edimop: I really want to appreciate God for his wonderful,glorious and marvellous work in ma life.My interview ws so easy dan imagined....
I arrived @ d embassy exactly 4.45am,infact,d cab I boarded dropped me after d embassy,so I had 2 walk down 2 d embassy treking.To d glory of God I met buh few peep @ dat moment,within som few min,t looked as if d earth were loosed as many peep started trooping.if I cld count d num xactly,we cld be up to 300 in numbers btw 5.30 up as many were stil trooping.To d glory of we did all d security checks,infact d checkings isn't a child play o......buh e ws for our gud and accuracy in documentations.I also Met a woman who works in d embassy connected to me by Geenlion,she ws so helpful and all thanks goes to GEENLION.After all said and done,We matched to d Main hall for proper preparations,paid d visa fee,submitted my Documents @ window 17 and my num beepped @ window 16,an old handsome man,buh before dat I saw a slim young man who issued visas so easily without much querries and I ws praying to God to be called on dat same window,which is window 14,well to God glory d window 16 called my num and ds hw d interview went thus:
Me-goodmorning sir,u look smart,
Co-oh,thank u so much and u aint bad too.
Me-thank u sir
Co-brought out my form and showed me,is ds u on d form?
Me-yes sir
Co-alright,cld u pls sign below
Me-thank u
Co-may I hav ur finger prints,
Me-did
Co-cn u put up ur right hand,promise dat all information given is d trut and nofin buh d trut
Me-i swear
Co-ok,what's ur highest qualification?
Me-O'level
Co-what year?
Me-2009
Co-when did u finish ur secondary sch
Me-2000
Co-what hav u bin doin since den?
Me-Bin working as a sales rep,as I kept looking out for a beta paid job.
Co-nodding his head,hav u ever applied for visa to america before,wen he said ds I cldnt gues rit cos d mic ws distorting so I adjusted d mic again and told him no,xcept for dvlotteries,he said ok
Co-do u hav som1 in d US?
Me-yes
Co-who is he to u?
Me-my friends
Co-how did he get 2 d US
Me-tru dvlottery
Co-for hw long nw?
Me-3yrs nw
Co-alrit.......kept typing on d system as I watch him,in a shot yle,he said to me,pls pardon me let me make a fotocopy of ur o'level cert,he did dat and returned my original cert to me and picked up 2 white sheet,one for d uscis and d oda for visa pick up and said congratulation.......he also adviced me to pay before I leav or ask som1 over there to do dat for me.I smile and said thank u sir.......
Co-u welcome.
Infact na run I take run comot for dat hall as everybody ws looking @ me as I dey api.
I ws so nerveous wen I saw dat window 17 guy denied 2 couples without mercy rit in front of me o.........pls help me thank God o for dat which he started he has finished and am grateful to em.
I wana cease ds opportunity to thank Geenlion,tycoon,amedino,iscanfiel,mantiger,jasper,monseuro,mercy,nero-xp,izzy,just God,belincy.....my God wil surely fulfil ur dreams in d United state of A ijn.........To those awaitin interview,just God,izzy and many odas,d lord who did t for me wil do t for u more easier dan u fink ijn.be prayerful and giv em thanks in advance.cos whom God be for,no man cn be against.those consulars r gud people and u need is d trut and confidence.......Go and prosper ijn........edimop,signing off.THNKs to y'all.I love my e-family.

congrats dear, go live ur American dream,

Latest news on the US minimum wage scam
Published on August 20, 2013 at 18:28BST

You'd think the exceptionally low minimum-wage - $7.25 an hour - would be the shame of a country like the United States that prides itself on its economic leadership. Half of minimum-wage jobs are held by adults over 25 years old, and asking adults to live on $7.25, or $14,500 a year, doesn't leave them with enough to rent an apartment, commute to work, raise a child and participate in society in any meaningful way.

