₦airaland Forum

Thanks! It's has been in my spam box since August 15. I will ask her to go and pick it up on Monday. Appreciate your help again. Have a good weekend!

flourishing247:
Check spam box.

Thanks so much for this. I just checked my spam box and the pickup email has been there since August 15. Appreciate it.

ChrisRocks:
Did you check your spam inbox? Visa was issued yesterday for a family member and we got the email to pick up today. The message went to spam.

Thanks! I will wait for the email from them as suggested.

Purpleplus:
I will suggest you wait till you receive the email before going to DHl. My husband had to go to Dhl office twice after receiving his pickup email, the 1st time they said the passport was still at the embassy, the second time they told him they were expecting the passports later that day, he was able to pick it up around 3pm that day. My status still says Application Received, despite the fact that we submitted together.

Hi everyone! My mum’s visa status shows “issued” on the visa status check website since August 14, but I have not received a pickup email for her. This is likely because the embassy has discontinued its use of ustraveldoc website and changed to a new visa services provider.

I was wondering if there is anyone here who has had their IW visa applications approved/issued since August 12 and also received a pickup email on or after August 16. Otherwise, has anybody just showed up at DHL to pick up their passport without a pickup email after August 16?

I am considering asking her to go to DHL without a pickup email but want to know if others have a similar experience. Looking forward to hearing the experiences of others!

JohnZak:
Hey! Quick update on the timeline of my mum's IW. Hope this timeline helps the anxiety of others as they wait for their visa.

Submitted at DHL VI - 7/31
Application received - 8/5
Issued - 8/14

I expect that she will receive a pick-up email in the next 2-3 days or so. Turnaround time was a little over two weeks -- much quicker that I expected.

Big thanks to @Ikebabay for posting about updated IW appointment dates. Without his post, I would have still just assumed my mum's appointment was still 10/31 and missed her updated appointment.

Good luck to others waiting on their visas!

Hey! Quick update on the timeline of my mum's IW. Hope this timeline helps the anxiety of others as they wait for their visa.

Submitted at DHL VI - 7/31
Application received - 8/5
Issued - 8/14

I expect that she will receive a pick-up email in the next 2-3 days or so. Turnaround time was a little over two weeks -- much quicker that I expected.

Big thanks to @Ikebabay for posting about updated IW appointment dates. Without his post, I would have still just assumed my mum's appointment was still 10/31 and missed her updated appointment.

Good luck to others waiting on their visas!

JohnZak:
Thanks for your response and good luck with your physical interview. My mum submitted her IW documents at DHL yesterday. I hope she is not asked to come in for a physical interview. All the best!

Yes! You can apply for and be issued an F1 visa up to a year before the resumption date on your I20. However, you won’t be allowed to enter the US more than 30days before the resumption date.

liliberth:
I want to ask, if your start date is spring 2025, and you have your I20, can you go for interview now?

1. No, they won't be automatically checked. You will pick up your bags after clearing immigration at IAD and check them again at the United counter in DCA.

2. IAD is technically in northern VA and DC is in DC. Since you have a 9hr layover, you can take a taxi or Uber. There is a shuttle between both airports which might be a cheaper option. There is also a metro station but this requires some walking and might be a hassle depending on how many bags you are carrying and how big they are.

Also note that you may not be able to check your bags at DCA until about 3 hrs before your flight.

AlphaMaximus:
This is my flight itinerary with United Airlines.

I will be switching airports from IAD (Dulles International Airport) to DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport).

I have two questions:

1. Considering that this flight itinerary involves one airport switch (IAD to DCA), will my checked bags be automatically checked through to the final destination of SBN (South Bend International Airport) or will I have to retrieve my checked bags at the port of entry, IAD, and check them again at the next airport, DCA?

2. What are the most seamless transportation options/routes from IAD to DCA?

Congrats. Very quick turnaround for you and your family. You're the first person I have heard whose application is under 2 weeks. For most people, it is going on 5-6 weeks.

ocube:
IW Application Timeline

Background - Owing to the long wait time for visa appointment for IW application I was lay back in filling our (DW, son and myself) DS 160 form as Abuja had 86 days while Lagos had about 117 days as at first week of June 2024. I later started filling the form with Abuja in mind as the place of submission. I got our photos ready by 15th July, 2024 and was about making payments for the visa when I decided to have a look at the wait time for visa appointment again by 17th July. And Voila! Lagos had 6 days , I quickly filled another form for Lagos for the 3 of us, made payment, detached my family from my appointment scheduled portal and opened new portal for DW and son, then scheduled each person. The next day, appointment days were released for us all, and we chose the 24th of July for submission.

