₦airaland Forum

bishop225: I need assistance ,i have an appointment schedule for tomorrow,am yet to get one of my document for my interview,should i honor the invitation and tell them the reason or i should reschedule when my document arrives?please your response is anticipated and appreciated.

I think it depends on what document it is. I`m sure people will be able to advise you accordingly if you say exactly what document you`re missing.

Good Luck.

imperiouxx: Lolz..... Is there anything to decide about those bold statement after your visa approved? This is called medicine after death? Which one you used when applying for the visa? That would be your primary destination, the school name would be printed on your visa conspicuously and the school has become your primary host. You can transfer from there to anywhere you like but the release letter comes from the school on your visa. Therefore, you can forget about the second admission for now until the school on your visa releases you. Moreover, I don't know how rich you are but why not go where you got grant rather than noun - NAME or PLACE?!

I agree with Imperiouxx. go for grants rather than name. If you`re rich however, go for the big name. But, If the name and grant will take you to the same destination? How about you keep the extra $40,000 in your pocket. Or...sponsor someone (oh la la la...). If you`re not super rich however, taking the grant will take away sleepless nights. You`ll not even think about money or lack of it because you`ve got some free money rolling in. Like my husband will say, if you`re really after the big name, go to Havard. You will be surprised how many people you will work with eventually whose roots are humble.
Oh well.....should I just say I went to the University of Ibadan? I have a colleague here who went to the University of Ilorin. The list goes on and on. Really, if God wants you in that high place, it really doesn`t matter where you`ve been. I go cheap. I aim high. I got my first job in the US with my B.S from UI. Who knows UI in the US? What`s the hype about the top 5, 10 or 20 schools? My employer doesn`t care about the top 10 or top 20 schools. I have colleagues who went to the top US schools. All they care about is your degree and what you can deliver. Note, what you can deliver. America is a leveller.
Dont get me wrong some care about top schools. But the question is who are they? How many are they? They can keep their job. Let us keep our focus. Its not so much about the name.

Good luck.

Nairalanders,

OK...back to square 3. My sister`s request for expedited appointment was denied. She called the number and was told she could wait for an available date which may or may not be before her resumption date. There is no guarantee.

Any advise?

Thanks.

Who in the world is FASTLINK? Or what in the world is FASTLINK?

imperiouxx: No, Aug 25 is around the corner. If she requested for the date today, hopefully before this week ends, they should reply her back. Also, like someone said, endeavor attaching either the admission letter or I-20 stating the date. Best of luck.

Thanks Imperiouxx. She did apply today. Her I-20 and payment receipt were both attached.

Thanks again and I wish you luck too. Invite me to your commencement please.

Baiyewu: @ bio fem thanks pls can i bring palm oil noodles and amala. I hope u know u have to book the appointmrnt first. It takes 3 to 5 days and make sure u upload ur I20 and receipt of payment. Thanks and appreciates

I`ll say no palm oil. You`ll get that at the african store. I`ll be more than happy to send you some from Maryland (ha ha ha). Noodles.... enough at Walmart or Sams club. A box of 36 goes for less than $7 ( Ha ha !! don`t ask me what i use them for, I`m a mum of 3 gobblers)

Baiyewu: @ All pleease i will like to know what food stuff is permissible at houston international airport. Thanks and appreciates

Almost everything is allowed so long as its not liquid and you declare them. The ones you cannot bring with you will be available at an African store. Do not go to the African Store with your calculator though.
Oh... for those who cannot do withoug egusi soup, I found a substitute, its sunflower seed or pumpkin seed. Yum.......

oh Imperiouxx.... you are truely the guy to ask questions. In fact the whole of Maryland and DC send their warmest greetings . Na MD I dey. This is for my sister. Thanks for the super dupper fast response. The resumption date is August 25. I was thinking with a late August resumption date, they`ll probably give a date late in August too. I may be wrong though. What do you think?

Thanks so much.

Nairalander,
I need your help with this.
When you request an expedited appointment, how soon do you get an email with your new appointment if one is granted?