Many US states have higher minimum-wage requirements than the government, with Washington State leading the pack at $9.19 an hour. That's a start, but many large, international companies will only pay the minimum the federal government requires. As a result, the federal minimum wage keeps an entire class of people trapped in economic servitude, focusing their attention on survival rather than growth, barring their ability to save enough or pay for education that would allow them to rise to the middle class.

Income inequality is as bad as it has ever been - and the reason is simple.

Low-wage workers can't even care for their own health without giving up some other necessity. According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, it took a minimum-wage worker 130 hours to earn a year's worth of health benefits in 1979. That is only three-and-a-half weeks of full-time, minimum -wage work. By 2011, the same health coverage cost 749 hours, or 19 weeks of full-time, minimum-wage work. Working nearly half the year to afford only healthcare, and nothing else, is a ridiculous demand to make of low-wage workers.

The low minimum wage is also as costly for the government as it is cheap for companies. While McDonald's or other fast food companies save pennies and boost their profitability by paying a low wage, their workers cannot survive on that amount and often end up taking welfare benefits. In 2012, 4.3 million people received welfare benefits and 47 million received food stamps. The number of Americans getting food stamps - a national hunger crisis - has risen in tandem with the number of people unemployed or out of the workforce.

The minimum-wage salary is eaten up fast by necessities like food and healthcare: US minimum-wage workers don't just lack cash; they lack benefits, and this ends up costing the government. Each of the 23 million households on food stamps is getting an average benefit of about $274 a month from the government to pay for meals. About 40% of food stamp recipients live in a household where at least one person is earning money, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

That means that the money being spent on food stamps is money that the government is paying to subsidize company profits: as businesses pay a minimum or near-minimum wage, their workers are forced to turn to government programs to make ends meet. There is, as they say, no such thing as a free lunch.

Analyst Sarah Millar, of ConvergEx, points out that the US is among the worst nations in providing benefits for low-paid workers:

What the minimum wage debate seems to be missing … is the dialogue that focuses on benefits as the missing element of compensation rather than higher pay. The minimum wage debate is misdirected - among both the workers demanding higher wages and the politicians struggling to determine the minimum wage. Simply put, the problem is not wages: it's total compensation - that is, wages and benefits.

The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics employee benefit survey illuminates how minimum-wage workers make just enough money to survive, but nothing more. Just over a tenth of low-paid workers participated in any kind of healthcare benefits, for instance, and roughly the same amount had life insurance or participated in any kind of retirement plan. One-fifth took sick leave, and only 39% took any kind of vacation.

It's also more expensive to be poor than it is to be middle-class or rich. If low-wage workers do want to have healthcare, they pay more, relative to their salaries, for medical care premiums. Obamacare is supposed to reverse this, but implementation has been held up.

A pathologically useless Congress won't pass any minimum-wage legislation, no matter how the president asks for it. But as dysfunctional as the budget conversation is, this is the right time for a discussion of the premises of our society. Do we want to be a society that ignores the unemployment crisis and looks away from the fact that the majority of "job growth" right now is in low-wage jobs? Do we want to be a country that expects to let millions of people fail economically in the mistaken belief that there will be no wider consequences to the rest of us?

It's time to get real. Allowing the federal minimum wage to be so low means knowing that it will cost us all in Medicare, food stamp and social security payments later. While some in Congress - particularly on the conservative side - have mistakenly insisted on austerity and complained about the rising cost of federal benefits, they also seem not to have done the math to figure out why those costs are going up.

The solution is simple: raise the minimum wage, add benefits, and so reduce government benefit spending. If the minimum wage remains low, and benefits sparse, government spending on benefits will continue to rise.

These questions are ever more relevant - in the economic recovery "that isn't". Low-wage jobs are becoming the new normal, and they're creeping up the generational spectrum: about 43% of minimum-wage jobs are in the food industry, which used to employ mostly teenagers, but now employs adults. Maybe these employers should start paying people like adults, too.

