Malcolm28:

I am headed to Houston, Texas. Someone got a studio apartment for $600 for me and is willing to help with arrangements for it but am still exploring some other options cos its on the high side. The 2 bedroom will be a good one if we the bill can be split. The snag however is that the guy helping me is too busy to scout around for me. The studio apartment he found is within the same apartment block he lives in.
will keep you posted. My facebook name is Ochi Ogewu David Malcolm I. lets connect.

Pls oo,is "Studio Apartment" another American name for "One Bedroom Apartment"?
Jst being curious though

bosunwizzy: Thanks so much coop.i gathered al my document all well and i left the hotel at obalende (bayland suite) around 5:30.after all the security checking at the gate.we are told to line up accordingly(immigrant)i enterd the waiting where i paid my visa fee in naira which is approximately 54,500.i was told to wait for the CO.after several hours of waiting.at around 11:54 my number was call 410 at counter 16 and i met the white man.he was so friendly with me.
CO:Gud morning with smile
ME:morning
CO:raised ur right hand to swear
ME:and i did
CO:are u dauda taofeek
ME:yes
CO:where are you work
ME:am working at a pricate laboratory as a med lab sci
CO:where
ME:at university college hospital ibadan
CO:u mean u are into lab test
ME: yes
CO:have u bin to U.S. A before or bin denied visa or visit and country before
ME:no
CO:who is adewale adebayo
ME:my bro (host in new york)
CO:ur relationship with him
ME:my brother
CO:position in ir family
ME:first born
CO:ur position
ME:am the last born
CO:where is ur mummy
ME:she is in U.S.A presently
CO:OK.CONGRATULATION SEE U IN AMERICA
he broughtout two papers 1 for uscis and the 2 is for the address to pick the visa.ALHAMDULILAHI.am planing to go by march cos of my last paper to write in skool.thanks to u guys am so grateful.INSHA ALLAHU will meet at the top

Congratulations!!!
May God see you through the next steps.

bobshina:


here is a link of my quick search for dis coming sunday jan 12, 2014:

(2 adult & a child)
http://www.priceline.com/airlines/fareResults.do?session_key=354A050A364A050A20140107041032734180163428&plf=pcln&jarmkey=3D4A050A3F4A050AhJ7kdArvUEOszeKV%239cMSA9675&INIT_SESSION=true


(you alone)
http://www.priceline.com/airlines/fareResults.do?session_key=364A050A344B050A201401070422580067f0178117&plf=pcln&jarmkey=404B050A3D4A050AaOqELTKSBEuihvmgsQF8xC8835&INIT_SESSION=true



you will also see a green button on top of the prices "big deals" to even name your own price.... i've used this to get several more discounts for my various trips !

Good luck !

Good people,wonderful thread.
God bless u greatly for rising up to the needs of the family.

pjogutum1: Pls. Come with your money to the US, even if you are going to stay with your parent or relation, because they can wakeup one day and ask you to leave, lts no joke. For family people with two children or more leave your family behind and come first accept you have up to $4000 on you to pay six months rent or you and your family will regret why you came to the US everybody here is crazy remember,Americans do not keep people in their homes. If not that I had money on me, i and my family would have been outside by now but thank God we got a one bedroom apartment in Dallas. Merry Christmas and Happy new year in advance as you join us in the United States of America to fulfill your dreams, thanks and God bless you all. Prince reporting from Dallas Texas.

Thank you for preparing my mind for the worst that culd happen.
Especially some of us going there to put-up with friends in the main time before we settle down
This is real food for thought.

exteababa:
1. i will advice u not to carry any food at all, cos of immigration checks, not only at lagos but at your point of entry, most white folks dont know anything about our african food, and i bet u dont want any wahala....and most of these foods are here in african stores. there garri, dried fish, poundo, anytn u want. save yourself of immigration trouble and heavy luggage .
2. its winter already and its very cold, so get your boot, winter jacket, head warmer as jjc u can get gloves too cos u dont want to get sick atall, medical bills here is just too high. get thick long socks too. ALSO expect cold in your aircraft
3. career in USA, number 1 is any course thats medical 2. IT courses 3. Engineering, then others follow..........
4. driving procedure, i you have naija DL go with it, it may save you some money and test. if not your host will direct you to a DDS office where u will get your manual free, before you can do a road test u will need your SSN and state ID ( requirements vary from state to state) and immigration documents. you will do a computer test first then if u pass u will do a road test.
5. my dad is my host so am at home. but 1 thing about hosts is, here in USA, everybody bears his/her cross. so over dependence on a host can lead to 'throw out'. you can assist in paying some lil bills such as water, cable, electricity........etc, based on your capacity. but be smart, the more money u put down the more you host may depend on you too.
6.flight booking. i did direct flight with delta airlines and it was just smooth. remember to keep your brown envelop in u hand luggage, bring it out at your point of entry so they can know your 'special immigrant' and give you due service
last advice. be ready to come to USA only when u are ready, i.e be ready to study immediately you land or be ready to work, no room for 'iranu'
WELCOME TO AMERICA!

