₦airaland Forum

lovelyonps:
I had my visa interview today 6th DEC, and o boy! The screening was stressful. Well I will say it was just the grace of God I had tho, cos those Vos weren’t smiling.

And please, for first timers like me, have it in mind that you have to stand throughout the interview, I have always thought it was like a sitting kinda setting .
Anyways, My interview went like this…

Me: Good morning
Vo: Good morning, pass your passport, sevis receipt and i20 pls
Me: Here they are
Vo: So ure going to…
Me: ( I completed it for him) STMUNI San Antonio Texas.
Vo: (Nodding) for a Masters of Bachelors degree
Me: MA in Communication studies
Vo: What’s your highest education
Me: I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass communication
Vo: How did you hear about this school (now his looks were intense)
Me: well, STMUNI was recommended to me by my mentor who was my lecturer during my undergraduate studies, and he is an alumnus of the sch.
Vo: how many schools did you apply to
Me: 3 universities.. STMUNI, Tarleton state uni , uni of Missouri Kansas city
Vo: How many offered you admission
Me: 2…. STMUNI and uni of Missouri, Tarleton state uni is still pending
Vo: (nodding) so why chose STMUNI
Me: STMUNI course curriculum aligns with my career plan, that is, they offer communication studies with concentration in media, Public relations and organizational communication
Vo: Did u write any test
Me: I wrote GRE
Vo: what was your score
Me: I told him ( he nodded)
Vo: (Nodding) so who would be your sponsor
Me: My Father… oh I mean my daddy
Vo: smiling. What does he do for a living
Me: I told him
Vo: Have u ever been out if Nigeria ( He flips tru my passport)
Me: No, I haven’t had a reason to until now

He typed for like 3-4 minutes, then passed me the white paper circled with the collection location and my i20, u will be needing it at the Poe, bla bla bla.

I’ll say its just the grace of God. Nairaland helped me and prepared my own personal transcript, and I conducted a mock interview with myself facing the mirror everyday just to build my confidence.

MissPezz:
This Twood guy is just giving people heart attack with his harsh comment.... Are you paying their visa fees?
You don't have to offend people because you helping them.. Infact you are doing nothing here... Everything is in the VO and the applicant... Tell someone his error with love..
You are the one that blasted my boyfriend in November that his too young but he got his Visa this morning...
Everybody go come America, na time e go take my brother so chill...
I and my boyfriend are 21 we got the Visa..
I know if someone should ask if 21 years old can get approved you will insult the person..
Remember no be you get US Embassy ooooh.
God hand dey everything even if he doesn't influence your Visa decision.. It's God's own Country after all.
I have 9 friends with F1 Visa in US... I know alot about Visa my very close friend works at the Consulate in Lagos.. He gives me tips.. Though he doesn't tell me to some extent... He gave me tips of the mind.. VO works with your mind, your face, body language, movement of eyes, confidence... I worked on them.
You guys are saying Visa are refused.. Did the applicant show a good body language.. After all they don't know you... They just meant you... They physc you to know your real intent.. And all this are unconscious to the applicant... Just sharing what I know to be the truth...... Be confident and give your best and be honest.
I was honest with the VO... That was my help.
You guys should apply that.
Hopefully we have more success...
How do I see message from people.. I have emails that someone sent me a message I can't see the message.

adewalay:
I was delayed on 29th of November, have reapplied & have gotten a new date Dec. but I didn't fill a new DS-160 all info still the same except
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN REFUSED A U.S. VISA question which the answer is now YES
Hope that won't be a problem? What can I do

BenNash:
Please can I pay FedEx to pick up my i-20 at my school in ND and deliver it to me here. Is that possible??

ennies02:
Visa was approved this morning @ Lagos 6:45am ���
To God be the glory!!!

adesegun14:
Visa denied today at Lagos embassy.

I myself know I made a mistake even before I entered the interview room. I'm posting this so that others will learn and avoid such mistakes.

I got there around 5:30 am, I was about to enter when I was told to produce the GT payment receipt, since I tot all dey need was the confirmation and appointment papers. I discovered I don't have it with me, so I had to go back to the biz centre, called my wife to snap it and send it to me so we can print it there. She sent it, but unfortunately, they were having network problem over there, from that early morning i was able to get it done around 9:09am, so I was already anxious and exhausted.

