AAESO:




Nawa o...I have a 221g coming up soon and reading all this stories my energy is deflated.

Like Chloe00 said go with faith... don’t let refusal stories get to you

prunchee:
I think we all should give USA a long rest for now and save our money or put it to better use.
I was at the embassy some days back and a lot of people had gone before me, no one was given Visa, not even the elderly . I sincerely don't know what's happening.
My experience with a black American woman VO, I applied with hubby and son.
We: Good morning
VO: Good morning, can I have your passports.
Me: *hands it over
VO. Why do you want to go to the US
Hubby: for Vacation and childbirth
VO: where do you work?
Hubby: I work for a multinational company called ****** and I also have investment and run 2 of my own companies.
VO: asks me also
Me: I run my business it is a ***** company
We were bringing our documents out to show her company registration and letters and bank statements of each company (of which we had thousands of dollars in one of our bank statement) and personal bank statement
VO: don't give me any documents, I didn't ask for them, when I want I will ask for it. *Then she asks hubby* where have u travelled to?...
Hubby: Uk twice I was there just last month, Italy, France, Netherlands.
Me: *( I have not had time to travel, work, baby etc)* I have not travelled before, not really had d time for a vacation.
VO: * typing on her computer* where do you plan to go.
Hubby: Texas we have a doctor's appointment from the women's ****
VO. *Cuts him short, raising her hand* It's ok...... * Typing long on her computer
My son was even playing with her and repeating most of the things she was saying and we were smiling and laughing including herself.
Then she hands over the yellow slip, telling us
Vo: I'm sorry u are not eligible for the Visa, u can read about it on the paper, thank u
Me and hubby were shocked, she refused to check our documents, I had a budget sheet of 19k dollars, wch I was willing to spend because of renewal denial rate, ( I had saved enough to spend that amount) I was so weak and perplexed.. after being on d queue for so long preparing everything, we had about 4 bank statement loaded... She refused to see any....
It is well.... I just think we should stop pumping the USA with our hard earned money or better still anyone denied Visa should be refunded afterall, it's called "Visa fee", y pay money when you won't get the visa.
My own 2kobo

Sorry about your refusal, getting a us a visa these days is almost impossible, have been refused thrice, despite being to America over 4 times on two visas.
The US embassy Abuja had a live chat on Facebook a few weeks back where various questions bothering Nigerians where answered by the consulates and the issue of visa fee refund after a refusal was tackled . They indirectly stated that the visa is free, the fee paid is actually used for the application process of the visa, So it’s an Application fee. For that reason a refund after refusal is not possible.

Saw this on @usembassyAbuja(Twitter)...Tomorrow at 2:00PM WAT, Embassy Consular officers will be on Facebook to address your visa questions and demonstrate how to complete the DS 160 form. Join us! ow.ly/uYc050pZWwE

Apparently, a lot of people have been venting on their Twitter handle about the high rate of visa refusals lately and the consulate is saying its because our Ds160 forms aren’t filled correctly... lol

On another note, I used henrico for the delivery of my second child(2016) and I got the itemized bill on request... the discount on the bill is about $16k.

Please stay away from henrico as Advised by others.

drafrican:
Na wah o “Medicaid era” phew[b]
But whats d solution to innocent benefactors of this.
Should we be blamed or issued warnings cos my point is ok they deny those people visas so are you later going to grant them visas or u have banned them for life ,thats my curiosity .
How long does this refusal pumishment last for
[/b]
Also ve gone online ve not seen these hospitals we used charged for insurance fraud which is d normal practice cos there are strict rules about who qualifies for medicaid.

We need more clarity but then how do we get it!!!

Also remember that monthly some staff are paid wherher they work or not so this may just be a way of breaking even not that its a fraud thats what ve thought also insurance companies decapitate we dont,most pple there pay monthly we pay bulk cash these are factors to consider!!

The bolded has been my concern since my second refusal in December 2018, despite going with a well detailed letter from the hospital explaining the huge discount.I’m honestly considering reapplying just to ask how I can exonerate myself from this whole mess I didn’t consent to.. if the embassy is insisting that the hospital are running some fraud or scam whatsoever then, it simply implies that We are Victims and its unfair that we Nigerian get to pay for it.

