Aishat89:


Brother i didn't get any file attachments this was all i got fa

It's same for me.

Moshkom:


Send your email.

thank you very much for this. counselor.srchs@gmail.com

Please whats the latest interview date in Abuja and Lagos?

please who still has the doc compilation of visa transcripts?

,

Victoriaog:
Appointment date: May 19
Program start date: May 24

Considering the closeness, pls do you think it might pose as an issue. what can I do and that was the only available date

I had my interview a day to my resumption. some others had it within a week after their resumption and still got approved. you have no problem at all. but to avoid the worst case scenario, collect an extension letter from your school.

fdecisive:
Hello friends, I'm new here.
Got Fall admission and graduate assistantship, with a full tuition waiver, living expenses, housing and flight.
My Nigerian Uni seems to be delaying the sending of my transcript to the US, and of course without it, they will not release the I-20. US school intends to email the I-20 so I'm sure to get it with 48 hours of transcript getting there. I need that I-20 like yesterday...
I can already see interview dates in Lagos showing January 2022 (too late), and Abuja showing July, still too late. I don't want emergency.
Please anyone with useful info here should help a brother- connect, advice, etc. Still pressing exams and records to do the needful though. I feel like I should travel down there and gatecrash them till they send it. I want it to leave this week.

Lol, you got full ride, village people want to hold you down and you're asking of you should go down to the school. Guy! Go sleep for that school o.

Ivymich:
Happy Sunday everyone. Please anyone know if there are booklets in Delta or Benin? I was told no booklets in Warri. Kindly help. Thanks

I was told same too. Not in benin or Warri

Did anyone do their passport in Akure recently?

Bank450:
Hello,

I have submitted some applications for masters degree in USA and waiting for decision. I am positive I would be admitted because I submitted a strong application.

My concern is with the F1 visa interview, I am not big on funding as I am capable of funding myself. The main issue is will there be red flags if I am sponsoring myself?

How best can I position myself in front of the VO? what do I need to work on?

Please enlighten me on the pros and cons of sponsoring yourself for graduate school(masters).

Thank you

What kind of place do you work? how much do you have? If you're sponsoring yourself and your parents are not involved, then you should have almost times 2 of your COA so that the V.O won't think you'd starting working to pay for your second year or go out of status. Alternatively, If you have a good business here that you can go to the embassy with its bank statement, that would be good too. If you have none of this, still prepare well and try your luck. People have done this and gotten approved before.

May93:
Hi guys,

Asking for a friend

She gained admission and her uncle wants to sponsor her coupled with her savings.
The course she's going for is completely different from her academic background and current job, however, a career change is the goal as she intends to move to a different country after school(almost gotten her Permanent Residency) and practice in the new field.

Do you think she stands a good chance of getting the visa if she shares all these at the interview?

Please we will like as many takes on the matter as possible.

Thanks

I don't think she has anything to worry about, as long as she's already working in the new said field

Krissy01:
Hi guys I need your honest opinion on this, like put yourself in my shoes and tell me what you would do. ok so I started this studying abroad journey back in 2019 I was fresh out of high school and didn't plan on schooling in Nigeria, Canada has always been the only country on my mind. So I apply to one school in Canada, university of Manitoba, Winnipeg I was granted admission in November 2019 and applied for visa December of that same year, my decision envelope came and I was denied because of insufficient fund not because I didn't have the money the account wasn't funded so we funded the account and applied again and I forgot to add am not the only one going it's me and my junior sister and when I mean wasn't funded the money there wasn't enough for two people. So we funded the account and applied again in February 2020 and yes we we're using an agent so I didn't get any response from the embassy till October when only passport was returned without it being stamped and a little note which says Decision making is still in progress, final decision not taken I found that weird but since they gave a reasons I kept on waiting sending emails and webforms till February when I reached out to my agent and he said he got a mail from IRCC and he needed to see us privately and I was like wondering what went wrong so we met up with him only to tell me I've been banned from Canada for 5years for misrepresentation. Turns out IRCC already sent him an email since October to respond to clear their suspicion about misrepresentation and my agent didn't respond to them neither did he let us know about it until he was arrested, This was the same for my sister. I posted that on nairaland asking for you guys help and so on, i was told to avoid these countries:US UK Australia and New Zealand because they share the same database with Canada. Now I've searched for countries and I've come to the decision that Germany was ok for both me and my sister I've even picked two schools already and yes I'm going for a Bachelors degree and I plan to study anything relating to business, it could be marketing, business admin.,management e.t.c. ok so now I've spent 2yrs at home already and all my classmate are in school and I don't want to waste this year again on a country that would waste my time and money then not grant me visa and with what am seeing they said booking Appointment date with Germany is like asking the Nigerian government to pass a death sentence bill for (financial) corruption which is a first red flag for me like I don't have have another year to waste I want my application to move smoothly. my question is do you have any know European country that I could try I mean put yourself in my shoes and tell Me what you would do? At this point I'm confused and No schooling in Nigeria is not an option neither is schooling in Ukraine Cyprus or turkey so pls I need as much opinions as I can get

