₦airaland Forum

Submitted (Lagos) 16th of September and nothing yet today, 20th Oct. I called TLS on the 17th Oct, which was on Friday and their personnel said it's still with the consulate.
Although it's my first schengen visa. Maybe that's the reason for the delay.

Royals1st:
I’m a frequent traveler, but this is my first time applying for a French visa.

My application was submitted on September 23.

I’ve previously held five Schengen visas issued by Italy a mix of tourist and business visas , including both multiple-entry and single-entry types.

As of now, the application is still being processed, and my passport remains with the French Consulate in Lagos.

Congratulations, please share your transcript if you don't mind. Thank you.

xeexee7:
B1/B2 interview at Abuja today. Approved.

Debbieeeeeee:
I renewed July 2023 when it was 5 years, I was scared I’d be called because I was called in 2019 after I submitted for Dropbox and then I didn’t have a baby so it was just guesswork on their part, 2021 no Dropbox had to do interview they didn’t ask me anything regarding baby thankfully but then also I didn’t have a baby it was the 2021 one I used to birth in 2023 and renewed as soon as soon as I got back.
Since 2024 na para mode embassy Dey.

Na serious para mode o , right in front of me were 3 ppl with 221G and all 3 were refused although it had nothing to do with childbirth. 2 out of those 3 were women too. I guess they didn't scrutinize your application because you had gone to the embassy twice already and at no point did childbirth come up . It's still going to get better.

Sir, I am not sure I have misled anyone with what I earlier mentioned. I only just stated what the visa officer told me. She said and I repeat that birthing with B1/B2 visa stopped since 2020. Well, except you know better than the visa officers or she doesn't know her job then you can do with the information what you please. Specific to only me? Like USA singled me out and said childbirth should be stopped for only me in 2020. I like how ppl pick the information that suits them. The ppl you know that birth in the USA from 2020 to date, have any of them renewed in Lagos in 2025?

babyfaiz:
Madam, stop misleading people. You of all, should understand that these things are case by case. From your previous posts, you’ve been traveling to the US solely (primarily) for child birth. All your visa interviews and POE transcripts are written against your name and it wasn’t a surprise that the VO warned you specifically about a new childbirth rule. This thing is case by case and I know 4 moms that have gone to have their babies in the US without issues. No! Birth tourism with b1/ b2 did not end in 2020. It only states - intending applicant of a b1/b2 should not get a visa for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States to obtain U.S. citizenship for their child. Note “primary”. For anyone getting a visa for vacation and you decide to use it for childbirth wouldn’t be a problem as long as you were not pregnant before the interview and you declare your true intentions to the cbp officer. What the VO told you was specific to you.

Debbieeeeeee:
I respectfully disagree with this perspective, as it seems to have sparked the notion that many Nigerian women are going abroad to give birth. Why are other nationalities not being subjected to the same scrutiny? The trend of sending change of intent letters has undoubtedly played a role in this situation, particularly towards individuals from Nigeria. Vietnamese, Chinese, indians and others even do birth tourism than Nigerians but Nigerians are the most affected even before the crash of our economy.

Yes I renewed my visa in 2023.

It was a lot easier back then because I also renewed early January 2023 and I wasn't called for an interview. This was before they started issuing 5yrs visa. I have not seen a lot of women in 2025 without 221G. Someone I know had her baby in 2023 and quickly renewed her visa Aug 2024 and she was issued 5yrs visa. It changed this year, it is not as easy as it was.

Mamaiyanu:
Please is there anyone using their previous B1/B2 visas gotten before pregnancy to go and give birth recently? I have a valid US visa and I have travelled with it twice before. Can I use it to give birth? If not, what are my options? Do I send letter of intent or do I request for another interview?

Please help guys

Think about your renewal before you proceed. Birthing with B1/B2 visa stopped since 2020. While some ppl are still birthing in Yankee till date, think about renewal. The consular mentioned this to me in March, also look up the previous page. You will see that another person posted the same thing I have just said. If you decide to take the risk, choose your POE wisely.

Birthing in the USA with a B1/B2 visa stopped since 2020 (the consular mentioned this during an interview). Don't jeopardize your future renewal, try other countries like Brazil, Barbados, Mexico or Canada.

Mamaiyanu:
Hello House

I have a 5 year US visa that I have used to travel twice before. I am currently pregnant and want to use it to give birth. Can I still use it for this purpose? Can you advice me on what to do? Do I send a letter of change of intent or do I re-apply and request for another interview to state my intent?

My husband and I submitted our passports for IW and his visa was issued and I was asked to schedule an appointment for a follow up interview

Me: Good morning ma'am

VO: Good morning

VO: Why are you travelling ?

Me: My family and I are going to Chicago for a 3 weeks vacation in July.

VO: you had your kids in the USA

ME: Yes ma'am in 201.. and 201..

