OH YES. (HANDS HER ALL THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE & HOSPITAL CORRESPONDENCE AND THE RECEIPTS OF THE PAYMENTS I'VE MADE)
LADY: HOW MUCH DO YOU HAVE ON YOU?(STILL WRITING EVERYTHING DOWN)

ME: $.... AND I ALSO HAVE MY DEBIT CARDS.
LADY: ( CALCULATING THE DOCTOR'S FEE PLUS HOSPITAL FEE MINUS THE AMOUNT PAID, CHECKING THE BALANCE AND WHAT I HAD WITH ME). SO YOU OPTING FOR CAESAREAN DELIVERY?

ME: AS MY DOCTOR RECOMMENDS WHEN I SEE HIM. AM NOT PARTICULAR ABOUT ANY. I JUST WANT MYSELF AND BABY TO BE SAFE.
LADY: HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THIS HOSPITAL? YOUR BROTHER RECOMMENDED IT?

ME: THEY HAD GOOD REVIEWS ONLINE AND THEIR COSTS WITHIN MY BUDGET( I REFUSE TO MENTION MY SON UNLESS ASKED THOUGH I HAD ALL THE ZERO BALANCE LETTERS)
LADY: WHERE'S YOUR PARTNER AND WHAT DOES HE DO?

ME: IN NIGERIA BUT WILL BE HERE SHORTLY. HE WORKS AS ..... @.....
LADY: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT HAVING BABIES?

ME: I'M A .....
LADY: OH YOU ARE AND COULDNT FIND ANY GOOD DOCTOR TO BIRTH YOU IN NIGERIA?

ME: (SMILED. SOME QUESTIONS ARE BETTER NOT ANSWERED)
LADY: SO DO YOU CIRCUMCISSION ROITINELY IN YOUR COUNTRY?

ME: ( ANOTHER PSYCHOANALYTICAL QUESTION) DEPENDS ON RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND PREFERENCE...
LADY: WHAT'S YOUR BROTHERS NAME AND WHAT DOES HE DO?

ME: I TOLD HER
LADY: YOUR PARENTS MUST HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB( STILL WRITING)

ME: THANK YOU MA'AM.
LADY: (STAMPING MY PASSPORT AND HANDING ALL MY PAPERS TO ME) PLS KEEP ALL YOUR RECEIPTS COS WE'LL BRING YOU HERE THE NEXT TIME TO VERIFY THEM.

ME: SURE MA'AM. THANK YOU
LADY: HAVE A SAFE DELIVERY AND BE GOOD.

My people, na so I take waka go carry my baggage( no agric inspection ). It all took about an hour+.
NB: This is my 4th U.S. visa( all multiples) and all have been used severally. My point exactly is to be over ready and have your facts straight. These guys don't laugh these days... Sorry for the long posts but na so e take happen.
Thanks guys, you all rock big time... #Godwin!

kairi:
Hello my fellow ACIW!

I have landed Atlanta to God be the glory and thanks to the tips from you all. I had favor all the way and just want to share my POE experience.

I had prepared for the "infamous Atlanta" POE with great fear and trepidation - trusting God for favor and making sure I was ready with all documents- but still fearing secondary investigatin etc, I arrived on Friday, looked at all the CBP officers, no black person, no Latino. Hmmm,.mi started praying again. Long story short, I was sent to one middle aged white guy and the dude was not smiling, he did not even look at my face at first:

CBP: Why are you here?
Me: Vacation and to have my baby.
CBP: How do you intend to pay for that?
Me: self pay, I have some cash (told him how much), my debit cards (brought out my printed bank statements)
CBP: what arrangements have you made so far?
Me:I have a doctor and contacted the hospital as well.
CBP: have you paid for any of this yet?
Me: not yet, but that's because the doctors office said I will make the payments at my first visit (brought out my hospital correspondence).
CBP: so do you have any family or friends in Atlanta and where will you be staying?
Me: with my husbands Uncle and Aunt.
CBP: so what will you be doing while you are here?
Me: (in my mind - Oga, did you not hear me the first time?) I plan to have my baby while I am here. He nodded, so I quickly addedsight seeing, shopping, resting. He waited, I was blank oh! Then:
CBP: ok, that's it, you can go.