Raising the minimum wage will boost the economy. But just as importantly, so would adding benefits. If America wants to reclaim the mantle of economic leadership, this is how to do it.

tobi16: Hello nairalanders i went to embassy last week monday and i was told to go and collect my visa yesterday monday but when i get there the guy is telling me my document has not yet get there nairalanders hope i dont have prob? Pls quick reaply

not @all u don't av any prob put ur mind @ rest, i also experienced d same thing but got my package @last wen it was ready

Amedino1:
Nice One Omo Philly........PH calling Ooº˚°º≈º°˚ºoO

. Tank u my lovely friend. We will together rock america and the entire philly

I pray for as many that are goin to d embassy today; may u not be disappointed. May all ur running around for one doc or d other be fruitful. May u smile out of d CO's presence today IJN. Amen!
23rd loading.......house please are we suppose to go with d x-ray too?

joexploit: I pray for as many that are goin to d embassy today; may u not be disappointed. May all ur running around for one doc or d other be fruitful. May u smile out of d CO's presence today IJN. Amen!
23rd loading.......house please are we suppose to go with d x-ray too?

No! Jst ur medical alone..

tosmy :
@Sakirasexy no problem u can check back in 3 or for days again
@tycoon my bro i cant forget u but i av some my my phone so this make loose all my contact,this is my FB ID:-thommy jhayhe(tosinjaiye@yahoo.com)
@usef83 u are welcome this is the site www.uscis.gov u can mk the payment frm nigeria u can also pay it wen u gt here because i payed my wen gt here and i recived it within 20 days
@st.dammis u dont need to call kcc because if u do that u give them a clue to takle u what i ll tell u is to do is to make sure u correct on form u send back to kcc and i av geniue birth cirtificate with u on ur interview day i wish u best of luck
@g-busta try to add A0 to ur alien number
...............faith works wonders

Yeah bro, ve send u request on Fb...

damohreal: Goodday house,my interview is coming up on 28th of AUGUST, though my hubby is the winner but the problem I ve at hand is that my hubby has sent the first letter as a single before he re-sent a letter that he's married but we ve all necessary document like wedding cert and the rest. Hope the first letter will not affect us. Please house the sake of Almighty ALLAH I need quick response.thanks all.

U have no probs my sister, as far u ve all prove to show the CO....

@tosmy we got married after d sent of 1st letter though we v bin datin even as @ d tym he sent 1st letter but we r lukin @d money stuff den.wen nd I got pregnant we decided marry nd go 2geda but 2mai greatest surprise I had still birth of five months last month.but d medical indicates d stil birth sha

damohreal: @tosmy we got married after d sent of 1st letter though we v bin datin even as @ d tym he sent 1st letter but we r lukin @d money stuff den.wen nd I got pregnant we decided marry nd go 2geda but 2mai greatest surprise I had still birth of five months last month.but d medical indicates d stil birth sha

eeyah, sorry about dat....
just go with faith. its urs by his grace

Congratulations to those who have had a successful interview during my absense from nairaland ant goodluck to those that are having their interview this mont and next..2013 and dv ends soon, WE CAME, WE SAW, and WE CONCQUERED. ALHAMDULILLAH.. Oluwa is involve

Pls house How long does it take 4 medicals to expire..

