₦airaland Forum

tayoamos: I am presently in the USA on a B1B2 visa that will expire in a year time. I have gotten a university here I the USA where I will like to run my masters programme and they have agreed to give me the admission. Do I have to come back to Nigeria to get an F1 student visa, or can I get it done from here in the USA.
Please advice

Hello, You can actually change your visa from a b1/b2 to an f1 without going to Nigeria however there are some strict guidelines on the process. you have to file to adjust your status with uscis and you cant attend school for a day until the response of your filing comes (the caveat with that is you do not know how long it will take for uscis to respond to you, it could be weeks or months and your school might have already resumed so usually it is safer to go home, apply and then come back. It might be possible for you to adjust your status though if you just got into the us, you have several months before school resumption, and YOU ARE WILLING TO TAKE THE RISK.
find more details here

http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/students-and-exchange-visitors/students-and-employment/special-instructions-b-1b-2-visitors-who-want-enroll-school

you can send me a pm with your us mobile number and ill call you if there is anything you dont understand. I am in louisiana

ohimai83: I got a shocker today! My student Visa interview was fixed for the 23.09.2014. My school starts lectures on 15.09.2014. Is there anything I can do?

If its us f1 student visa, i believe you can request for expedited appointment (the condition states as long as the interview date you originally booked is after your school resumption/report date on your i20, you can request for an expedited appointment)

you can also contact your school and request to arrive a bit late due to your appointment date. I guess if you state the country visa you are applying for , folks here would be able to provide more detailed assistance.

oghenegano: I got denied on saturday based on bank statement....the VO spent over 10min checkin my acct and she went inside to discus it with other VOs b4 she came out and spoke one long sentence....i have my dad as sponsor....i would like to knw if the VO do run an instant check with banks on acct details...moreso...mine was on a saturday...so i dont knw wat could have happened.
I wanna go back there again cos my admission is Fall buh am tryin to differ it to spring...pls someone shud advice.

In my opinion and based on banking laws (within and outside nigeria) as far as i know, I dont think a bank can release your details or your parents without certain governamental or law enforcements provisions. In other words, i dont think a vo can simply pick the phone or log into a portal to verify your account details (especially on a Saturday as noted but not that the day of the week matters). That being said, i think they are trained to note inconsistencies in current/debit transactions as well as revenue streams to the said account and hence reason he probably discussed with other colleagues. The fact it took so long to decide could be a plus as it looks like it could have gone either way.... I would suggest you perfect whatever issues might have been raised to you by the vo regarding the account details and reapply.....I believe for student visas, you can reapply after 7days and might not have to differ to spring however you could also differ to spring which gives you more time to sort the issues on the account with your folks.

Hello Folks,

I have never contributed to any blog before however i have read quite a few and would like to contribute/help based on my own personal experience or the various myths out there about VO (and how they are perceived as demi gods).

It is important to note that their ultimate function is to help (which means if your denied or approved, the vo gets paid hence there is no vested interest in denying you)

My personal experience stems from the following so if any of the statements highlighted below applies to you, i might be able to help answer some of your questions.

NB. I AM NOT A VISA OFFICER NOR AM I REQUESTING ANY KIND OF PAYMENT FOR ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED HERE

1. if you have ever been rejected a us visa and want to apply again (visa denied)
2. if you have had an I-130 visa petition submitted on your behalf and want to apply for a us visa (visiting) (visa approved)
3. if you have had an I-130 visa approved and you want to apply for a us visa (visiting) (visa approved)
4. if you have had an i-130 visa approved and want to apply for an F1 student visa (visa approved)

essentially all four statements apply to me and while i cant explain all in details without specific questions due to time and energy, i will touch on my most recent application (f1 visa)

I am a strong advocate of honesty as that has always been the case with all my applications.
For the record i was denied a us visa in 2000/2001 and the reason the vo gave as i recall was that my father had sufficient funds for us not to return (i applied together with my 3 siblings at the same time and the vo approved only 1 visa for my sister and denied the rest of us boys), not exactly sure which year now and i never applied for a us visa again till 2011 when i had a conference (OTC)

Jumping forward a bit to my recent application
The VO did not ask for any of my documents, GRE, certificate, sponsorship documents etc

Transcript of the Interview
Me: Good Morning
Vo: Good Morning

Vo:why did you choose .....uni
Me: offered best return on investment for grad study

Vo: you already have a postgraduate degree, so why another
Me: its a process to a phd as my original postgraduate was a 1yr program which was not being considered favorably
by my intended schools in the usa

vo: who is sponsoring you
me: my brother

vo: what does he do and where does he work
me: he is an engr with ...... company

vo: who filed an I-130 petition for you and whats the status
me: my father back in 2011 and it was approved in 2013, waiting for a priority date on that (in retrospect i would not have said that, guess it was nerves)

vo: who sponsored your initial postgraduate
me: my father

vo: thanks, your visa has been approved, pick it up on monday preferrably and make sure you travel with your student visa and not your visiting visa (i have a current 2yr visiting visa on my passport)
me: thanks, have a good day

entire interview was about 5mins though it felt like 15

PS: the 4 cases i mentioned above have all occurred to me and i believe the statements are self explanatory however, please ask whatever questions that require clarification and i would do my best to answer.

regards and best of luck to everyone