About 5 minutes all in all, and each time I brought out a document, he did not even bother to look at it, I guess he thought I was well prepared so...Atl the dreaded has been conquered!

One tip I think was important, I did not carry any food or anything to declare...I just felt there is no need to give them reason to call me to inner room, let our handshake no reach elbow, lol! There is lots of Nigerian food here if you have a craving, for gifts, I brought fabric instead. Depends on you though, o just remembered that my last journey BWI (Baltimore), it was after I passed the first guy that they started asks me questions, so no need.

Thanks for the tips and all guys.

Congratulations on your successful entry.Pls I'm a July mum to be and I'm looking at coming to Atlanta.Still don't have a doctor or hospital in mind.Pls can you help with that?Then I'd like to know if you bought your ticket via online agent or from KLM directly.Pls ma'am I'm really banking on this information.Thank you so much.

nomanicole:
Please for those who used dr neal grossman as paeditrician..did you take your baby to him at one month? If you did, please is it only the hep B shot ur baby got? Bcause im getting conflicting gist from friends saying i shudnt give my baby penta 1 etc here in naija...because the paed has already given him that they dont use the same vaccine names we use in naija ..the peaditrician didnt write anyother thing except hep B- ..... pls i need advice. I need to immunize my baby and i dont want to over dose him as well...to be on the safe side.

Hi. If he wrote only hep B den that is he only vaccine ur baby was given. Wen u get to naija u have to give bcg n d rest accordinly, they are all very important including all the penta vaccines. Bcg isn't given in the US but very important in naija

@newmum15, if you are buying KLM I wld advise you buy frm dia offfice so that u don't av any hassles if you need to make changes. You can even book on hold online and pay at dia office. Dat ws wat I did so I had options of choosing my POE.

[quote author=pattyreal post=31663808]Ma fellow nairalanders! Wit great joy in ma heart I announce d birth of ma american princess. She came in on wed 8am @ MIHS. Sowi I didn't post dis earlier. My hands hv been tied wit both toddler & new born. I'm impressed wit d service I got. No regrets @ all. I'll recommend dem if u r wrkn within a budget & u dn't want unnecessary surprises!. Always ask dis question"is dis serv

So happy for u dearie God bless n keep ur children. Did u hire a nanny?

Hello people,
I've been a silent member of this thread, got all the info and tips from here... So it's most important I share my journey so far at least to encourage your good ministry, .

Visa interview was at Abuja embassy (I had already been denied twice at Lagos, before stumbling on this thread).. So I went armed with my burden of proof

VO: goodmorning
me: goodmorning (hands him my passport and papers)
VO: why do you want to go to the US?
Me: for childbirth and a short vacation
VO: (Types on the computer for a few secs)... oh I see you've already chosen your facilities
me: yes please (I filled Dr FF details as contact person, and in town suites for acc)
VO: I can see your using centre for women's health.. (nodding his head)
Me: yes please
VO: any letter from the hospital and have you made any payments?
Me: No letter from the hospital but I have one from my doctor, actually the doctor chooses the hospital he works with, and he doesn't accept cash till you arrive (hands him Dr FF's letter)
VO: oh I see (nodding)...aha! It's written here (pointing) he doesn't accept cash. So do you have any funds to pay.
Me: yes I do, (hands him hubby's statement of account). Here's my budget too
VO: (flips through both of them)... oh ok. So where does your husband work?
Me: he's a ****** with *****
VO: oh *****. That's good, and what about you?
Me: am a *****
VO: good. So do you plan to specialize?
Me: hopefuĺly, I will (smiles)
VO: alright ma'am.. congrats your visa has been approved, pick up on ***. make sure you pay your bills and come back with your receipts cos u'l be needing them. Also go with all the documents you just showed me to the border.... basically you shouldn't have any problem. I wish you good luck.
Me: Thank you very much.