Thank you.

kpolli: This makes sense cos he applied for visa lottery in October and by December, he is applying for student visa. . . Doesn't that portray n intending immigrant?

While I wouldn`t say for a fact that this in not true, I would say applying for visa lottery should not disqualify anyone from seeking other non immigrant visas. I personally know people who got visiting and student visas few months after applying for visa lottery. To the consular officer, every NIV applicant is an intending immigrant irrespective of what you have done or not done in the past.

I have seen people denied immigrant visas too for several reasons. So, do not be afraid to take the next step just because someone was denied due to reasons you really don`t know. Bear in mind the consular officers are people like you and me. They aren`t heartless. They are trained and guided by rules.

Also, be careful what you say or do online. It can make or break you. I do this, most people do too: look up someone on google. You will be surprised what you see. A friend almost got dropped from a promotion list because of some crazy pictures of her and some equally crazy friends. She was called to it by the interviewer and she subsequently "closed" her FB account. Be wise.

When you eventually get to the land of the free as you will soon discover, keep your brain in your head. No pun intended. It is easy to excel academically if you know what you are doing.

Good luck.

One way tickets are usually more expensive than round ticket. My advise is that you buy a two way and play around with your return in such a way that you get more bank for your buck.

Good luck.

Can anyone chime in on expedited visa appointments please? I`ve tried to ask the question twice. Anyone had luck getting one?

Thanks.

Nairalanders,
Has anyone had success requesting for expedited date recently? My sister is requesting for one as her school resumes in a month.

Thank you.

Nairalanders,
Has anyone had luck requesting for an expedited date? My sister is trying to get one. The regular date she got was for October.

Thank you.

Texas isn`t beside Florida.

bawizle: Lol. bro it was simply God cos i really messed up. Who doesn't know where texas is? yet i messed up. God simply wanted to let me know dat he can do it, no matter what

You of course.
Ask the Consular Officer where Taraba is. Is there still a state named Taraba in Nigeria?[b][/b]

Nairalanders,
I would like to know the implication of seeking a student visa while one has a visiting visa that was issued a few months ago. The intent was to visit the US when the visa was issued so as to visit some of the schools. However, life got in the way. The visiting visa has not been used. Please advise. Thank you.

Here`s what I know about declaring that you have relatives in the US.

1. The embassy has no business in knowing you have a 10th cousin in the US. They only care about father, mother and siblings- the important relatives. You don`t have to tell them about your cousin.

2. Telling them you have a brother, sister, father or mother will not be grounds for denial. I am a US citizen by naturalization. My brother told the CO he has a sister who resides in the US, the same state he`ll be attending school, the CO asked if she`s a citizen, he said YES. She/he asked how did your sister become a citizen he said "I don`t know but I think her husband and her worked something out " He also let them know my mom (his mom too ) is a permanent resident (I filed for her). The CO asked him how he`ll be going to school (transportation), he said by bus Oh well, its been one year and I`m still the driver!!!!!!!!!!!!
He got his visa.

Here`s what I know about a holder of Electrical Engineering degree applying for Petroleum Engineering, M.S

ost schools in the US will not check your prerequisite so long as your undergrad is in Electrical Engineering. As a Doctoral Student in Civil Eng, I`ve seen students with EE degree in transportation Engineering Classes, Environmental Engineering classes to name a few. After the class, I always asked them what`s your undergrad or M.S in, and they respond proudly.
But, why did I ask them? THEY WERE ASKING THE PROFESSOR DUMB QUESTIONS. Seriously if you go back to Electrical you won`t put anyone through the agony of listening to your questions.
Hey, its just my opinion, don`t flog me

Oh, there was once an Economics degree holder in a Pavement Analysis and Design class What? I couldn`t help it, I had to ask the professor (who is a friend/professional colleague by the way) what in the world is going on!!!

So long as the "professor" does not care? Who cares? Some schools only care about the numbers; How many students do we have? Bring them on!! You have a degree, come on in!!!!!!!!!!!!