Timeline

24th July 2024- Submission at DHL Surulere
25th July 2024- Passports delivered to consular office
26th July 2024- Application approved by consular officer subject to final processing
29th July 2024- Visa issued
30th July 2024 – Passports received from consular session and is currently being processed for delivery
31st July 2024- Passports ready for pickup
7th August 2024- Passports were picked up from DHL Surulere with five years visa for us all.

Websites used for monitoring the process

1. Visa appointment wait times - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html
2. Visa status check - https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx

Thank you all for your contributions in creating a repository of information on this platform.

God bless you all richly.

Your experience is an outlier. It is very rare for a US govt grant like NSF that has already been awarded to be pulled absent a fraudulent/questionable/unethical grant submission. I understand how a grant from a non-profit can be pulled but NSF grants are accounted for in the previous year’s budget and the money is available before the award is even made. The prof is probably not telling the truth. Or maybe he figured later that you do not have the skills he wants for the project (May sounds harsh but I am just being frank here as I have seen RAs state that they have certain skills which you later find out that they do not have).

In my opinion, here are your options:

1. Get an updated I20 from the spring school and apply for a new visa

2. Look for a school that you can afford without depending on funding because, according to you, you already have two F1 visa issuances (Dec, 2023 and April 2024) that you have not used. Applying for another F1 in Nov/Dec 2024 (3rd F1 visa in 12 months) makes you look suspect.

3. This is the nuclear option: Travel to your school now, ask for a transfer and show them the acceptance at the spring school. They will initiate the transfer. Because the spring resumption date is more than 15 days from the transfer-out date, you will have to come back to Nigeria, however, you do not need to re-apply for a visa because your SEVIS record would have been updated with the new school’s I20.

anamo:
This is what I’m trying to explain: the school that won’t do a SEVIS transfer until I’m physically present is the one whose PI couldn’t guarantee a funding because of his NSF funding that didn’t come through. The DSO said transfer is only possible for student who show up. The PI let me know about the funding issue just a month after I got my visa with their school (this was the same school I deferred till Fall 24). The school that accepted till spring deferral , their name and SEVIS isn’t the one on my visa..

Now I’m beginning to believe that the PI couldn’t wait till August and he rather awarded the fund to a domestic student because a Nigerian friend in the department told me the PI now has a domestic student working with him over the summer period (we discussed this yesterday) —cuz I didn’t show up for spring due to health

And the reason I shared this here again with my new username is for me to know whether to waste my money for a visa fee again or not. I can’t use the visa that has a different school name and SEVIS ID to enter school B for spring semester. This is the dilemma

I am not referring to the school that won't do a SEVIS transfer for you. Earlier this year, you said you were ill and were away for more than 5 months without authorization so the 5 month rule applied to you at that time. Not now because you are a new, incoming student at a new school. You have not been interested in the school that won't do a transfer since last year so bringing it up again is confusing.

I am referring to the school that gave you Fall 2024 admission (in bold font below). You posted a screenshot of an email that showed that they accepted your deferral to Spring 25. This is the same school that is listed on your April visa for Fall 24 enrolment and this is the school that offered you a TA. To be eligible to start in Spring 25 at the same school, you do not need a new visa just an updated I20.

I urge you to speak frankly with your DSO at the same school that offered you Fall 2024 admission, accepted your deferral till Spring 2025, has a TA waiting for you, and for which you obtained a visa in April 2024. Except there is more to this story, this is a straightforward process.

Speaking to your DSO at the school that gave you the Fall 2024 admission is important. If the DSO does not receive any information from you or the department about a deferral, class enrollment, or no POE information, they have about 30 days before they cancel your I20 and the April visa that you have becomes invalid because you won't be able to use it to enter the US.

anamo:
The school won’t do a SEVIS transfer unless I check in with them by physical presence. The department also won’t do a deferral in this case…so I just had to chose another school where I have been admitted…So, transferring SEVIS ID isn’t possible in this case (but I can transfer my SEVIS payment on the SEVIS portal myself). I might be wrong but the other visa becomes invalid in this case.