Thank you for these informations.
God bless you.

oyidiyaagbayi: No, my waec result was okay for that.

Pls is NECO result also okay for that?

Doublegold: Pls house, I'm kinda confused on where to stay in the states, i wud have preferred Texas, but I don't have anyone to put up with there. Now, i have 2 diff cousins that are ready accommodate me, one in Providence(Rhode Island), and the other in California. My confusions is that, i want a place where i can get job easily, and also, cost of living is a consideration. Pls gurus in the house, ur candid advice is hereby needed as I need to make up my mind, and call the person i actually wanna stay with. I intend to leave for the states by mid or late february. Thanks

I dnt need to be bothered,make good use of what is currently available to you.
In my own opinion,the two most important thing to consider when taking decision on accomodatn as a new immigrant in the US are:
1. The crime rate (gun violence etc) in that particular state
Which means,how safe is the state?. You don't wanna live in a state with high rate of gun violence.
2. How channel and effective is public transportation system.
This determines hw u move around even wen u eventually get a job.
Believe me,these 2 factors come first & very important.
You can easily relocate later @least after you must have settled down a bit.
In my case,I was initially bothered about New jersey bcoz of the high rate of accommodation but after I did some research about the state I understand the reasons behind it considering its proximity to new york,the industrial strength of the state,fairly good weather within the east coast,tourism etc.
So consider those points & research about the two choices presented before you before making your decision.
Hope am helpful?

G2Glory:

Yes my brother, we arrived on tuesday evening & presently with a friend in Katy. We are trying to sort out accomodation that is not too expensive. Those that we presently got are in range of 1,200 USD for a room/bath around lakeside katy. Your good advice will be very useful for us to settle down

May God favour you & ur family as you settle down.
Congratulations,it is well with you IJN.

TCPonly: @Obatide,congratulation to u & ur family,I am happy for u. Merry christmas and prosperous new year to u & every member of this forum.

I picked ur destination 4rm the other thread(Diversity Visa Immigrant) where you said you are heading to Newark NJ.
I'll be heading to Irvington NJ January ending.
What's your FB contact name or email address?
We need be in touch.
.

TCPonly:
Newark in NJ.

Am heading to Irvington NJ January ending.
What's your FB name or email address?
We need be in contact u knw.

kevwe_flex: Wow! A lot have been happening here. A day away is like a week. My laptop has issues and I've been busy. Wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a prosperous, visa-approved and testimony-filled New Year. In the spirit of the yuletide, I share this: glo: 103214138182077
Fastest finger first. More coming. If u are fast, let us know.

PEACE!

Wow! @kevwe_flex, I happen 2 be the fastest finger @ 5:23pm.
Tanks & merry Xmas.

Obatide: Good day my people, thank you all for your prayers, encouragements, supports and every other thing I can’t mention because of space. I was overwhelmed with the encomium and the way you celebrated us, May ALMIGHTY GOD repay you in many folds beyond your imaginations. On the thread here, my whatsapp, BBM, series of phone calls, I know it’s only God that can appreciate you, you gave me and every other members (now and future), reasons to do more.
On behalf of my family, we say a big thank you
Merry Xmas and happy New Year

Appreciation
To God ALMIGHTY, whose Glory cannot be shared with anybody, we say thank you sir
Im specially grateful to the following people (Batch one):
Sendtodeji, Malcolm28, okeymen, seubis, ItyRoyal, Kevwe-flex, baba-ajala, femishow2005, G2Glory, Roodboy, timimoyegun, candytos, XYZZ, odewenwa, TCPonly, buklan4real@yah, lagbabe, lagdude, mr-Rule, Apex555, justdre, kaybaba65, firewami, fancywendy, Madu77, daudsmart, komakan, bamidelealayo, gokman4u,adeboy007, temmytanny and friend - Gentiger, olutola1, amedino, atandaishola794, rantileye, Godsspeed, westcodes, akingenge, onye-baresi, Adesojiaderemi, Leripa, agbeke17, darmhee, chinny2014, akiayo, kennex89, coop, sayonara01, geogec, bukiemma, samolaniyi, penielnig, elena22, Leripa, doublegold, thuyahky, gius idowu, pipsland78, jollywin, justwise(the moderator) God bless you all.