Transcript:
Vo: why are you going to America
Me: I'm going to America to pursue master in computer science
Vo: why do you want to do masters
Me: to increase my knowledge in computer science and be vast in the field because [b]I want to go into lecturing when I return to Nigeria
[/b]Vo: why do you want to lecture?
Me: it has been my dream to impart the coming generation with IT knowledge in Computer science to keep them up to date with the latest curiculum that I will be learning from America. (My voice shake here bacause of what happened before I entered, I was weak)
Vo: who will be sponsoring your education?
Me: my brother; he's an architect and has a consultancy firm in 3 states and also has a school in kaduna (he just yinmu)
Vo: I'm sorry bla.. bla..bla.. just brought out the blue paper and said I'm free to reapply

I guess I missed it when I was explaining why I wanted to lecture. I also tot I shouldn't have mention lecturing, but honestly, that's what I intend to do when I decide to return home.

I'm planning to reapply immediately, since there is still space this year.
I need corrections and advises.
Thank you

StackNerd:
Thanks to everybody that has contributed in one way or the other on this Thread, You are the best, I,ve been a silent follower of this thread and my Visa was approved today

Days before today, i prayed to God that, i don,t want to spend more than 30 secs to get my visa approved, lo and Behold, God Answered the prayer

The Guy had rejected four people before me, i wanted to switch lines, because the VO was not smiling. i,m normally confident, but mehn! i didn't know when my heart started beating fast.

Transcript below
VO: Which school?
ME: A uni in Maryland ( i mentioned the school)
VO: Which course
ME: Computer Engineering
VO: What is your highest Qualification
ME: Bachelor of Eng, Elect/elect
VO: What have you been doing since you finished NYSC
ME: I have been working at (A multinational) as a Systems Engineer for Anglophone countries in Africa, my work includes design and implementation of Cloud computing solutions, High performance computing solutions and Storage solutions for Telecom operators across Africa.
VO: Frowning
Me: E ma Gbami Ke
VO: Do you code
Me: No, its not inline with my work
VO: your visa is approved, Pick it in three day at ( Didn't Hear this part)
Me: Thanks

fisayoprisca:
Thank you everyone at nairaland. Here is my visa transcript. My interview was last Wednesday although I was previously denied on August 7, 2017 and I shared my transcripts here on Nairaland.
My VO was a White Man and he had previously denied two people before me. I do not know the window number but the window was the one to the extreme end stthe right hand side.

VO- good morning Madame
Me- good morning
VO- what are you going to do in the US
Me- I would be the US to pursue my master in Liberal Arts concentration in Gender and Diversity studies at East Tennessee State University.
.
.
.
.
.

Then finally he began typing and placed my passport at one side and he stretched one hand to the white paper and he said pick it up at isolo. That was I packed my stuffs oo.

All round favour to those awaiting interviews.

biikeys:
Your profile is okay..and since not much appears to have changed, you could just tell the VO you didn't have a chance to properly present your case, if asked. Frankly, your last interview transcript looks okay as well. Good luck!

biikeys:
Your profile is okay..and since not much appears to have changed, you could just tell the VO you didn't have a chance to properly present your case, if asked. Frankly, your last interview transcript looks okay as well. Good luck!

gokuu:
It’s ridiculous that people are even doing this “Sir” “Ma” thing in a forum like this. It’s just so fake!

LagosismyHome:
What makes you think biikeys is a Ma/female

biikeys:
As at when you went for the last interview, did you have a bad GRE score or didn't write it at all? Did you present low account balance or nothing at all? Did you apply to a lowly ranked school and have now applied and got admission to a better school?... A new VO is going to interview you, usually, based on the notes of the previous one. So, if nothing really concrete has changed, I would stick with things along the lines of you feeling you weren't able to convince the previous VO you are a genuine student despite supporting facts presented.

oluwadamilare26:
Are you going for another degree too?

jerrypeacelinks:
Please house, last week I posted my visa delay transcript where majority of us here didn't see any issues with my responses. Please, my question is, when asked, WHAT HAS CHANGED IN MY APPLICATION, how best do I approach that question? My denial was last week Tuesday. I could repost my delayed transcript to serve as guide as I really wish to know how best to prepare for my reapplication.