On another note, my friend told me about a lady her visa was refused based on her previous bill, she had a total bill of $4500 and tried to renew for another birthing trip. After her refusal, she got a hospital that quoted 33k for child birth, her husband paid 20k upfront, she got an interview date and her visa was ISSUED.

Mumbuk731:



Hello Great people,

Thanks at fehinebony i just received my passport and receipt returned.
To God be the glory my Visa was approved.
Thank you for the encouragement and this thread has been so helpful right from 2015 when i went to give birth.

thank you all

Congratulations! I’m genuinely happy for you!

ty01:


I guess so too. My 6 months+ pregnant wife and I and two kids met a male VO and it was a success story; the four of us were granted the visa. I honestly thought he was going to deny us at some point as he kept on typing and typing and typing like forever and suddenly asked ‘you already had two kids in Nigeria, so why the US for this one?’ My wife was going to answer but I told her to allow me. So I responded by saying ‘well, we were already planning a beautiful vacation in Texas when we discovered we were going to have a baby and we were like what better way to have our last baby. Being the last pregnancy, hopefully, I intend to give my wife the best delivery experience ever and would love that our other kids witness it as well. I am hoping you wouldn’t deny us this anticipated beautiful moment - with a smile.’ The VO took a deep breath, typed briefly and then for the first time checked my passport. He asked if the UK visa on it was for family vacation as well and I answered in the affirmative. While he was typing yet again I bent towards my first son and whispered audibly, ‘ you’re going to America son’ the VO paused at this point and said ‘I heard you’ while he smiled and then said ‘I have approved you visas bla bla bla.’ I rubbed her tommy, kissed her on the forehead before even telling the VO thank you. He then said safe journey and wishing you a memorable delivery. I may be wrong though, but my experience with the male VO was different, the other lady VOs denied every single person while we were there.

Awww.... congratulations, wish you guys a safe delivery!

Mumbuk731:
please ma, was your visa granted and how long did it take?
thank you

My visa wasn’t granted, the blue refusal paper was used to wrap my bills.... this is not to discourage you, everyone’s case is different...
Be hopeful!
It took A week and some days including Xmas and Boxing Day holidays

Ejiroogidi:
Good day all,I sent my passport in for renewal of my visa in December,passport was sent back with a 221g paper.
I tried to schedule a follow up appointment and got a date this same January.
On the 221g form,I was asked to bring my bills for child birth.
The interview day came and we were 171 people for 8.05am appointment mainly 221g.
It got to my turn and the VO asked my purpose for traveling and I said holiday.
He looked at his computer and asked why how long I stayed in the us the last time and why I stayed for 2 months.
I replied and told him,child birth.
He asked to see evidence of payments.
I started giving the receipts one after the other and explaining the receipts to him.
He then told me that the average cost of birth in Texas is $33,000 and my hospital bill is showing way below that.
He said taxpayers get to bear the burden of this underpayment and the government.

I then showed him the mail I sent Dr X when I took in and and the bills I was sent from both Dr X and HNWMC. I told him I paid what I was asked to pay and even have receipts for as little as passport photograph I took for the baby at the passport office. He smiled and continued typing.
He asked what other countries I have been too and I told him,Canada,Uk,Spain,France,Germany,South Africa,UAE,Belgium etc.

Congratulations on your visa approval ... it seems the male VOs are more considerate in matters relating to this.

Mumbuk731:
Good Day people,
I went for the 221G interview yesterday and the VO requested for all the bills i paid when i went to give birth in 2015.I had 15k plus from the hospital for myself and 2k plus for my son excluding other practice bills and i gave her all the bills i did not make any copy at all for myself and she gave me a another 221G paper stating administrative process.
My question is that will they return my bill back to me or i should wait for any other update before i send an email.


Please house i need information from any body that have experiencing this ie will i get my document back and also how long does it take for the adminstrating process.

thank you

The same happened to me, you will get an email notification indicating that your passport is ready, all your bills will be returned with your passport.....