Very special thanks to The Visa Officer on https://www.nairaland.com/1359935/u.s-consular-officer-ask-me and seun osewa (the brain behind Nairaland) God bless you the more

The making of our America Project:
It all started on October 23, 2012 when the four of us in the family as of then, entered for the lottery.
I checked mine on May 1, 2013 and was not selected, and then on May 4th, I checked my lovely First Lady’s status and discovered we have been selected for further processing.
At this point, we had no idea of the processes; hence, I started searching Google for resources and later found NAIRALAND 2013 & 2014 threads, which signified the new era.
Twice in that Month of May, I mailed KCC, requesting for additional information and medium of submission of our documents, they replied that both hard and soft copy are acceptable (detail posted sometime ago in one of my responses)
On July 4, 2013, we finally sent our forms via e-mail to kccdv@state.gov (note that we updated twice after this). We were current in November’s bulletin for interview on December 23, 2013 for 7am.
We received our 2nd NL on October 18, a day after birth of our new baby-Princess. We notified the embassy and invited them for naming, to my greatest surprise, replies received in both my mail and VO’s thread were word for words, then the waiting game continues as I always pray for easiest interview which came to pass on the 23rd.

Documentations:
I practiced what I always advice on the thread, we secured all documents before October, except for the new baby that was done after her birth in that month. Medicals and Police Certificate (#2500) were done on December 12th, this enable us to relax a bit.

The ‘D’ Day.
We lodged in a 20minutes drive location close to the embassy, got to the embassy around 5:40am.
Did all necessary security check as you are all aware of, paid the total sum of #272,500.00 being processing fee.
Window 17 called for documentations, to my surprise, the woman seeing us for the first time just asked a familiar question which Looks like those people are spy on NL (can’t ascertain though,so don’t quote me)
Then around 9am, the white Lady called us at window 14 for the real thing
CO: Good morning ma’am
We: Good morning and how was your night?
Co: very ….., thank you
We: Merry Xmas and she responded as well
Then Finger prints for both of us.
CO: raise your right hand and …………(swearing)
We: we do
After this, I lifted my first son (whose name is of one of America president’s name, to say Good morning to her) she called his name, and the laughing began, then the second son did the same and I was joking with her that, the new baby want to say Hi too, then laugh again.
CO: turned to my wife and asked, what’s your highest qualification?
My first Lady: AAAAAAA
CO: when did u finished
My first Lady: AAAAAAA
CO: She’s typing and was explaining that she think my wifey does not performed to her best in her first result, that’s why she submitted the second one
My first Lady: Yes
Me: I said ‘As if you know’ and she laughs again.
While I was trying to carry my children, who are playing around, she said your VISA is approved smiling and the rest of pick up infos. & we say thank you and God bless America
That’s it oooooooooooooooooooo, it was just like a chat

Till now, we are still thanking GOD

@Obatide Sorry this is coming late,I've been very busy lately @ work.
I knew u would make it even before your interview
Congratulations to you and family.
Surely the perfect Xmas gift for your family.
I rejoice with you.

Doublegold: I just left the embassy...visa approved! Interview lasted for just a minute. Thank u my e-family. Ddetails later

Congratulations brother.
Sorry its kinda coming late, I've been busy lately.
May God make the remaining steps ahead easy for you.
Merry Xmas.

Pipsland78:
Pls what's 2NL?

Second Notification Letter(interview Letter).
Its an official letter written to a DV applicant by KCC informing the person that Visa interview appointment has been scheduled.
It lists the embassy address where the interview will be conducted,date & time of interview as well as the DV applicant's details with the beneficiaries(if any)
Hope clear?

oyidiyaagbayi: accuplacement test is a test to know your level of knowledge in order to know where to place you academically after your high school. It's made up of English and mathematics.