Hello brother, your story really touched me and every day we learn that doing it ourselves is the best and not to use any agency of any kind. I finished high school in 2013 but just started school last year august so you have a lot of time ahead of you. Don't be bothered about your friends in school, everyone has their own path and I believe you have chosen the right part.

Now, if you want to make progress, you have a lot of research to do. I know for a fact that public schools in Germany, Norway, Belgium and some other scandinavian countries are tuition free. It appears your parents can pay for the living expenses so you are good to go. Start making your research and reaching out to people who are already there.

fantabulous08:
Hello everyone. I graduated with Bsc Biochemistry and I intend applying for MS Biology (concentration in Cancer Biology) for fall'21. Though I have applied to some few schools. However, I got a conditional admission into Jacksonville state university for fall'21 and I'm waiting for their funding decision as it is not out yet. I'm open to any information as regards JSU GTA and to what extent "conditional admission" can make or mar an applicant at the visa interview.

I wish to apply to more schools (those that accept below 2.5 GPA) with either full or partial funding. I'll be gad if I can get vital information concerning this.
Here is my profile:
Undergraduate GPA: 2.67/4.0 ( WES evaluated)
TOEFL score: 73
I'm currently preparing for IELTS and GRE so as to boost my profile. Please I am open to all suggestions and help. Thank you in advance.

I doubt they would consider you for funding on a "conditional" admission.

Futuragetty:

I have been admitted to vanderbilt for fall21. I was hoping dates would be available until late July. Biko, Can anyone confirm this?

More dates would open up as time goes on. Congratulations on Vanderbilt, I'm sure it came with full ride.

Pinkyminel12:
Will I be able to get F1 visa if the school I am going to is a private school? And if I am studying undergraduate nursing?

yes

Abone2:
Sorry about the denial. The VO probably does not trust that he will return to the country. He is the home tie you have, and with him coming over too, VO thinks there's no sufficient home time.
What kinda job does he do?
how long has he been doing the job?
how long did he fill on the ds160 as intended duration of stay?
who was suppose to sponsor his trip?

Lot of things VO may have seen in the ds160 that won't make him/her ask many questions during interview. Answers to these questions may help guide on way forward.

I think one thing we also have to acknowledge here on NL is that some VOs have a pre-concieved notion when they see applicants and they don't want to bother themselves asking questions and this is not about the applicant's DS-160. If the V.O wants to actually know why he's travelling, the next thing should be to ask him the type of work he does or if he has a strong business here but none of that was asked. I wish him luck and a better V.O in his next interview.

Malone122:
Please hello everyone I have a question is US embassy currently accepting interview bookings ??

Also can an international student go for an interview for summer 2021 session

yes

Tenhems:
Hi I have been a silent observer for a while now, and this thread has been helpful. Pls is there anyone single parent here that has travelled with a child on a student visa?

you can travel with your child on a student Visa, no hassle whatsoever. Just apply F-2 for him too.

PimpinPips:
Is anyone going through this too, please?

Can't seem to figure what's wrong, cos everything's been done accordingly and visa fee paid for, only to get this.

keep checking at regular intervals. You can also change from lagos to Abuja to see if dates are available

Damian457:
Guys...I’m traveling to USA in 2 week time. I learnt from my Travel agent that all travelers are required to do a Rapid covid 19 test which will cost another 37k at the airport in addition to the one take at the laboratory . Regardless the airline
How true is this? Help please help

it's true, at least it was when I traveled. But you'd do it before, not at the airport.

