I'd like the point of view of Nigerian expats living in the UK or indeed dual national consular officers who may work for the US embassy:

I am a Nigerian married to a Swiss and we have lived in London as a married couple for 3.5 years (6 years as partners). We'd like to go camping for 2 weeks around San Francisco in Sept/Oct, for which I need a tourist visa. I have been strongly advised in another forum that me being Nigerian (and the poor reputation that comes with it!) puts me at a great risk of being declined a US tourist visa, and better to wait till i'm British and then travel under the VWP. I found this a preposterous and unfounded statement!

If I were to apply now I would be able to show the ffg:

Letter from my employer detailing my role, salary, period of employment and leave authorisation; tax certificates for the last 2 years and most recent payslips
Bank statements showing sufficient funds/savings for the trip
Our joint tenancy agreement where we've lived for over 4 years
My current passport with a valid UK residence document and stamped proof of extensive travel within the EU
My husband's employment contract and proof of income (if necessary)
Our marriage certificate (if necessary)

Based on the above and despite me being Nigerian, what are my chances of acceptance? I refuse to believe that my visa may be declined if I am eligible but solely because I am Nigerian!

Constructive and balanced comments from people who have 1st hand experience pls.

@ Plum70


Oh please!! go ahead with ur application, you have a strong tie to the UK and in a good position.

Don't pay too much attention to pple telling u that ur Nigerian route will play against u.

justwise:

@ Plum70
Oh please!! go ahead with your application, you have a strong tie to the UK and in a good position.

Don't pay too much attention to pple telling u that your Nigerian route will play against u.

Thanks for your input. Can I ask if your viewpoint is from experience or just personal opinion?

I know that for any application there is a possibility of refusal but I simply wish to reduce that possibility by arming myself with (more) cogent info.

Thanks again.

Plum70:

Thanks for your input. Can I ask if your viewpoint is from experience or just personal opinion?

I know that for any application there is a possibility of refusal but I simply wish to reduce that possibility by arming myself with (more) cogent info.
Thanks again.

I say both, i was refused an America visa couple of yrs ago when i was living in southern Africa with my elder brother and his wife while my sister in-law was given, the reason given was that i don't have a strong tie to that country, i don't have a job, not married, just a fresh graduate and i was asked to go back to Nigeria to apply.

Obviously there is no guaranteed visa but in your case, u stand a better chance of getting a visa, being a Nigerian shouldn't put you off.

The most important thing in applying for a visa to enter any country
is to PROOVE that you will leave before the visa expires.
You seem to have strong ties to return to you job etc.
So should have no problem.

Thank you both - I will focus on demonstrating strong ties to the UK by way of documentary evidence and see how the application goes.

This is just a case of chinese whisper going horribly wrong. What they mean is you are likely to be refused because you are not applying from Nigeria, your home Country, not because you are Nigerian. The main rule of thumb to know when applying for US visa is that everyone is a potential absconder, so the onus is on the applicant to prove they have enough ties outside of America to return to, and this is best centred round the Country you have your asset/vested interest in.


With all the documents you have listed, you are nearly good to go, just that one of your "ties" is your Hubby who is following you on this trip, so this means you need to include all details of his asset outside US too, otherwise it is easy to wrongly conclude that you both wanna stay on in US because you have no incentive to come home.

Busy_body:
With all the documents you have listed, you are nearly good to go, just that one of your "ties" is your Hubby who is following you on this trip, so this means you need to include all details of his asset outside US too, otherwise it is easy to wrongly conclude that you both wanna stay on in US because you have no incentive to come home.

Many thanks busybody. This is a good point which I hadn't considered - will include my husband's employment details etc when applying. The UK has been our home for close to 7 years and we have no plans of abandoning it!

I applied as a US tourist from the UK and was given. As long as you are working with payslips etc. I was not even married so did not have any UK spouse but I did ask a friend who we were going together to write me a letter to corroborate that we were travelling together.

SO if you have a spouse, partner, famly who is British it might help if they gave you a letter.

However, the typical scenarios I hear are that Nigerian Students in the UK are often refused, but if you are working and have your payslips and bank statements, you are typically given.

@ olu girl and @ everyone,  i will like to apply for a usa visa, but need your opinion on this. i got a usa visa last year in the uk, i was then a student and it was for a conference so it was just for 6month, i didn even spend up to 10 days and i came back to the uk. now i'm on a post sudy work visa, i went back to nigeria for holidays 2months ago and decided to apply for a usa tourist visa at d usa embassy in nigeria, but the officer was a very stubborn one, he had issues with the fact that i came home to apply and why my father was the sponsor, although i have a job in uk and can really afford to sponsor the trip but thought since i was applying from home and my father had enough asset that i should use him as my sponsor inshort i felt that should be my strong ties, but it all messed me up, cos dis officer said why should my father sponsor me?how much do i earn from my job in uk i told him? to cut the long story short my mistake was, i should never have gone to nigeria to apply, at d end of d day he refused the visa and told me to go back to uk to apply tha my strong ties is in uk.he didnt look at a single document, even hough i took all my document from uk, dis is just like 2months ago,  the point now is why is my home country not my strong ties, why should it be uk, well now am married and will like to apply after some months here(uk), i have a job although not a professional job but make alot of monney from it, so what do you think er the document to take when next i apply, i really want to ge it right this time, and is uk the best place to apply again since the officer said i should apply here,  my post study work visa is still valid for about 18monhs, and my husband lives in nigeria, pls i need your opinions

kunaba123:

@ olu girl and @ everyone,  i will like to apply for a usa visa, but need your opinion on this. i got a usa visa last year in the uk, i was then a student and it was for a conference so it was just for 6month, i didn even spend up to 10 days and i came back to the uk. now i'm on a post sudy work visa, i went back to nigeria for holidays 2months ago and decided to apply for a usa tourist visa at d usa embassy in nigeria, but the officer was a very stubborn one, he had issues with the fact that i came home to apply and why my father was the sponsor, although i have a job in uk and can really afford to sponsor the trip but thought since i was applying from home and my father had enough asset that i should use him as my sponsor inshort i felt that should be my strong ties, but it all messed me up, cos dis officer said why should my father sponsor me?how much do i earn from my job in uk i told him? to cut the long story short my mistake was, i should never have gone to nigeria to apply, at d end of d day he refused the visa and told me to go back to uk to apply tha my strong ties is in uk.he didnt look at a single document, even hough i took all my document from uk, dis is just like 2months ago,  the point now is why is my home country not my strong ties, why should it be uk, well now am married and will like to apply after some months here(uk), i have a job although not a professional job but make alot of monney from it, so what do you think er the document to take when next i apply, i really want to ge it right this time, and is uk the best place to apply again since the officer said i should apply here,  my post study work visa is still valid for about 18monhs, and my husband lives in nigeria, pls i need your opinions

You dont trust the advice of the consular officer?
you are residing/working in the Uk, and you want to visit the US

Unfortunately, these embassies take advantage of Nigerians collecting the money and refusing visas for no reasonable reason as it was in ur case in 9ja.

I would suggest that u apply taking all the documents they ask on their website inc hotel payment where u will be staying etc ( cant remember all their requirements!) i got there and just joked with the lady handling mine. They are just human beings and if you have nothing to hide, there is no reason for them to refuse you.

Like I said in previous post, the only thing extra I did was take a letter from a friend I was going with(British) don't know if that did anything. Best of luck

@olu girl, thanks for your response, pls when you applied do u remember sm of d interview questions u were asked? did you book any tour programme wit any company in d usa? nd there is dis part of d tourist visa form dat ask for d name and address of contact in d usa, wot did u fill on dat part of d form cos i assume u applied for a tourist nd not family visit, nd did u get a leter frm ur employer stating dat ur annual leave was granted, i jus nid tips to prepare well for nextime. thanks

@ dis guy thanks

Hey Olugirl

Thanks for the comments - I just need to clarify somethings.
1. The US consulate webiste advises not to make hotel payments e.t.c until you get your visa. . so how would I be able to prove this to them ?

2. How soon to your trip did you apply for your visa ? I.e if I wish to travel in May, when should I apply ?

Thanks !

Starting to feel like a consular adviser.
Tbh. I applied two yrs ago so not really sure of d actual details anŷmore. But my friend had booked a hotel and confirmed that we will be staying together in the letter.

The website says when b4 u travel to apply. I think at least 90 days.

D main point I am tryin to make is if u need details, take all d requirements they have asked for on their site etc,

Being able to prove u have a good job helps, payslips, letter from employer, bank statements

The questions were standard what does your job entail etc (we ended up having a laugh cos I work in finance and made a joke about d recession and we ended up talking about the economy ) nothing really like an interview, i took less than 5 minutes in front of the lady.

Be relaxed and don't be nervous, they are taking my money so I went their expecting a service.

@poster
I strongly advise you not to book a hotel just take your bank statements in the box where an address is required pot in N/A or does not apply, just make sure the documents u are taking are well prepared and dress up properly
And finally be ready for rejection just in case sometimes a non chalant attitude can help

Plum70:
I'd like the point of view of Nigerian expats living in the UK or indeed dual national consular officers who may work for the US embassy:

I am a Nigerian married to a Swiss and we have lived in London as a married couple for 3.5 years (6 years as partners). We'd like to go camping for 2 weeks around San Francisco in Sept/Oct, for which I need a tourist visa. I have been strongly advised in another forum that me being Nigerian (and the poor reputation that comes with it!) puts me at a great risk of being declined a US tourist visa, and better to wait till i'm British and then travel under the VWP. I found this a preposterous and unfounded statement!

If I were to apply now I would be able to show the ffg:

Letter from my employer detailing my role, salary, period of employment and leave authorisation; tax certificates for the last 2 years and most recent payslips
Bank statements showing sufficient funds/savings for the trip
Our joint tenancy agreement where we've lived for over 4 years
My current passport with a valid UK residence document and stamped proof of extensive travel within the EU
My husband's employment contract and proof of income (if necessary)
Our marriage certificate (if necessary)

Based on the above and despite me being Nigerian, what are my chances of acceptance? I refuse to believe that my visa may be declined if I am eligible but solely because I am Nigerian!

Constructive and balanced comments from people who have 1st hand experience pls.

sorry just checking d date