Clear N̲̣̣̥o̶̲̥̅̊w̶̲̥̅̊.
Thank u.

oyidiyaagbayi: I enrolled in a North Carolina community college. I don't have my green card bc I paid for it in October . They used the one resident in my visa for that and told me to bring my green card to replace it bc after one year my visa will expire. Then I applied for financial aid and it was approved. Another thing is that I only presented my waec result bc if I had given them my degree result I will not have qualified. This happened to a Nigerian student that I met here b4 they ratified it. I have about 3600 for one year. u also have refunds after the semester. It is on a yearly basis. u can also apply for scholarship when u finish your grants. study hard for your accuplacement test so that u don't have to do a lot of mathematics and readings. meanwhile am not a bro am a sis. good luck

Wonderful piece of information
Please what is "accuplacement test"?

Today as being a great day on the forum.
We appreciate God for the good news from @Malcolm28,@Darhmee,@olutola1 and @Bukiema who is already on his way to the states.
Congratulations to those that just received their 2NL,I pray you all receive God's favour at your interview.
Pls start preparations as soon as possible
If there is any outstanding civil document ,N̲̣̣̥o̶̲̥̅̊w̶̲̥̅̊ is the time to get it
Don't adopt 11th hour approach.
Above all pray for God favour at your interview.
The grace that worked for all of us who have gone there & returned with great testimonies shall work for you all IJN.
God bless us all.

Malcolm28: Hi People, My Family's visa package has been pick by my Mother-in-Law! The package is enroute to Abuja via DHL now. Thanks guys for the support. Keep u all posted.

Oh! Great relief at the end.
Congratulations to you and family.

Darhmee: Visa pickup today!!!
Glory be to God almighty and also, many thanks to everyone who has contributed to this forum.. so many of us would have been lost without u guys!
Obatide, ityroyal, femishow, kevwe flex, akeem(forgotten ur username) and other special contributors.. Godbless u guys abundantly!

So I have 2 questions pls
1. Can I pay for the green card using my friend's mastercard?

2. My mom and I are planning to leave first week in April.. hope its not too late? we medicals 9th of November and visa was approved 3rd of december.

I await responses God bless.



I gave them #400.. lol.. d guy said I should give them 500 but I had 1k notes and some change

Congratulations to you & mum.
A question for you,
How did u feel when u first opened ur passport & saw ur US immigrant visa with ur scanned pix on it?
Jst being curious #smile.

olutola1: Praise Jesus, bless the name of the Lord, interview successful and visa granted! Details coming up soon!!!

Congratulations
Its surely the Lord's doing.
Next level will be easy for you IJN.

bukiemma:

Sincerely, I don't know d exchange rate if u would be paying with a naira mastercard because my bro in d uk made d payment for me with his visa card.
Though, I went to buy dollars 2day against my departure 2morow to d united states for d rate of 173.5naira for 1dollar (From aboki). All d banks I went to told me dat dey don't sell. So I had no choice.

I wish you safe trip as you embark on your journey to the states today and may God's favour overshadow you IJN.

bukiemma: Thanks.. May God bless u for me!!!!!!!!!! I've printed it please send me ur FB ID so I can add u up!

You are welcome
What's ur FB name?
We need 2 be in touch.

bamideleniayo: Pls kevwe_flex ; can u pls help me explain more about the statement on when someone recieves and immigrant visa in their passports dat has to be activated within 6months of issuance at any POE.What I really want u to clarify is that actiivation within 6months...!
And secondly, during the Interview, are we submitting the E-passports too at the embassy or just at the of entry.?

starting with ur 1st question,
If you are successful at the interview as an immigrant visa applicant,
Your passport will be retaining by the CO at the embassy and later sent to the document collection centre where your visa will be printed & you pick it after 5 working days.
Your Qustion 2:
Your immigrant visa has a period of 6month validity and you are expected to travel to the United states before your visa expires.
Upon your arrival at any US POE(point of entry),you are expected to submit your international passport with the immigrant visa on it & your brown sealed envelope.
At the POE,your immigrant visa will be stamped(activation) by US immigration officer.
Upon stamping,the visa with the stamp on it serves as I-550 and can function as permanent residence for 1yr within the shore of the US
Hope this is helpful.