Greatg0809:

Pls ma complete the story, so we can learn

After my 221g interview, I contacted the hospital via email and they responded immediately explaining the circumstances concerning my bill and sent a letter typed on their letter head
On December 19th 2018, I was at the Lagos embassy with the letter I got from the hospital explaining in details the reason for the discount on my bill, the VO was not ready to listen to me cause she felt her colleague already made a decision during my last interview which she agreed with stating that there can’t be any justification for the discount( she was pointing at her computer screen while saying this ) she told me how expensive it was to have a baby in the USA and there was no way the amount I paid was realistic. I told her the amount she was emphasizing on was just my hospital bill and that I paid my doctors fees separately amongst other bills but she wouldn’t listen, I pleaded with her to at least read the letter, she said the letter was not the bill and she wasn’t interested.. it wasn’t a funny session, I begged her again to accept the letter as that was the only reason I schedule another interview, she then asked me to read it to her, while I was reading, the VO cuts in and insisted I had no case. she came up with other stuffs like I didn’t inform the embassy I was pregnant when I got the visa, told her I wasn’t pregnant and asked her to do the math( she actually counted and realized I wasn’t pregnant)also told her I sent a letter of Notification of intent( not change of intent) after I retuned from my first trip to the USA (2014)before my birthing trip(2015)and declared my intention upon arrival in the USA, and I was sent for secondary inspection. Then I tried persuading her again to have the letter (at this point I was in tears) she then asked why my trip to the US was so important to me? I told her the trip wasn’t but I will be applying for a study visa at another country’s embassy and I will be asked about any refusal from other embassies which I can’t lie about, a continuous refusal from the US embassy might jeopardize my chances of getting my study visa seeing that have been to the US severally(6 times)in the past and also it might affect my UK visa renewal in the future, she asked for the letter and all my bills and said the embassy will get back to me after further investigation. She then mentioned that I might get the visa and I might not, I told her I understood and thanked her for collecting the letter...
Tracked my visa status 1st of January... I was refused!
Picked up my passport today with my wrapped in the blue refusal paper...
My next visit will probably next year, hopefully the itemized bill issues would have be resolved.
My first visa was in 2014 renewed in 2016 without any issues...
My last trip to the USA was in April 2018

OmoBendel24:


Good you are putting this out though. I however wonder if this refusal of your visa renewal could be birthing related - at least from all you have written here - on a more serious note, I greatly doubt that. @Ninab if I remember quite clearly did renew hers lately. She did use HNMC I think too, that comes cheap compared to the 10k+ yours costed you and the 15k+ you are advising too.

Something else may have gone wrong with your renewal because you stood on all fours with the US authorities per birthing processes from what one can deduce from your post, kindly put out a transcript in that direction too, if you haven't previously sha, it may help others and even you when others take a look too. It can't be this bad just yet, hardly....

In my opinion I think the refusal lately is deliberate. My husband was called for a 221g follow up interview in November 2017. The VO asked why he was in the US 3months, he told the VO he was there to support me while we were expecting our 2nd baby, No document was asked for and he was refused. We then agreed to wait for 6month so he could go again. After I saw afrobrown2000’s post about his wife’s visa interview, I encouraged my husband to try again and he got his visa after a 20mins vigorous interview session ( this was in February 2018) he registered his displeasure about the 221g interview and asked the VO if it was crime to give birth in the USA and she said it wasn’t, she then asked for the bills and other documents relating to his job/business... fast forward to my 221g interview in October, I was refused based on my itemized bill, the same bill my husband presented in February. The VO inferred that I must have benefited from some government aid because the discount I got was outrageous($9k)She mentioned she paid $21k when she had her child and that there is no where in America that the hospital bill will be cheaper than that. I Insisted I paid what the hospital quoted, showed her a corresponding email that indicated the price prior to delivery but she said the hospital did not know what they where doing. She asked me to explain why I was given so much discount, I told her because I paid upfront but she was not satisfied ......I was given the blue paper(continued In the next post)

Ameera2018:
What would be your advice for people like us who had obtained B1/B2 visa's before getting pregnant because i am really getting confused.