VO: How much did you pay?

ME: I paid $7,000 and $10,000 respectively (I was trying to bring out my receipts and letter of none indebtedness) and she told me to keep the docs away.

VO: That was very low for Childbirth, you got some discounts.

ME: No ma'am, i didnt( I was actually confused when I said no because I thought she meant government aid, which is prohibited for someone on a B1/B2 visa) then I proceeded to say my contract with the hospital was from the 35th week of pregnancy till birth. It would have been higher if I was taken care of from the first month of pregnancy.

V.O: so you got some discounts because you paid cash.

ME: yes ma'am.
.
VO : When you applied in 201.., you mentioned that it would cost $14,000
.
ME: No ma'am, I told him that my budget was $14,000 which was inclusive of flight ticket, accomodation, transportation and feeding . Then I proceeded to tell her that I gave him my budget sheet to that effect ma'am.
.
VO : How did you pay?

ME: With our bank cards.

VO : Did you access any govt aid?

ME : No ma'am, I didn't.

VO: your husband has a visa too

ME: yes ma'am, we both applied via IW and his visa was issued while I was called in for an interview.

VO: are you pregnant?

ME: No ma'am, I'm not pregnant and I'm done with childbirth.

VO: That's what you all say, note that childbirth with B1/B2 visa stopped since 2020. I am going to put this down now that if you birth in the United States in the next 5yrs, your visa and your husband's visa will be revoked. Tell your husband too, that his visa will be revoked if you give birth in the United States in the next 5yrs.

ME: Yes ma'am, okay ma'am.

VO: continued typing for some seconds and said alright, you may pick up your visa in 1 week and handed the white paper to me.

Me: Thank you very much ma'am with a big smile of relief.

P.s

After my first issuance, I had applied 2ce via IW and I wasn't called in for interview. Birthing with a B1/B2 visa is no longer permissible and it is on their website for further proof.

Yes, will post the transcript shortly. Although I had to book the follow up interview unlike yours.

AdisaMighty:
Have you gone for the followup interview?

Oh great. It was kinda obvious that was what they wanted to ask you. I was also given 221g and I knew mine was for childbirth.

AdisaMighty:
Sure:

Both: Greetings exchanged (+ gave a rehearsed plastic smile, every other thing after this was not rehearsed, sincerity matters)

VO: Why did you visit the US last year (I visited 4x within a year)
Adisa: Context first, I am a startup founder and it's fundraising season for us, I had meetings with investors and partners and the typical nature of these meetings is that there are always followup, rather than have extended stays, I had a lot of back and forth, mainly because I am usually busy in Nigeria

VO: Do you have any family in the US
Adisa: NO

VO: what's your future plan
Adisa: Hmmm... Expand our business within Nigeria, our customers are local ****

VO: I will be approving your visa (hands over white paper)

Congratulations. Can you please share a transcript so other ppl can have an idea on the questions you were asked ? Thank you sir.

AdisaMighty:
To encourage anyone that is going through the "refused"/ 221g thing. I did my followup interview today and it was straightforward. They most likely have a few things to clarify. At least that was my experience. As long as you didn't overstay, commit a crime or give birth, you should be fine.

I give glory to Jesus.

Track it here

https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?App=IV

Ozigu:
Please what is the typical response time for IW. I dropped on the 27th of February. Thank you

wifey1:
Good evening, pls does one pay to pick up passport at OIS lagos? If yes how much.

Yes, you pay N50, 250 for pickup. Or you wait for free DHL pickup about 7 days not too sure of the number of days .

AdisaMighty:
For 221g, won’t they return the passport also?

Your passport will be returned with a slip inside if it's 221G.

jennyhumphrey:
The Consular stated expressly that giving birth in the Usa with a visitor's visa is not permissible. She repeated it several times. Even if you send an email on change of intent, it doesn't make any difference. She didn't even bother to look at the hospital bills. I said I should share my 2 cents. Anybody with a way forward should please reach out.

This is very correct. They have been giving a lot of females that gave birth in the USA 221G and reiterating at the interview that birthing with a B1/B2 visa is no longer permissible.

Malevonent:
Ok, mine has changed to approved, with some long grammar about consular office reviewing again and cancelling if necessary - is that the normal message that accompanies approved?.

How long did yours take from approved to issued, then available at OIS for collection?

Yes, standard procedure. Someone's own took 48hrs from approved to issued. Then another 48hrs for pickup.

I don't think this really matters. Someone's appointment was 8:30am and she was done at the embassy before 8:30am in Lagos. They should be able to go in at the same time from my experience this year.

canadaman18:
I followed the advice shared regarding rescheduling a group appointment. The good news is I was able to pick the same day for both mom and dad , bad news is the appointment time is 30mins apart . I think 7.30am for one and 8.00am for the other.