bamideleniayo: Pls kevwe_flex ; can u pls help me explain more about the statement on when someone recieves and immigrant visa in their passports dat has to be activated within 6months of issuance at any POE.What I really want u to clarify is that actiivation within 6months...!
And secondly, during the Interview, are we submitting the E-passports too at the embassy or just at the of entry.?

starting with ur 1st question,
If you are successful at the interview as an immigrant visa applicant,
Your passport will be retaining by the CO at the embassy and later sent to the document collection centre where your visa will be printed & you pick it after 5 working days.
Your Qustion 2:
Your immigrant visa has a period of 6month validity and you are expected to travel to the United states before your visa expires.
Upon your arrival at any US POE(point of entry),you are expected to submit your international passport with the immigrant visa on it & your brown sealed envelope.
At the POE,your immigrant visa will be stamped(activation) by US immigration officer.
Upon stamping,the visa with the stamp on it serves as I-550 and can function as permanent residence for 1yr within the shore of the US
Hope this is helpful.

okeymen: Ok so this is how it goes... Obatide wakes me up at 4am to prepare, we dilly dally and lazy around till 6am before we leave the house and get there before 6.30am just as they started calling people so we we joined the queue and were last at the time and I said 'oh good so we can sit back and watch other interviews and have more to put on nairaland' but that was not to be. There was a couple that almost didn't show up with anything and said they just got a call to come that day. Well u know they can't be part of this forum so be grateful u are. We were just a few minutes on the line when the kids started complaining they wanted to sit down cos we had done so much the day before on quadbikes, jetskies and go karts (men Lag na fun place sha) so I cld not blame them. By the time we collected our blue tags to cross the road to the embassy proper, my son asked if we had finished .
The only person that wasn't so nice there was the lady we paid the $330 to. It was like nothing I had imagined. We were called to submit our documents and I saw the forms I had sent to KCC earlier right there. We ended up submitting 3 sets of passports instead of the 2 others are asked for but they returned all the ones we submitted to KCC. Please be sure u have up to 6 months validity before ur passport expires or u may have issues.
The kids and I were all asleep in the hall when our number showed...we didn't even know the interviews had started cos it turns out we were the first. When we did, we packed our stuff, carried the kids and staggered to window 16, where we met the famous pretty black american lady and after the oath and finger prints

Co: so u played the lottery urself
Me: yes I did
Co: highest bla bla
Me: bsc
Co: where?
Me: UI
Co: oh I love that school
Me: really? How nice
Co: its a good school
Co: where do u work, what sort of company and what is ur role
Me: blah blah
Co: ur wife?
Me: blah blah
Co: so when did u get married?
Wifey: blah blah
Co: any family photos?
Me: lots of them
Co: I just need a few...ok so pick up ur visa from blah blah on monday and don't forget there are holidays next week. Congrats and welcome to yankee and that was it Folks. Glory to God in the highest and thanks to my friends on nairaland who will commit their personal resources to ensure we all come out successful. So despite making a mistake as to when we got married (of course we corrected it at once) and looking sleepy and tired, God stood up for us!

The stress surely worth it
Congratulations to your family.
Cheers.

adeadebayor: 3 Gbosa for the people of this forum..... My appreciation goes to everybody on this forum, u guys re doing a wonderful job.

The whole thing was just like a dream because I hv been playing DV lottery for a while now...my broda it don tey, wot gave me confidence to go on was dat 2 of my friends dat we used to stay together won n now live in us ...When God says yes nobody can say no.

In 2012, I played for mysef and wife, at dat tym we re looking up to God for a child. To cut d long story short, when d result came out in may, 2013 my wife was already 6 months pregnant. I checked mine...same story but when checked my wife's result i saw a different page then i realised she has won.

We filled and submit our forms by email on June 15th and got our 2nd notification October 22nd. All documents ready December 3rd and countdown to interview begins. I used d remaining days to prepare my wife cos she is d principal applicant, in fact it was a drill.

Interview day: We got to d embassy 5.30am our appointment was 7am, by some minutes after 6am security checking started, security checking plenty o. We were checked in and we collected blue card and payment voucher and I paid for 3 pple, @ d rate of 165 to a dollar, including my boy of 3.5 months.

After which we were called at window 21 to submit our document and waiting for interview starts, during this tym my boy was in happi mood laughing in loud voice then slept off. At 10.10am we were called to window 17 where we met dis young beautiful black America.

The interview goes thus:
CO: raise your right hand, are you prepare to say the truth today?