I had my B1/B2 visa before getting pregnant, I found out I was pregnant barely a week after my initial visa interview ( it was mentioned during my interview) but I travelled for a 2weeks vacation first, sent a notification of intent and travelled for birthing after wards.
In these present time, I won’t suggest you send an email as the response will definitely be same as the one above. Except you are ready for an interview which the chances of getting a visa is slim.
If you can travel before your delivery good, if otherwise hold on to God in prayers. Getting a US visa now requires Devine intervention.
Wish you all the best!

Grubsk:
Hello everyone,

I really need your help; I have a B1/B2 valid visa which I have use before; am due to travel in February and I sent an email to the embassy informing them that I would be traveling to have my baby and I got the below response from them less than an hour ago. Please I need advise on how to book a second appointment and what to expect. Thanks

“Thank you for your inquiry.

Our records indicate that you applied for a different purpose of travel during your recent interview and/or DS-160 form submission. As your purpose of travel has now changed significantly to include medical treatment in the United States, you will need to return to the Consulate for a second interview. Please note that your visa is not valid for travel at this time.

For your second interview, you should bring all available information related to your planned medical treatment including correspondence with your doctor, the estimated cost of the procedure(s), any receipts showing prepayment for care, and evidence that you have the ability to pay for all costs while in the United States up to and including living expenses for yourself and any dependents. If the purpose of your travel is childbirth, you should also include a detailed birth plan.

If you have received any kind of medical treatment in the United States on previous visits, you will also need to bring evidence of payment of all fees and charges incurred to the interview. You should note any discounts or price adjustments received and indicate the source of these adjustments if known.



Regards,

Lagos Consular Section Chief

This confirms my assertion! there is a vendetta on Nigerians for US visa issuance especially for child birth related cases. I was at the Lagos embassy on the 19th of December for an interview following a 221g refusal due to my hospital zero balance ( story for another post)
My advice will be that you get a hospital that charges nothing less than $10k minus doctors fee and other charges.
During my both interviews, the emphasis was on the amount I paid for the hospital( $5000) despite stressing that I paid my doctor fee and some bills. I even mentioned the amount I spent on accommodation and living expenses but the VO told me it wasn’t her business and kept insisting the hospital bill was ridiculously small.
Note: after my 221g, I emailed my hospital explaining my experience during my interview and a letter stating in details the reason for the discount was sent, tried presenting the letter but the VO refused, insisting it was not a bill and the content was not her business..
The earlier you schedule your interview, the better.
I wish you all the best and pray God touches the VO that interviews you.

urblackpearl:



Hi. I got an response email from them today. they are on may 12th applications. so try wait a bit more.

My husband applied on 9th of may, we still haven't gotten any response from them yet

Please any updates on may applicantions? My hubby applied may 9th via paper route, we haven't gotten any feed back yet

Shawshank:
Also please has anyone on the forum used Henrico Doctors Hospital in Virginia? If yes, will you recommend the hosp? Thanks

Very lovely hospital, I rate them 5star! The nursing care is out of this world...had my baby on the 26th November had a beautiful stay there

Hopesprings:


Hi Fehinebony,

Tried to send you an email to ask a question about Henrico, can you please accept.

Thanks!

Ok

firsttymum:



Arik isn't 6 hrs
Turkish is 18 to 19 hrs

Arik doesn't have on board entertainment
Turkish has

U r sure of bassinet with turkish...
Not Arik

Infant is entitled to 23kg on turkish
Infant isn't entitled to luggage on Arik

U have to fly at 32 weeks on Arik
Turkish will carry u up to 35 weeks

My dear Then again preference... To u all these don't matter to another all these means a lot.