edimop: I really want to appreciate God for his wonderful,glorious and marvellous work in ma life.My interview ws so easy dan imagined....
I arrived @ d embassy exactly 4.45am,infact,d cab I boarded dropped me after d embassy,so I had 2 walk down 2 d embassy treking.To d glory of God I met buh few peep @ dat moment,within som few min,t looked as if d earth were loosed as many peep started trooping.if I cld count d num xactly,we cld be up to 300 in numbers btw 5.30 up as many were stil trooping.To d glory of we did all d security checks,infact d checkings isn't a child play o......buh e ws for our gud and accuracy in documentations.I also Met a woman who works in d embassy connected to me by Geenlion,she ws so helpful and all thanks goes to GEENLION.After all said and done,We matched to d Main hall for proper preparations,paid d visa fee,submitted my Documents @ window 17 and my num beepped @ window 16,an old handsome man,buh before dat I saw a slim young man who issued visas so easily without much querries and I ws praying to God to be called on dat same window,which is window 14,well to God glory d window 16 called my num and ds hw d interview went thus:
Me-goodmorning sir,u look smart,
Co-oh,thank u so much and u aint bad too.
Me-thank u sir
Co-brought out my form and showed me,is ds u on d form?
Me-yes sir
Co-alright,cld u pls sign below
Me-thank u
Co-may I hav ur finger prints,
Me-did
Co-cn u put up ur right hand,promise dat all information given is d trut and nofin buh d trut
Me-i swear
Co-ok,what's ur highest qualification?
Me-O'level
Co-what year?
Me-2009
Co-when did u finish ur secondary sch
Me-2000
Co-what hav u bin doin since den?
Me-Bin working as a sales rep,as I kept looking out for a beta paid job.
Co-nodding his head,hav u ever applied for visa to america before,wen he said ds I cldnt gues rit cos d mic ws distorting so I adjusted d mic again and told him no,xcept for dvlotteries,he said ok
Co-do u hav som1 in d US?
Me-yes
Co-who is he to u?
Me-my friends
Co-how did he get 2 d US
Me-tru dvlottery
Co-for hw long nw?
Me-3yrs nw
Co-alrit.......kept typing on d system as I watch him,in a shot yle,he said to me,pls pardon me let me make a fotocopy of ur o'level cert,he did dat and returned my original cert to me and picked up 2 white sheet,one for d uscis and d oda for visa pick up and said congratulation.......he also adviced me to pay before I leav or ask som1 over there to do dat for me.I smile and said thank u sir.......
Co-u welcome.
Infact na run I take run comot for dat hall as everybody ws looking @ me as I dey api.
I ws so nerveous wen I saw dat window 17 guy denied 2 couples without mercy rit in front of me o.........pls help me thank God o for dat which he started he has finished and am grateful to em.
I wana cease ds opportunity to thank Geenlion,tycoon,amedino,iscanfiel,mantiger,jasper,monseuro,mercy,nero-xp,izzy,just God,belincy.....my God wil surely fulfil ur dreams in d United state of A ijn.........To those awaitin interview,just God,izzy and many odas,d lord who did t for me wil do t for u more easier dan u fink ijn.be prayerful and giv em thanks in advance.cos whom God be for,no man cn be against.those consulars r gud people and u need is d trut and confidence.......Go and prosper ijn........edimop,signing off.THNKs to y'all.I love my e-family.

. Congrat bros so happy for u

2nl just arrived hurrrrray

Hello forumites, i congratulate all that have their visas approved so far and those that are waiting for their interview success. I also wish the DV 2014 winners success as they await their 2NL and interview. Pls o my fellow Nairalander i want a quick answer to this question: Can i pay my USCIS FEE with a brother's GTB Naira Account becos i dont have GTB Account. I tried to pay with SKYE BANK master card but it didn't accept the payment. Pls o i want ur reply asap!

damohreal: @tosmy we got married after d sent of 1st letter though we v bin datin even as @ d tym he sent 1st letter but we r lukin @d money stuff den.wen nd I got pregnant we decided marry nd go 2geda but 2mai greatest surprise I had still birth of five months last month.but d medical indicates d stil birth sha

my sister i cant lie to you made a mistake by conclude so fast before changing ur mind later,i believe that with GOD all things are possible be prepare to convince the consular that ur marriage is real,i wish u guys good luck i ll be so glad to hear back frm u guys after ur interview once again success.......................faith works wonders

kemseg2005: Hello forumites, i congratulate all that have their visas approved so far and those that are waiting for their interview success. I also wish the DV 2014 winners success as they await their 2NL and interview. Pls o my fellow Nairalander i want a quick answer to this question: Can i pay my USCIS FEE with a brother's GTB Naira Account becos i dont have GTB Account. I tried to pay with SKYE BANK master card but it didn't accept the payment. Pls o i want ur reply asap!