Naira Landers,

I`ve heard there are some schools in the US that do not require Evaluated Transcripts for admission. They simply request for your transcript directly from your school and do their in-house evaluation.

If anyone know such schools, would you be kind enough to post their names here? I need a few of them.

Thank you for your time.

To the new students on the East Coast, I hope you had fun with the earthquake. Scary scary scary,

Here`s my 2-cent for anyone coming to the US with or without their tuition in their pockets

1.  Make sure you can pay your rent or you have a rent free arrangement.  Its been a couple of degrees below in Marylandm for some days now.  You dont want to be homeless.  Also, make sure you can pay for your first semester.

2. There are scholarships out there.  Even for international students.  When they tell you you`re not eligible, please still apply.  They can only say NO.  They can`t beat you.  My brother got a full scholarship when I made him ask because he wouldn`t ask Typical Nigerian.  ASK!!!

3.  Whatever you do, never you fall out of status.  I`ve said this before, ask for a loan from the school if they have one or ask for a deferred payment plan.  Go to your Intl Student coordinator if you ever get into financial trouble.

4.  Never. I repeat, Never you expect your friends and relatives in America pay your tuition.  I am a mother of 3 kids, daycare for all 3 of them is $1,860 a month.  Day care alone.  I`m not going to take a second job to see a family member through graduate school.
The best my husband and I can do is to provide food, shelter, clothes, transportation and pay for my brother`s books.  Come to think of it, that`s a lot from an "american"

5.  Be that brilliant student.  Its easy to make a GPA of 4.0 out of 4.0.  Considering you are not eligible to work and you should have all the time in the world to study. .  When you make that high GPA, ask your Dept. Chair if they can offer you a Graduate assistant position or a research assistant position.  You`ll be surprised how much a 4.0 GPA can give you.

6.  Some schools, maybe not all but I can talk for Morgan State University allow international students to work 20hrs a week within the school.  Look around the school for such opportunity.  Get a job at subway . , library, canteen, it`ll put some money in your pocket.  If you don`t get one as soon as you start your studies, keep checking and dont try to look good.  In the US no one watches .

7.  In all things, apply wisdom.

8.  You `re is not the same as Your .  I just want to hit people when they say " Your looking good" or " Your acting goofy" whichever is applicable.  It is you are looking good or you are acting goofy.

9.  Chose Morgan for Engineering

[b]$300 to ASSIST a fellow nairalander[/b]Let me do the analysis.
SEVIS fee is $200
Western Union Service Charge is $12.99
MTA Day pass is $3.50 (Take note, Day pass- 24hrs, MTA, Maryland)
Total = $216.49

Your Profit = $300 - $216.49 = $83.51

Umh, be your brothers keeper,

I believe everyone knows someone in the US who will not charge them one cent for a favor. I personally have had to help 4 (FOUR) people make SEVIS payment at no cost to them. This is what this board is for. You all have been good at watching each others backs. DONT STOP for financial gain.
The economy may be bad but, common!!

Re SEVIS Fee
This is my experience.  I live and work in the US.  I tried to pay my brother` sevis fee using my credit card, as soon as I entered the SEVIS no, I got the message that I CAN NOT pay for applicants fee using a credit card.  Only western union quick collect or money order is acceptable.  I used money order.
I used western union quick collect for my sister`s friends (4 of them!!!!, lot of work, some americans can be daft!!!!).  The western union quick collect was easy.  SEVIS received the payment immediately, paid on saturday, they printed their receipts on monday (evening).
I agree with everyone that made the suggestion, get a friend that can help you make the payment using western union quick collect within the US

Sponsors
US sponsors are acceptable.  My husband was my brothers sponsor($32,000).  MY HUSBAND does not have the same last name as my brother.  I`m married to a man from another father and mother .  The consular asked my brother who is sponsoring him, he said "my sister and her husband, I also have some savings, shares and landed property".  
The statement of account he had has my husbands name.  But, its OUR money.  The consular asked him if his sister (me) is a US citizen, his response was YES

He asked him, how did she become a citizen, his response was I don`t know.  Her husband and her must have worked something out within themselves.  Clearly, he  doesn`t know or his response would have been she is a naturalised citizen.
 