We: we ans yes together. The CO gave us our forms to sign and my wife sign for the baby

CO: What re u doing presently?
Wife: bla bla
CO: what course
Wife: bla bla
CO: mention some of the courses u offer
Wife: bla bla
CO: hw long hv pple known each other
We: bla bla
CO: when did u get married
We: bla bla
CO: what kind of marriage
Wife: bla bla
CO: show me pix
We: wife opening wedding album
CO: any before pix
Wife: shown three and even explain
CO: baby pix
wife: wife flip through christening album.
CO: bring out two white papers, one for visa collection and d other for guidelines to pay ucis fee.

The interview didnt last more than 10mins..in fact we re the first family to b granted visa.

Observations:
1- ur interview wil b based on what u filled in ur forms. for those of yet to submit ur forms, fill it carefully wit info u can defend. dont put anything u cant defend in d name of impressing the interviewer. They re nt after such. like the case of my wife, we didnt include her nd because her statement of result is not available.
2- get there before tym and adhere to all instructions.

This goes to those that hv done their interview. How do I get d alien number?

3 Gbosa for that your boi
Some kids can carry super glory that liberate their family & generation.
The boi is indeed a super blessing
Congrats to you & wife.

bukiemma: Good morning.. Pls this is VERY URGENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those who has paid their uscis greencard fee, how long did it take before u were able to print out ur receipt. Cos I successfully paid yesterday and my d status says "Your application has been accepted and pending review".

But I don't know where to find d receipt dat I will print out. Please help me cos I already bought a ticket for thursday flight.

PLEASE HELP!!

Bros na sharp sharp?
On ur request,
1. Enter d site
2. Log in with ur email & password
3. On d left side of the screen lick "View Messages" and it takes u to d nxt page
4. Then, under subject, click on "Case Receipt Notice"
That's ur receipt(its in Adobe pdf)
Print it.
Safe trip bro.

seubis: Hello my fellow e family members,just want to let u guys know that my wife and maisef will be leaving finally to God's own country today.pls pray for journey mercies for us.will keep u guys posted once we there.Maryland loading..........89%.one luv ma pple and hope to see u guys very soon.@ Obatide,thanks for ur calls yesterday and also COngratulationss in advance cos the visa is urs already and it is settled.GBAM!!!!

safe Journey and God's favour in the United states.
Watch ur bck am joining soon.........

chiwuike20: I lost my cool and cudnt think clearly. Just imagine somebody who was admitted to study law not able to elaborate on demand and price?
I was not able to defend my olevel so they thought It wasn't mine.

I really appreciate you for the great courage you have shown to come back to the forum & share such experience.
May God of second chance remember you for good.

chiwuike20: Heading straight down for my 10am interview, i need d prayer of my nairaland efamily. God bless

God will favour you & u will come back here with great joy IJN.