Ykxcels:
‘’How Many Rejections Now? 10!’’
How I got a Fully Funded Master’s Scholarship in The United States of America.

It had always been my desire to study abroad right from high school. So fast forward, having seen my final year result, graduating with a first class, I took 7 days off praying and fasting to ask God for the next agenda, what is next in His will? God began to speak to me about going abroad and confirming it in outstanding ways, details withheld. Okay, what destination? Having consulted with my Professors, my priority was Canada, USA and manageably UK. What do I need to get scholarships? Get my transcript, international passport, take IELTS/TOEFL and write GRE. While planning all these I was also praying towards my NYSC and God was telling me some things which were not very clear to me until I got to Ogun State NYSC Orientation Camp in Shagamu. Then it became very clear that though I have obeyed the clarion call of my fatherland, there was a demand of my father God on me that year to serve as State executive at Nccf Ogun , March 2018 to April 2019. It was a great sacrifice which took a lot of my time and attention because I was also serving as a Graduate Assistant, in the Electrical / Eletronic Engineering department at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, (MAPOLY), Abeokuta. And, I was lecturing. How I got my placement there is a story of faith for another day. Thank God service year ended and I was asked to apply as an Associate Lecturer by my HOD who wanted to keep me but somehow the application was declined by the Dean. I had applied for Mastercard Scholarship of McGill University, Canada, 3 Commonwealth Shared Scholarships (CSC), EducationUSA OFP and the PTDF scholarships while serving and they all looked promising. Despite the rigor of being the State Rugged, I stayed up late every night punching the computer, reviewing my application essays and the likes.

When my application was declined at MAPOLY, I moved to Lagos to stay with one of my mentor’s mentees, who works with Shell. I never knew he had been following my What’sapp status and by the kind of things I post there, he had judged that I am someone he could accommodate to stay with him, support and bring up to speed while I get sorted my applications. There in his house, I had access to electricity 24/7, food 24/7, even though I had already became a fasted man in NCCF. I settled down preparing for my GRE and though it was good, it wasn’t good enough for me with a score of 311. I could not write TOEFL or IELTS because of money and since many schools waive it. While preparing for GRE, the first rejection letter dropped. It was McGill’s, then the 3 CSCs and then the PTDF scholarship. After so much investment in preparation for the interview, I was not awarded. Then, I applied for Skoltech scholarship, a school in Russia, it was not successful. I applied for Mastercard Edinburgh, declined! Chevening, it failed then FSB Commonwealth Masters. I even paid a consulting firm to review my application, it failed. I was also applying to schools in the US But the problem was writing to Professors, requesting for GRA/GTA and getting no response.

How many rejections now? 10! While in this struggle, I got the idea to write to professors in Covenant University, to volunteer as a Research Assistant with anyone in line with my research interest, drawing from a scholar who challenged me by telling me, I didn’t have any online research presence apart from social media. He said the first thing most professors do when they get your mail is to put your name in Google to know if you have been in the corridor of research work and publication, to know if your mail is worth their reply. Personally, I did not know anyone in Covenant University so I went through the school website, went through the CVs of some lecturers in the Electrical and Information Engineering Department and I wrote to 5 of them. I made contacts in Unilag, especially because I had a comfortable accommodation at Surulere, and OAU because I could be accommodated in our mission house in Ife and I would be able to survive on tutorials. I got accepted into the 3 – OAU, Unilag, Covenant for voluntary research assistant work. I got a response from one of the Professors in Covenant who was willing to take me but on a condition - no accommodation, no stipend! That was a great challenge especially for someone from my background but I had learnt to walk by the leading of the Holy Spirit. September 2019, I resumed at Advanced Signal Processing and Machine Intelligence Lab, Covenant University Centre for Research, Innovation and Development, Covenant University and, by December, I got a scopus-index paper published in a conference held in Madrid, Spain.