Are you sure about Turkish airlines infant baggage allowance? When I flew them to London it was 10kg for infants except it's different for yankee routes

cisco123:


I don't understand this love for Turkish airline as Arik is 6hr flight while Turkish is over 24hr flight.
I would honestly prefer to do 6hr to JFK then take local flight to Houston and forget that I even travelled than hope for the so called out of this world "in flight entertainment". My 2 cent

Arik is an eleven hour flight to jfk.truth be told the flight is not bad at all being a direct flight from lagos, the only ish is that there is no in flight entertainment, I flew them recently, them celebs sef fly them quite lot these days, tuface, flavour, tekno, kcee, kiss Daniel just to mention a few were on my flight to jfk. Have flown Turkish to London b4 and it has never crossed my mind to fly them again.

tolulope9009:


Hi Mummy koko. Sent a pm 2days ago but no response. May I know your exchange rate as I am interested? My email is tolulope9009@yahoo.com. Thank you!!

Hi Tolulope9009, please dear, can I send you an email? I need an info aspa henrico? Thanks as I await ur response

Fyorgyn:
Speaking of Medicaid and aid generally.

It's interesting how people who live in America actually encourage you to access health care for free- even hospitals encourage it too. I spoke to at least 7 people (friends and distant relatives)AFTER I got here and they (no exception) all said "if you had told me, you won't have had to pay anything to give birth here" and my response is always "I wanted to pay that's why I didn't contact you in the first place" (thank you Nairaland)

Yesterday my mum told a friend of hers who lives in the US that I was there to have my baby and the woman said the exact same thing!

I find it very interesting.

Its really alarming, I still had an argument about medicaid today and how we are being told not to accept it at the embassy ..I was also told one can even get government insurance sef, most of the Nigerians in America are the ones helping in defrauding the system.

Austine2020:
Why dont u book direct from BA website and pay naira equivalent at any GTB bank at the rate of 314naira per1 dollar as at today BA rate. And they will issue the ticket and sent to your Email.instead of using those Ticketing agents or Using your mastercard. Thats how i normally purchase my wife and kids BA tickets.

Its not an option anymore, I called their customer care to confirm, the only option now is to book via their customer care lines and it's usually not the same price as what is seen on their website.

AdomMum:
Hi Tolulope! LO and I are goodd. Thanks for asking.

Tests that i did:
Vitals (blood group, genotype, urinalysis,urine m/c/s, etc), chlamydia, gonorrhea, VDRL, HIV, Rubella, 2hrs Glucose Tolerance test, Hepatitis B, 3 ultrasounds at different stages of my pregnancy, Group B Strep ( but mine wasnt accepted cz they used urine to run the test instead of vaginal swab).

I dint do Pap smear in Naija cz of the usual story of being far gone into the pregnancy and the risk. Dint do it when i got here either maybe cz of how my first visit and labour went.

So, all my tests were accepted and i did not do any here. But i think the doc will request you do or redo a test he isnt satisfied with.

Prenatal visit entails you seeing the doctor, having a one on one discussion with him,going thru your medical records,requesting for tests where the need be etc. He's a friendly man so it's just a time for chit chatting and getting to know you and how healthy you are.
I hope i have answered your questions.

@ tolulope9009 thanks for asking.....@AdomMum thanks for responding
This info is very useful to me as i will be using the same doctor, my apointment with him is in 2wks. have all my test and 3 of my scan results. Plan to do the Group B strep with the doctor, am also glad to know the doctor is friendly.

ChuksCodar:
good day my friends have had a package sent to me since on the 3rd of September and have not been able to track it even on usps and nipost tracking site am really confused and sad cause i don't know what to do please can anybody help out this is the tracking number UH000132908US

Go to the nearest post office to confirm the status of your package. If it's a delivery sent from US to Nigeria, I doubt if it has arrived, it takes over a month sometimes 2 months sef , hence the reason you cant track it. Or it might be at the post office ....just Go to the nearest post office.

herrik066:
Its Q airline. Don't want Justwise hammer.

Thanks for your response

herrik066:
Cheap flight alert. Lagos- New York. 5star Airline. 15th September 2016 till 30th June, 2017. Sales validity period is till 5th September

Cost: N297,000

Please am very interested, biko help a sister

I have actually seen the visa on arrival banner at arrival terminal, (bodly written) meaning it's something that can be processed at the airport on arrival, however to douse the tension on this visa on arrival matter, for mums/ dad's traveling out soon, you can make inquiry from the immigration officers at the airport on your departure, there by getting first hand info on the process.