After my successful interview, I was told I would receive a text in three business days from the DHL office in VI for the collection of my passport. As I was due to fly out on the 4th business day, I eagerly awaited the text, but didn't receive it. So I went to the DHL office and got there at about 3 minutes past 4. When I arrived there, the security guard at the door was talking with an elderly man, and when she finished talking with him, she locked the door with us standing outside.

After about a minute, she came to tell us that the madam said the office was closed, and that the tracking information on the US government website which said they'd picked up the passport was wrong and that it was a system error. When she was about to lock the door again oblivious of our impervious pleadings, a staff came out who recognized the elderly man as the same person that was there in the morning, and told the guard that we should be allowed to go in but she repeated what her boss told her and the staff said there was nothing she could do about it. Her attempt to lock the door infuriated the elderly man, and he pushed the door.

The commotion made the boss to ask the guard to allow him in, and I followed pleading with the guard that I needed my passport for my trip the next morning. On entry, I was told to sit because the boss was busy, and the other idling staff would not attend to me without boss's approval.

Long story short, after the boss gave them the permission to attend to me, I presented my case to a staff who duly took my passport number and name, but the boss and another staff kept telling me that the US embassy lies to applicants about the three business days, that the visa was usually issued in five to ten business days.

Well, to my surprise, the passport was among the neatly arranged passports in the cupboard behind the staff. Also, the passport of the elderly man who'd been there all day was brought in from another office. From my understanding of the phone conversation to someone in the office downstairs where the elder's passport was retrieved, the passport (including mine as we both attending our interviews on the same date) was brought there on the previous business day. What I do not understand is why didn't they send out the SMS, or the email which they kept asking us to wait for? Also, why did they insist that the tracking information was wrong, and that "Your passport has been picked up," meant the passport was at the embassy, and "Your passport is ready for collection," meant the passport was with them? Finally, is someone supposed to pay a bribe or go through an intermediary in order to collect their passport from DHL VI, or any other designated collection centers?

And they actually weren't particularly happy when I insisted that they were not doing their job. I just hope Nigerians will learn to do their job without directly or indirectly frustrated people or soliciting a bribe. Next time, I'll use a different center.

olmoRoc:
After my successful interview, I was told I would receive a text in three business days from the DHL office in VI for the collection of my passport. As I was due to fly out on the 4th business day, I eagerly awaited the text, but didn't receive it. So I went to the DHL office and got there at about 3 minutes past 4. When I arrived there, the security guard at the door was talking with an elderly man, and when she finished talking with him, she locked the door with us standing outside.

After about a minute, she came to tell us that the madam said the office was closed, and that the tracking information on the US government website which said they'd picked up the passport was wrong and that it was a system error. When she was about to lock the door again oblivious of our impervious pleadings, a staff came out who recognized the elderly man as the same person that was there in the morning, and told the guard that we should be allowed to go in but she repeated what her boss told her and the staff said there was nothing she could do about it. Her attempt to lock the door infuriated the elderly man, and he pushed the door.

The commotion made the boss to ask the guard to allow him in, and I followed pleading with the guard that I needed my passport for my trip the next morning. On entry, I was told to sit because the boss was busy, and the other idling staff would not attend to me without boss's approval.

Long story short, after the boss gave them the permission to attend to me, I presented my case to a staff who duly took my passport number and name, but the boss and another staff kept telling me that the US embassy lies to applicants about the three business days, that the visa was usually issued in five to ten business days.

Well, to my surprise, the passport was among the neatly arranged passports in the cupboard behind the staff. Also, the passport of the elderly man who'd been there all day was brought in from another office. From my understanding of the phone conversation to someone in the office downstairs where the elder's passport was retrieved, the passport (including mine as we both attending our interviews on the same date) was brought there on the previous business day. What I do not understand is why didn't they send out the SMS, or the email which they kept asking us to wait for? Also, why did they insist that the tracking information was wrong, and that "Your passport has been picked up," meant the passport was at the embassy, and "Your passport is ready for collection," meant the passport was with them? Finally, is someone supposed to pay a bribe or go through an intermediary in order to collect their passport from DHL VI, or any other designated collection centers?

And they actually weren't particularly happy when I insisted that they were not doing their job. I just hope Nigerians will learn to do their job without directly or indirectly frustrated people or soliciting a bribe. Next time, I'll use a different center.

I personally prefer the mainland collection centre...

hi, sorry to digress. I got a notification that you sent me a mail. That email account has issues, kindly initiate a chat on 08137539988 or mail adebola@whiteconsults.com

Holding fee ish I guess...na America money na or do you think the embassy use their services for free? Trust Nigerians now.