HERE IS MY LAST WEEK DENIAL TO SERVE. AS GUIDE

Please house, last week I posted my visa delay transcript where majority of us here didn't see any issues with my responses. Please, my question is, when asked, WHAT HAS CHANGED IN MY APPLICATION, how best do I approach that question? My denial was last week Tuesday. I could repost my delayed transcript to serve as guide as I really wish to know how best to prepare for my reapplication.




HERE IS MY LAST WEEK DENIAL TO SERVE. AS GUIDE
My people, indeed it takes courqge to come up here to post your denial transcript o. The moment I was denied, I felt livke the ground should open lemme fall into it or even disappear into thin air but now, it seems am better and stronger now emotionally. 

Now, here comes my denial 

Visa Interview Denied at the Lagos embassy today 7am. Consular was a dark American lady at Windows 9. 

VO: Good morning. (No smiles whatsoever). Pass me your i-20 and passport. 

Me: Good morning. (Me smiling and thinking, madam smile for once kwanu) I passed my documents) 

VO: I see, you are going to study Maths and Statistics at TAMUK, Texas? 

Me: (Smiling) Yes. 

VO: What is your highest qualification? 
Me: I hold a BSc in Computer Science. 

VO: You said? 
Me: I repeated. 

VO: Okay. When did you graduate? 

Me: November 2011.

VO: and since then what have you been doing? 

Me: After my graduation, I embarked upon the compulsory NYSC experience which elapsed in 2013 and I secured a job at XYZ bank. 

VO: Okay what do you do for them? 

Me: I stated my responsibilities. 

VO: How long have you been working ? 

Me: over 3 years. January 2018 will make it 4 years at the bank. 

VO: So what will this course do for you? 

Me: It will equip me with the analytical and technical skills needed to flourish in my career. It will also help facilitate my promotion at my place of work. 

VO: Why did you choose this school? 

Me: Asides the fact that they offered me my concentration, they also offered me a free campus scholarship housing with an instate tuition waiver which will allow me enjoy paying my fees as an instate Texan resident.

VO: Quickly grabs my i-20 like say she b Russian . But I can't see any free housing scholarship on your i-20.

Me: Yes and that is because the email came later after i-20 was issued. 

VO: Okay? Can I see the letter? 

Me: I passed it. 
VO: Nodding her head. Okay? 

VO: How many schools did you apply to? 

Me: I applied to three schools. 

VO: Did you write any language test scores? 

Me: Yes. I sat for toefl and GRE. 

VO: Can I see them? 

Me: Showed them. 

VO: Okay? Tell me the requirement for this course. 

Me: To complete this course, I will complete a total of 30 credit units of course work which include 18 credit unit of core course work, 6 units of elective, and 6 units of thesis. The course duration is 24months starting from January 10th 2018 and will end in December 2019.

VO: Sorry, can you take it all over again? 

Me: I stated it again but in a remixed version. 

VO: Have you travelled out of the country before? 

Me: Not really. And that is because I have not had any reason to until after now. 

VO: Okay? Who is your sponsor? 

Me: My dad is my sponsor. He is this and that

VO: Well, I will be issuing you (I come dey happy for my mind)... She continued... the denial paper, this is because you were not found eligible for a visa according to Section 214 (B) of the US Immigration and Nationality act. Blablabla.. The rest no even near my ear as I was like? What happened? (Maybe VO even heard me talking to myself). I had to hide my blue paper so that one of us a nairalander who was warming up for hers won't be demoralized. 

I marched out like an old major while people dey hail me congrats sir, anything dey for the boys? In my mind, I was still asking, what happened? 

House? Abeg make una gather come sit for my head o. At a time I wanted to ask VO if we can start the interview all over again. 

Well? Denial is not failure though. I shall return to retire after the house is done sitting on top my matter

femi312:
First and foremost, this GRE score may only get you into a tier 3 university (funding is not guaranteed),it will be a miracle to get you otherwise. its not really worth it to do PHD in a tier 3 university since phd is research intensive. you don't want to finish PHD after 3-4years of hard labor and labor again to get job. Like we always say, some schools will make getting jobs easy while some, you will have to hustle your way to get it. Some schools will bring the job to you, all you have to do is proof yourself while some you will go out there to get it and also proof yourself. In a nutshell, had it been you had your masters in the US, this GRE score wont be a problem but since you didn't, it will be hard to get an admission with this GRE score not to talk of funding since 90% of the schools wont admit a self funded student.I know someone who got admitted with lesser GRE for Transportation Engineering at university of Virginia,that is to say there are exception due to recommendation and networking. I know you don't want to hear this but I will still say it, go and re-write GRE and shoot for above 310 this time. Plan for fall 2019, US wont run away.Right now funding is harder than ever to come by due to cut in research funding by the US government.However, there is still funding if you research on schools well, nothing is impossible if you set your mind at it. If you want to consider Europe, weight all the pros and cons because language is a barrier in most European country and funding is not easy to come by. Also consider the immigration law since most wont allow you to stay after your studies, even at that, are there jobs there? That is another big question you need to answer.