Na so that one go, the questions were real quick, I didn't spend up to 10mins.
Thanks to all the contributors, y'all are awesome.
The lesson still remains... come prepared both with documents and prayers.
Will type my POE experience shortly *phew*

Hi. If he wrote only hep B den that is he only vaccine ur baby was given. Wen u get to naija u have to give bcg n d rest accordinly, they are all very important including all the penta vaccines. Bcg isn't given in the US but very important in naija[/quote]

Thanks plenty sessibasi

Hello good people of this Thread.

So I had my precious princess at Oakbend this week.

Pls for houston mom's Be4 me. Where can I get baby's ears pierced and when is a good time to do it.

[quote author=bambini post=32007928][/quote]

No I didn't. Where I lodged we r lk a family. We were 11 Naija mamas here. So we helped eachoda.

feddy27:
@newmum15, if you are buying KLM I wld advise you buy frm dia offfice so that u don't av any hassles if you need to make changes. You can even book on hold online and pay at dia office. Dat ws wat I did so I had options of choosing my POE.

Oh alright.Thanks a lot

Pls house
Has a civil servant,do I need to hold my maternity leave letter at POE.

Hello,
Just take the hep B shots only. You can start penta and oda vaccines wen u get to naija. Dats what I did. You can collect d immunisation schedule from dem + your baby's discharge papers/report afta pediatrician's visit & take it to ur hospt in naija. Dey will understand and take it frm there wen u get back home, starting with BCG.

Cheers

nomanicole:
Please for those who used dr neal grossman as paeditrician..did you take your baby to him at one month? If you did, please is it only the hep B shot ur baby got? Bcause im getting conflicting gist from friends saying i shudnt give my baby penta 1 etc here in naija...because the paed has already given him that they dont use the same vaccine names we use in naija ..the peaditrician didnt write anyother thing except hep B- ..... pls i need advice. I need to immunize my baby and i dont want to over dose him as well...to be on the safe side.

AyaSho:
Pls house
Has a civil servant,do I need to hold my maternity leave letter at POE.

I dont think it is compulsory for you to do so,because i have not read of anyone who was asked to show evidence that they are on leave. But you can just take it along if you already have it,but no worries if you dont.

Yes, is part of your burden of proof, no one can tell, in case they may ask of where you are working..., you might not need to show it, but is better to be over prepared....

AyaSho:
Pls house
Has a civil servant,do I need to hold my maternity leave letter at POE.

olokings:


@ifax, travel date is July 31st...trust I'll have concluded hospital n secured doctor's correspondence by time of travel. .....everything set. .just still sieving thru info attacks 4 now watching to mk a decision in wch hospital to use. .either arlington med centre - Dallas or del sol med centre - el paso..
Just watching out for fellow NL experiences who may ve used arlington since del sol is quite clear cut.

Hi Olokings,

Going to Dallas with emirates in July too but a few days before you. I have some information and quote on a doctor and hospital in Dallas. You can PM me for the details.

Please have you been able to get any information on Dallas drs/hospitals? I am still searching for options o just in case.

Terese69:


Hi Olokings. Please have you been able to get any information on Dallas drs/hospitals?

Hi Terese,
When are you due?

nefertitiram:


Hi Terese,
When are you due?

September 8th.

@MIHS mamas Please who is willing 2 share a 2bedroom from April to June @ a very suitable price. Pls pm mi 4 details

Terese69:


September 8th.

PM me

nefertitiram:


PM me

Done.

Terese69:


Done.

Av replied

nefertitiram:


Av replied

Ok. Waiting for it, haven't received it yet.

Hello ladies,

One question please, has anyone here driven themselves to the hospital during labour? I mean I know u have to be on the exit lane, just in case u want to pull over and breathe, but how advisable is this? And after delivery is one even strong enough to drive back home?

Hello house, pls those that have used US airways within America(eg from new York to maryland), do they ask for fit to fly?

Secondly,my passport expires November 2015 but I will be travelling in April and be back to naija in June 2015. Do I have to renew before I leave naija?

Gurus in the house,pls assist.

Thanks.