of course you can

Sakirasexy: Congratulations to those that got their visa and sucess to those awaiting their interview.
Pls ow do I book a flight going to washington dc .answer needed asap .

use emirate, it's around 200k now...i booked last week

kemseg2005: Hello forumites, i congratulate all that have their visas approved so far and those that are waiting for their interview success. I also wish the DV 2014 winners success as they await their 2NL and interview. Pls o my fellow Nairalander i want a quick answer to this question: Can i pay my USCIS FEE with a brother's GTB Naira Account becos i dont have GTB Account. I tried to pay with SKYE BANK master card but it didn't accept the payment. Pls o i want ur reply asap!

yes..i also use gtbank

Husmern: use emirate, it's around 200k now...i booked last week

. @Husmern do u mean for one way.

tolubillion: . @Husmern do u mean for one way.

yes

Qatar and Emirate are the cheapest flights to Washington dc dat I know, try n check it out but ur nearest airport is Dulles (IAD) it shouldn't be more dan 180k @ most 4 dos 2 airlines. Goodluck

Sakirasexy: Congratulations to those that got their visa and sucess to those awaiting their interview.
Pls ow do I book a flight going to washington dc .answer needed asap .

hey guys......thanks for all the help. omo i dey port reach Indianapolis USA. i use Delta Airline, very smooth. i have one question, what next am i to do in USA. thanks.........i need replies

missbelle: hey guys......thanks for all the help. omo i dey port reach Indianapolis USA. i use Delta Airline, very smooth. i have one question, what next am i to do in USA. thanks.........i need replies

Congrats on your smooth journey to Indianapolis. That is where my family is heading to.

@misbelle:

If you've paid the USCIS fee before you left Nigeria and have gotten your receipt, all you have to do is to wait for your GC in the mail. While waiting you can go start processing your SSN, your host can put you through on this. Also, you can go through the driver's practice test on the internet. It is well.
You can as well visit the 'Diversity visa immigrant?' thread for more guidiance

ticket booked via qater airline and American airline to Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. tank god oo

Hello house,I need ur advice,I just called KCC to confirm when am I likely to receive my 2NL but the lady told me that my application is stil undergoin processing,that I shld call back in two or three weeks time.hope I m safe.though I sent my forms on the 3rd of june and it was delivered on the 6th of june.I m worried becos my case number is very low 2014AF000002XX.pls ur professional advice

My wife and I got our visas approved today! She's due to give birth in about 3 weeks and they advised that we don't travel. They said when the baby is born, we should come with his birth certificate and passport pix and they would issue a letter permitting us to travel with our baby.

God is sooo good! This dream has finally become a reality! I wish all those yet to do their interview God's favour!

Freshie: My wife and I got our visas approved today! She's due to give birth in about 3 weeks and they advised that we don't travel. They said when the baby is born, we should come with his birth certificate and passport pix and they would issue a letter permitting us to travel with our baby.

God is sooo good! This dream has finally become a reality! I wish all those yet to do their interview God's favour!

congrats bro, go rock the US of A.

genlion: ticket booked via qater airline and American airline to Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. tank god oo

Omo pennsylvania safe trip ahead.

Chillin in a guest house very close to d embassy on d island wiv my wife and daughter. Tommorow is d diday, pls pray for me house. I av done my bit, God take control plssssssss!

He will...if God can take control of mine with "K" leg and make it to perfection. ..He will take care of yours too. Amen. God is not a man to lie neither to get tired. He will take charge and make you a VICTOR tomorrow. Amen!

joexploit: Chillin in a guest house very close to d embassy on d island wiv my wife and daughter. Tommorow is d diday, pls pray for me house. I av done my bit, God take control plssssssss!