After this I started getting a few responses from the Professors I was now contacting in the US. I kept writing, I kept searching for schools and I kept applying to schools. I applied to 6 schools in the US, I was getting admitted even for direct PhD but full funding was the main challenge. In another 3 months, by April, 2020 I had already gotten 4, all scopus-indexed publications, with one as the first author, and 2 other ongoing journal papers. I also got a fully funded scholarship to do my master’s at Covenant University with World Bank project under the supervision of my Professor but with a condition that I was not going to travel abroad untill I am done with the 2 years. That was the first opportunity in two years but, I had to decline it even though I was yet to secure one scholarship abroad because while I prayed about it, I heard God telling me that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. I also remembered how in March, while at a church anniversary meeting, the guest minister from nowhere picked me up and began prophesying about my journey abroad with some instructions and revelation of the future and so I did not seek counsel with any human being until after I had declined it. I did not want to be pitied out of God’s plan for my life.

Shortly after, Covid-19 broke out, and with it, the global lockdown and ban on international flights, all hopes became very gloomy. Those who had secured scholarships even in the US prior to this time were being faced with the possibility of losing them. I know people who lost theirs, how much more I who was still just hoping to get one. Anyways for me, it was a journey of faith with God saying to me ‘let the bird in your hand go for two in the bush’. Who does that? My faith had built from faith-based teachings I had been listening to, I soaked myself into them and interacted with friends of like-faith who in the heat of the lockdown, started a whatsApp group where we pray and share God’s word with each other, just the three of us. In the lockdown, our lab was not locked down and I was working on some research work when we got this grant from the university to design and build an automatic solar powered water, soap and sanitizer dispensing machine with automatic temperature sensing functionality which we were also working on. This was the 8th month of volunteering without any pay. How was I being accommodated and fed? Those are testimonies of grace and favor for another day. God is too faithful to fail His children who serve and call upon Him in truth. Meanwhile, I was not really scouting for jobs. Maybe I would have gotten one, but that was not in the plan I received when I was leaving campus after my week-long wait in fasting and prayers.

Then came this fateful day, the last Friday of May 2020. we had just finished our normal weekly research cluster meeting and I was about to close my computer to leave the lab when I refreshed my mail and saw a strange email subject titled ‘Assistantship offer and SEVIS form’. I opened it and could only manage to read it halfway as tears roll down. A fully funded master scholarship worth thousands of dollars. The application fee was waived, my documents were sent free of any charges, I didn’t have to pay a dime, it was all covered and overflowing. Even if I were to bring a spouse, she would be covered as well. What a great God! I was to resume for the fall which was in August, 2020 but because of the international flight ban in Nigeria, I had to defer it to spring 2021, which is January. And so, for the first time in my life, I was on board an an airplane, on a flight to the United States of America. This is my third week in the US and everything has totally changed. Everything I struggled for in Nigeria, I am settled with in the US. I can clearly see pathways to the kind of future I desired and ofcourse fulfilling God’s master plan in the earth is my priority.

Eventually, I spent 14 months volunteering in Covenant University, and though I was not paid by my Professor, the school paid for every scopus-indexed publication and I was able to achieve the following:
1. Two fully funded scholarships; one declined, one accepted and one pending interview results
2. Assisted with Experimentations on Machine Learning Techniques Towards the Development of an Automatic Nigerian Currency Recognition Model, and published a conference paper.
3. Conducted research on Automatic Modulation Recognition Using Cepstrum Descriptors and Feed-Forward ANN and then using Constellation Diagrams with CNN for publication as two journal papers
4. Researched on the Transmit Power of a Universal Software Radio Peripheral Using GNU Radio Framework and a Handheld RF Explorer, published a conference paper.
5. Assisted with Experimentations with OpenStack System Logs and Support Vector Machine for an Anomaly Detection Model in a Private Cloud Infrastructure, and published a conference paper.
6. Three ongoing research works and manuscripts.

For me, the rejections were divine directions because even though I have left Covenant University, I am still a member of my Professor’s research cluster and we are still working and collaborating together on projects.

ykajalas@gmail.com

Congratulations brother, e nor easy. someday too, some of us wuld tell our stories. I pray your dreams come through

kastgeraldino:
I thought you need DS160 to schedule a visa date. Or am I missing something?

Your DS-160 number can always be changed, so even though you put random numbers and letters, it should work. Just dont change it less than 72 hours to your interview.

YakubuLagos:
Good morning everyone.

Thank God I found an educative thread like this.

I just finished my MSc in Information Technology.

The question is, can I go back to Engineering for my PhD with MSc in Information Technology? My B.Eng is Computer Engineering.