Iphy24:
Hello house, I am on f1 students visa, and my study destination is West Virginia with my school resuming on the 4th of January, but I'm planning to leave for New York on the 20th where I will be spending the Xmas with a friend then I will leave from there after the Xmas to West Virginia by train, please house I hope they won't be any problems at the poe ?

Ijebuboy525:
Election is not about crowd, go and ask obanikoro in Lagos, aunty Lagosismyhome self go mellow for boss Twoods when them oga at the top interfare, we go find one post give aunty

yemiosinbajo:
I thought as much; 2019 is fast approaching. Maybe he wants to unseat the incumbent moderator, justwise, who is also aiming for second term in 2019. That's gonna be a tough battle. Anyway, I hope lagosismyhome also contests, because she has the highest chance of winning the election when we vote. Let's hope oga TWoods formally declares his ambition to run, 'cos the thing wey my eyes dey see in the past few days ehnn..

gbaby4live:
Why must you book through a travel agent?
We always warn you guys to run away from travel agents, yet some always ignore the warning. Yet they will be running back to the thread after dealing with travel agents.. SMH
Your question should have been directed to the travel agent that booked for you na, cos he knows better

Anyways,
A Yoruba adage says, "Bi omode ba pa eku, a daa je, bi o ba pa arogidigba, agbe wa ka Awon Iya e ni ile"

I don't think there's nothing bad booking a one way flight, since you are going for studies..

I hope that agent of yours didn't use a bad credit card oo.. cos i no wan hear Dammy crane issue here o..

So, how much did you pay him for the one way ticket to Houston using Qatar?

TWoods:
So while someone is busy figuring out your future for you, what would you be doing with your time?

KISSABLE0606:
Hello everyone....I am new here, not so so new sha, been reading off and on for a month now and i always see a document like I20, please what's that? I intend applying for fall 2018 to a school in Maryland, a friend is there and he wants to help me process it same way his brother did his but he didn't mention any I20 oo, so i am confused, help a sister bikko.......thanks everyone!

princekuli:
My interview is on December 5, just asking this on behalf of a sister who got her Visa approved today, she's not a member on this forum

PreshNeymar:
Hello, I've been a silent follower of this thread and have read past transcripts like say tomorrow no dey, but i believe God knows the best.

Visa denied today 29/11/2017 at lagos embassy by one oyinbo woman at window 5

Gurus in the house, please i need help cox i am about to re-apply using different DS-I60 form.
Here goes the transcript *****after many many checks and fingerprints*****


Me: good morning ma'am
Vo: good morning... "can i have your documents"?
Me: passes passport and I-20
Vo: so, you're a student?(guess she saw this on my DS-I60 form) What's your highest degree before this program?
Me: It's just my O'level ma'am
Vo: tell me about your school
Me: was saying some stuffs about Franklin University ***Vo cuts in***
Vo: how many schools did you apply for aside Franklin?
Me: one
Vo: which would be?
Me: university of Houston
Vo: were you admitted
Me: yes of course
Vo: did you do any standardized test
Me: yes i did(IELTS....int English Language Testing System)
Vo: who would be sponsoring you?
Me: my dad
Vo: what does he do?
Me: he's a real estate consultant and also into oil and gas.
Vo: okay, but sorry, you're not legible for this visa at the moment... Bla bla bla(handing over my documents + a blue paper)....


Please, where did i Bleep up I need replies

Tekecoms1:
Visa almost approved today but was delayed because of a silly mistake I made.
The visa officer asked me the date that I took GRE and I gave him a wrong month saying July/11/2017 as against June/11/2017.
I can't but laugh at myself for my stupidity and school is resuming January 10.

ogemele:
Please who knows if I can get a date for interview in dec (lagos) .

Cephas0009:
Baba na me oo, white shirt and orange tie, you saw me cry that cry abi...