The key is to say the truth.  Remember, whatever you want, when you pray, believe you have recieved it and it shall be given unto you )

Cities have mayor.  The mayor is like a local government chairman.  

                                                                                         

"chose civility"

@djuit1,
Not all student loan applications require a co-signer.  However, a co-signer will guarantee you a lower rate IF he/she has very good credit.  That being said, I don`t know too many people that`ll co-sign a student loan for someone.  I WILL NOT DO IT.  So, a lot of people just get a loan with reasonable interest rate.  Federal Stafford loan has a 6.8% (or thereabout) interest.  So use this as your yard stick.
Citi Loan is one company that offers student loan.  I got this website from a friend who got a loan from her school but her husband used this https://www.studentloan.com/findstudentloan/citiassistgraduateloan.htm#benefitsButton  
I`m not familiar with how it works so, please do your due diligence.

You may also want to check with your school to see what they have.  Apply for whatever aid they have even if they say you`re not eligible.  They can only say no.  You may be get lucky .

Per marriage, you can marry anytime but be sure you have all the right documents when you file to change your status.  Having only been here for 2months and getting married may raise too many questions from the uscis official.  But, again, when you decide to marry and where shouldn`t be anyones problem especially when you`re sure of what you`re doing.  
Whatever you decide to do, GL!

@Obeycity, You must be able to convince uscis that this is not arrangee. Do you have evidences? Pictures, emails, letters,, Remember, you don`t have to pay a lawyer. Get all your facts together before filing for change of status, this is very important. Emails, pictures that you took together will help with your case. Is she a US citizen? That`ll make it a lot easier. I wish you the best.

@oyewolejos, That is so true. It is very expensive for F1 students considering $1 is about N156 (Jeeze!!!). Like you said, bring your tuition to America and plan, plan, plan. I mean financial planning. Allow me to say this, if you get stuck, get a student loan, only if you get stuck and use it wisely. Having your I-20 taken away and being illegal in the US is TOUGH to say the least.

@Wilfrem, there are several schools in the US that will not require you to make a financial commitment before you`re issued a certificate of eligibility. Remember, that fee is non-refundable. When they say non-refundable in America, they mean "don`t you ever talk about that money again". Times are tough everywhere. They need that money as much as it hurts you to give them.
Again, my 2cents will be look for other schools.
There are several schools that dont require a down payment, application fee, GRE,GMAT, TOEFL.

@obeycity, getting married after only 2months in the US is more than a red flag. Please visit uscis.gov to see how you can become a US citizen/get a green card. Its not as easy and smooth as it seems. The lady/man you `ll be marring will not do it for free. It could cost you as much as $10,000. Would n`t you rather keep that money for your tuition ? You also need documents, evidences to show USCIS this is not an "arrangee wedding"

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I started reading your posts back in July/August when my brother was going to the embassy for his F1 interview. I must commend you. You are the best!!! Even though no one responded to my questions then, I learned so much from you all.
I put together a little something for him from your posts and voila, he got his visa. Eni ti a se loore ti ko dupe, bi olosa koni leru lo ni. (The one that we did a favor and refused to say thank you is like a thief steals ones belonging). Thank you all.
I never stopped coming here even after my brother got to the US.

@Ojap, America is not a bed of roses but, you can be whatever you want to be here if you dont stop. If you have to go to your international student office to tell them things are tough, do. Some schools will make you sign a kind of payment plan/contract. Some schools are very generous. They`ll change your status to in-state and you start paying in-state fee. BUT, you have to be on top of your class like someone said. You must be pushing for a GPA of close to 4.0 if not 4.0. I know its doable. I am a mother of 3, a wife, an engineer ( I work full time), a graduate student and probably the least you`ll want to know, an american ( ha ha ha, makes me laugh). I`m also proudly Nigerian. This is my 4th and final semester and my GPA has been 3.67, 4.0, 4.0. School is easy in America if you have a functioning brain.