mcro: Honestly, I don’t know where to start. Having played the lottery thing as a single for about 3 times without success, I was no longer motivated to try it. But my wife was unrelenting. She nagged and cajoled and entreated me and I finally capitulated but with a proviso: she must foot the bills, my transport fares inclusive. Off we went on circa Oct 28, 2012, just a few days to the deadline of the application. I then forgot all about it.
On May 1, my wife called me to inform me that I have won the visa lottery for 2014. It was like a dream. I checked by myself and confirmed it. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Travelling abroad to further my education has always been my desire, but the financial rigours involved coupled with the inherent uncertainty in granting of the visa were most discouraging. And here is an opportunity, not only to study but also to live and raise a family, God is indeed the Lord that answereth by fire. May the Lord continue to bless our women. I owe the visas to my wife.
To cut the long story short, we set out by 6:30 am to meet an appointment for 10am. Traffic wasn’t that terrible and we still had time to settle down despite having hitches about locating the car park.
We were ushered in by 9:30 am. All the security checks were observed and the payment was made. I witnessed @dahunsiolajide predicament of not having enough dollar to make his payment and I was happy when a dude bailed him out.
Window 16 used to be a dreaded window for the DV 2013 Winners with a much dreaded white woman giving people the scare of their lives with more denials than all other COs combined. But the window is now an oasis and was occupied by an elderly white man who was ‘dishing out’ the visas like ‘pure water’. May God bless him.
By the powers of prayer, after a protracted wait our number finally bleeped at Window 16. Oath-taking and fingerprinting done, the interview itself was less than 2 minutes. Here we go.
co: (looking at our baby) how old is she?
Me: sorry, it’s a he not a she.
co: (looking at the baby’s form in his hand) oh sorry, I didn’t see the second name. so how old is he?
we: three months and twenty days.
Co: what is ur highest level of education.
Me: MSc in xxxxxxx.
Co: (looking at my form in his hands) in xxxxxx yyyyyyy University.
Me: yes and that was where I had my first degree too.
Co: for how long have u known your wife?
Me: for nine years.
Co: when did you propose marriage to her.
Me: last year January during her birthday.
Co: why did it take u dt long?
Me: we were both undergraduate when we first met. It was when I was when I started working we now thought of marriage.
(All the while, he was holding two sheets of paper and now stretching them forth)
Co: ok. You will go to this address….. (for my mind I thought he wanted to say ‘to continue the interview’)
Co: (continue) there, you will pick your visas which will be ready by next week.
(If he had not added that somebody could collect the visa on our behalf I would have assumed I did not hear him well).
Co: congratulations and welcome to America.
We: thank you and God bless you.
My wife and my baby were even by my side throughout the interview. The Co did not tell her to go and sit down in order to interview me alone.
LESSON LEARNT.
1. It is not of him that wills, but of God that shows mercy. Having seen what many are doing to travel abroad by all means and having considered that I never made any spirited effort to consider travelling seriously despite that being my desire, then I have come to the conclusion that only what He wills matter, not my will.
2. By patience possess your soul. I was almost worry when I did not see my 2nl having sent my forms since early June and the receipt acknowledge on June 11. I was current in October but did not receive my 2nl until 3rd week of Oct. So to those waiting for 2nl, it will come. No one on DV 2013 thread was not called for his interview. Urs will not be an exception.
3. Preparation. Opportunity always favours the man who is prepared. Those waiting for their interview should start by reading this thread from the beginning. I started to read DV 2013 when it was around 500 posts. But I later had to go back to the beginning. I regretted I didn’t start that earlier. At least DHL wouldn’t have ‘chopped’ my money. So please if you still have the time, read some of the posts in DV 2013 thread too. You will be surprised at the guru that lies within you.
4. Prayer. The efficacy of prayer cannot be overemphasized. If there was one thing that made my interview very simple, I believed it was prayer. Since I got to know I won in May, I have set aside a day in the week to fast and pray for favour and success in the interview. Despite my deep and intense preparation for academic questions across all levels and marital-based interview, God took all the glory; no question from my preparation was asked.
Finally never stop believing. Your own miracle is on the way.
My special appreciation goes to Obatide, Madu77, G2Glory, kevwe flex, seubis, femishow, ItyRoyal and all others that have been contributing on this thread. May you never lose your own reward.
Also of the DV 2013 thread, my appreciation goes to Temmytanny, Adesojiaderemi, Jejelady, Roodboy, Gentiger, Genlion, Brightmon, Godhelpmeoooo, Leripa, obamaobama, Bussyme, Kemzone 2003, and a host of others too numerous to mention, you guys are the bomb. You won the visa for me a long time ago. May God continue to bless you in the White man’s land.
Addendum:
I am really sorry for this long epistle, I cannot just keep the joy to myself anymore. For as many that are yet to go for their interview, you will experience this joy that fills my heart and soul. Thank you and God bless.

Congratulations to you & you family.
Two(02) vital points FORUM MEMBERS waiting to be current (based on visa bulletin) for 2NL or interview proper shuld note 4rm here;
1. Never undermine the efficacy of Prayers,trust me,it is the key to every good thing in life.
Setting aside time to pray for God's favour & mercy during ur intervw is indeed very important.
2. Preparations is very important. Be prepared to solidly defend whatever u have claimed to be in the process of DV processing.
All the best @everybody.

kevwe_flex: YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Halleluyah. My friend who is a family of four whom I was helping, his visa has just been approved. Oghene Doh. Pls join me in celebrating. This guy played as single and won as married and went to interview as a family of four with twins. their 2NL came without babies name. I encouraged him to go ahead with all his family whether it was not in the initial eDV. Please, I will give the details I can later.

God's favour worked it out
Congrats to you & friend
Bcoz u watered ur friends garden urs will surely come
We shall celebrate u on this forum IJN.
Congrats once more.