Your story is not consistent with previous posts using your former username. This is not about school A or B.

According to you, your visa from April 2024 was issued to start school in Fall 2024. The 5 month rule applies to returning students i.e. enrolled students who have started classes and subsequently been away from their studies for at least 5 months. You are not a returning student.

You are a new, incoming student who was recently granted a visa in April and has not been enrolled but rather deferred their admission. The 5-month rule does not apply to you because you have not entered the US with that visa or started classes. All you need is an updated and signed I20 that states your new start date with your school. Your DSO just needs to update your SEVIS record with this info. Because you have not even reported and enrolled, your SEVIS record is not even considered "ACTIVE" so the 5-month rule does not apply.

Even if you want to change to a different school entirely, all you need to do is request a SEVIS transfer because your visa was issued in April and you are not considered a returning student but a new student. People do SEVIS transfers all the time. I easily did a J1 transfer when I changed programs.

Get proper clarity on your situation by speaking to your DSO!! Nobody applies for a visa multiple times just because they decided to change schools, except their SEVIS record is terminated, which is not the case in your situation.

anamo:
If you are changing school (which is true in my case), you’ll need a new F-1 visa especially with the SEVIS 5 month rule

The professor who input the funding I got a visa with in school A lost his NSF application and he only told me in June after I already got my visa in April. I should have risked it and travelled but I’m scared I’ll just be left stranded after I’ve reached out to other professors who claimed they didn’t have funding. Since I got a new offers for Spring 2025, I just reached out to the grad coordinator that TA offer will be better, rather than RA, which is fine.

Right now it seems going to the embassy again will just be a waste of time.

Thank you

So I am pretty sure that we have exchanged posts here but you used a different username.

Showing up to apply for a third F-1 visa without using the previous two F-1 visas is never a good look. You will invite more unnecessary scrutiny to your application. Excuses like you were ill may no longer be tenable, especially if you change schools like I think you did in your post from earlier this year. You will appear like someone who does not know what they want to do academically.

If you already have a valid F1 visa, why do you do not need to apply for a new visa to start in Spring 2025? People change schools after receiving visas without any issues, before and after classes start, without having to reapply for a visa. Clarify this with your DSO before applying for a new visa.

I am not sure what the issue is if you now claim to have a TA that will cover your funding in Spring 25. Or is that you want a research-based assistantship and not a TA because you are more interested in conducting your PhD research? If this is so, this is ultimately a personal decision that you have to make.

anamo:
That was my concerns too…but seeing what guys are saying here I’m starting to feel somehow,, should I have gone with no money to offset my bills and start sleeping in peoples houses, or beg people to pay my tuition?. My tuition runs close to $32k. I have no money to offset this. And thinking I’ll find help when I land when I’ve already exhausted all opportunities to get another means of funding from other professor failed. My thought was “what’s the purpose of traveling when the funding to do research Kant there. Isn’t it just decent to stay back and reapply and look for other means of funding?’

Now, (attached) the other school which admitted me for Fall 2024 alreeey agreed to defer me to Spring 2025 with funding from TA this time, and not from a PI’s research (I told them I had visa delay issues). But from what guys here are saying, it seems I won’t be able ro get another visa since I’ve refused to use the one given to me the other time. Tbh, I just didn’t want to risk it without funding. Research for my PhD matter more to me than just Japa…I guess I’ve lost my chances at visa and I’ll probably try some other countries

Note: I had my Masters in the US last year. Came back home. So I was only going back because I was able to secure another PhD offer upon reaching home

Congrats man! I am happy for you. My mum's application shows application received. I hope she does not have to come in for an in-person interview. Hope you get your passport returned to you before your trip!

shipdoc:
I did the physical interview today. It was successful and I still don't know why I wasn't qualified for the Dropbox. All the same, It was approved and that is what matters.

The VO said I should get my passport latest in one week. I have a flight in exactly one week but it is evening so I will take my chances. Even if I get the passport in the morning, I can still fly same day.