Is there anyway this can be combined on the day of the appointment or will they have to be interviewed separately 30mins after each other?

Malevonent:
Wow that was super fast. Was it this year?.
How long b4 passport was then available for safety..

Mine is stuck on received since last week, on the ceac visa tracking website..

Yes, this February. Maybe they received a lot of applications last week. It may change tomorrow evening .

AdisaMighty:
None of the above. The longest I stayed was 3 weeks but visited 4 times in 11 months. mostly follow-ups on previous business deals. I am a startup founder, and it was fundraising and partnership season.

There goes the answer to your question . You have to let them know why you went to the US 4 times in 11months. Go with proof and say it as you have stated it here. A man was also given 221G. He was asked why he was in the USA for 3 months twice in 1 year. That is a total of 6months in just one year and he claimed he had a good job here in Nigeria.

AdisaMighty:
Has this happened to anyone after an IW? I have never over stayed, never committed a crime, Male so I did not have a baby or violate any rule I am aware of.

This may just be a case of random selection. Did you change jobs? Did you apply with someone that didn't come back to Nigeria ? What's the longest time you ever stayed in the US?

Malevonent:
Those that did IW /dropbox recently, pls how long did it take b4 status changed to approved or issued on the ceac website?

It took 4 days for it to change to approved after submission. Submitted Tuesday and it was approved the next Monday.

Milito:
My interview is in few days time!

Good people, what should I expect? What do I need to do to ensure a seamless and positive outcome?

Be firm with your responses. They hardly ever check documents so you have to convince them with whatever you want to say.

E.g what's the purpose of your visit? I'm going to Baltimore for a 2weeks family vacation in July.

what do you do? I am an engineer, I work with CNL( you can say a little bit about the company). They don't know what you are talking about unless you explain. It eases their job too. Make sure you have strong ties here in Nigeria. Dont let other refusals scare you.

Zebaby89:
They can’t be different.Pick dates that’s match .Before you could just use your ois appointment date ,but now ois seems to want ppl to come on the dates they picked on avits.

Thanks a lot.

Thanks for your response. I also have the same issue, so should I just choose consulate appointment and time then take my document to OIS for submission?

What if my OIS and Avitt dates are different ?

Kindly advice as I'm confused. Thank you.

whiteMandingo:
thats how they configured the system, IW and normal interview people are lumped together to struggle for dates................e no make sense

Bkoks:
Could you share location and how many days after completing the online application did you get the approval to submit email?

Location is Lagos. Requested before I slept and got the email around 6:30am the next morning (about 8hrs interval).

Onyinyeobi:
Thank you for the responses.I have tried tracking and it keeps telling me invalid reference number,then I sent a mail with just my passport no and got a reply that Mo status update for the passport number.If I can’t make it this week then I will cancel the plans to travel.So sad!

Does your reference number have O and you have been using 0 as a opposed to O or vice versa. Check this may be the case.

My friend and I Qualified for IW (48months) and I got approval for submission 1st December, 2022. Visa Approved 22nd December and issued 28th December. My friend submitted 2nd December, approved 9th and issued 13th December, 2022.

Just thought I should share this.

Have you been able to resolve this? I had the same issues and I called them on this number +234 811 975 3844 Nigeria Immigration Service. Tell them the issue and it will be resolved in a few hrs ( they are very helpful).

phebeansans:
Hello everyone. I have been trying to send the visa on arrival application to the Nigerian immigration website and it keeps saying their inbox is full. Please can anyone tell me how to overcome this problem as i dont have much time left.My flight is on Saturday.Thank you

Viola2017:
hello House,
I need to know how Visa on Arrival payment can be made using money order.I read where they said that the surname on the credit card must match that of the applicant and that is what i don't have at the moment so I'd like to use Money Order but it's not state on the Nigerian Immigration website.
However, if anyone has ever paid for you using his/her credit and the person's surname is different from yours, I'd like to know how you did it.
My plan was to have my host pay the money using his credit card then I'll give him the cash equivalent. thanks all.

Cash is now unacceptable. Please go ahead with the card you want to use. Someone offered to give us his card at the airport when we were having issues with ours and that wasn't discouraged. So I think you should be able to use it?

Iyaboonibipe:
Hello ma'am, pls how long did it take to get your VOA approval.

House, Has anyone gotten approval in the last 1 week?

O yeaa, I applied on Monday and it was acknowledged on Tuesday. Got the approval on Friday afternoon and my flight was sat morning. Please make sure u pay online( so u won't be delayed ) as cash is no longer acceptable. I only found out this morning when I arrived. Paid $180 with a US card.

Good afternoon sir, please I have sent emails for visa on arrival twice now and it keeps bouncing back saying their mailbox is full. Is there any other thing I can do or should I just keep trying ? Please assist . Thank you.

ozymes:
Hello, I be sir oooo. Anyway, I can see you already have the address.