Also, which of the Nigerian universities can I proceed with for my PhD if the event I'm unable to proceed to Engineering? I discovered most Nigeria universities don't offer information Technology at PhD level.

Your guidance is paramount to my next step as I await your response.

Happy weekend in advance!!!

Please don't do your PhD in Nigeria. You have a masters already which increases your chances of getting fully funded PhD even if you graduated with 2.2 or 2.1

almeida3:
Join us now link in picture

just saw this now, is there a way I can watch the recorded version?

Friedpotato:
what is the process of getting full-funding for someone that majored in Education, say biology education. Would the person have to be looking for TA, RA or GA? can the person also apply for PhD?

what is the process of getting full-funding for someone that majored in Education, say biology education. Would the person have to be looking for TA, RA or GA? can the person also apply for PhD?

Adeola123vfm:
Hello, please I need clarity on this

1. A school is requesting I send my SOA to process my i-20. Can I send my personal SOA regardless of the balance, supposed it's a fully funded offer?

2. Will my name be automatically used as the sponsor on the i-20 or is there any implication of me sending my personal SOA to the school?

3. Can I make use of the statement of account that bank sends to one's mail every month or I need to go get it at the bank?

Bosses in the house ....please help answer this

most times, even with funding, they want an SOA that shows you have enough funds to pay for your COA in case you lose your funding.

Secondly, some schools put sponsors name on I-20, while some don't. So you have to use style to ask them or look for their international students on linked in to ask, so that you can know what to do.

I think for schools, you can make use of the emailed ones, it doesn't necessarily have to be stamped unlike the embassy's.

Victordbest:
Hi everyone! I have been denied twice at Abuja embassy. I went with MS I-20 with partial scholarship in 2019 and got denied. I also went with a PhD I-20 with assistantship and tuition waiver this January 2021 and got denied. Now I have deferred the admission till Fall 2021. Kindly help me as I be preparing for another interview

drop your previous transcripts

Curious2020:
I support this, but do you know that passing the mock isn't enough to get admission, you could pass the mock, get the sponsorship for standardized testing, ace the tests and still not gain admission—what a waste of resources when other students actually need it.

The mock could be conducted, olevel results and the equivalent should be considered too, ESSAYS one of the main factors that matters in getting into a US college, a 1500+ on the sat with average/bad essays or writing skills will end up in the reject pile. So I suggest:

MAIN FACTORS TO CONSIDER

1) Olevel or the equivalent + maybe the mock exam (if necessary) cuz IDK how he's gonna check if the students didn't cheat. This days the education system is corrupt, passing WAEC exam is Now about how fast you could write from the answers written on the board or dictated, especially private schools, people have A's they didn't work for na just settlement go make them pass.

2) ESSAY at least a 650 words essay is perfect to describe Why you want to study in the US, what you hope to achieve with your education and why you need sponsorship for the standardized testing, ability to write this essays well will help measure your chances of getting admitted into a college after getting the support instead of just passing the exam and getting rejected from colleges because of your inability to express yourself.

3) INTERVIEW: Ahh, if a student wrote WAEC in a miracle center, got someone to write their essays, this is the point to fish out such person, imagine getting straight A's, writing phenomenal essays and unable to defend yourself in an interview for an extremely competitive spot.

4) type of school attended, you mentioned less privileged, i believe my private school counter parts are doing well for their parents to afford 50k plus per term, how much is SAT? They'll support their children's future. Just leave it for public school students, Biko! unless they could prove that their parents can't actually afford it and substantiate the claim with genuine evidences.

PEACE!

hope you know this is too much stress for someone that just want to help.

People that traveled recently(within the last week), did the Nigerian authorities strictly request for a COVID-19 test result? My airline doesn't require it and I don't want to waste 50K to do it.

EmeritusR:
my visa was refused but this people still keeps sending me emails and messages related to passport pick up , they said isolo Lagos, Kaduna and Benin is temporary closing for US visa passport collections did anyone got the same information? the last time it showed that my passport is still with the US consulate in their portal for more than 10days.

when were you denied? and were you given your passport or it was taken for stamping?

nowhere:

Thanks.
I am in Canada, coming to Ogun State area for a month. Classes are online and I have to continue. I heard Spectranet will do. I will check the data plans and speed as its coverage of the area has been confirmed.

I don't think you should have any problem