Thanks for your response and good luck with your physical interview. My mum submitted her IW documents at DHL yesterday. I hope she is not asked to come in for a physical interview. All the best!

shipdoc:
To be honest, I don't know. I am not female so it has nothing to do with childbirth or long stay. I hope for the best

Hi! Do you have any idea as to why you were asked to come in for an interview after your initial IW submission?

shipdoc:
I had a visa interview scheduled for 2nd August , now postponed to 6th August probably because of protest. Initially submitted IW in January but passport returned to book interview.


I have an official trip booked for 13th August. Assuming the visa is approved on the 6th August, is there any chance I can retrieve my passport before that date? ( Just one week apart)

The VO would typically tell you the outcome of your application at the conclusion of your interview i.e. approved, rejected, or 221g administrative processing.

If they held on to your passport after the interview and gave you a collection slip, it has been approved. If they returned your passport with the rejection slip, it has been rejected. They do not hold on to your passport for 221g Administrative processing because AP is technically a refusal and the processing time for AP is unknown. They will give it back to you with a 221g slip. That is why folks with 221 g after IW still pick up their passports from DHL with the slip.

Lastly, the embassy would typically not return a fraudulent passport but they will tell you that it is fraudulent.

Deronke1:
If your passport is collected at the US Embassy, does that mean Approval?

My suggestion is that you rewrite your GRE. Your scores are below average or average at best. Either way, they are not competitive for someone who is seeking full funding. You will likely be competing against a bunch of Asian students who have better scores.

While a publication is generally an asset, if you are not the first or second author, or if the paper is not highly cited, or published in a high-impact journal, it will likely not offset your low GRE scores. You have a top GPA in your bachelor’s program. Get your grades WES-certified and retake the GRE.

eyitoayomi:
Good Evening pls I need your advice.
I have Hnd in statistics Upper Credit
And Bsc Applied Mathematics and statistics First class
1 Publication,
I wrote my Gre today but my Result is not palatable I had 144 verbal and 144 Quantitaive
And Am looking for school with full funding in Msc Statistics in USA, I will be glad if u can suggest or Help me with advice on Next step to take, thanks

In general, there are a few private student loans that may be available to some international students, besides mpower. However, they will certainly require a US citizen or PR as a cosigner and the cosigner must have good credit. You can google private student loans and browse through their requirements.

In my own opinion, private student loans are not worth it, especially for an undergraduate degree. Even American students do not usually seek private loans. They exhaust FAFSA and other public loans before applying for private loans. Additionally, you will likely end up repaying at least twice the loan amount and incur more debt when you got to grad school. A loan amount that covers most of your tuition and living expenses will also undercut your non-immigrant intent in the eyes of a VO because you have got to repay the loan amount. A job in Nigeria is not going to cover your repayment plan!

Like Zihno said, it is best to either look for schools that offer scholarships, apply to undergraduate programs that you can afford, or graduate from your current undergrad program and then apply to a graduate program that offers funding.

ObamaMessi:
I just made research now and I am not eligible for Mpower loan because of the "graduating within two years" requirement. I'm using my 100 level transcript to get into year two in which means graduating in three years time, please which other loan organization can you recommend as I'm broken and shattered now. Please just help me.

Thanks for posting this information about recent IW appointment changes.

My mum's original IW appointment was scheduled for October 31, 2024. After your post about your date change, I checked my mum's US traveldocs account and saw that her appointment has been rescheduled to July 31, 2024. I would have missed this appointment change if you had not posted this because I did not receive any email about this change.

Ikebabay:
I have just had a very interesting experience and thought to ask if anyone is experiencing the same. I got a mail (found it in my spam today) saying that my IW date has been rescheduled from December 2024 to July/August 2024. I thought it must be spam but I decided to log into US travel docs all the same. Upon logging in, lo and behold, I have a new appointment date in August. Did anyone experience this?

You can apply for an expedited appointment in Nigeria within 90 days of your program start date if you have not been refused a visa within the last year.

https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/en/expedited-appointment

If this is your first F1 visa and not an F1 renewal, I suggest you apply for an expedited appointment in Nigeria. It is best to apply for a first-time visa in your home country if that is where you reside full time.

While some people are lucky to get first-time F1 visas in neighboring countries, you will be considered a third country national and open yourself to unnecessary scrutiny. It will be difficult to convince a VO about your home ties to Nigeria.

My response assumes that you do not live, work, or study in Cameroon or Benin Republic.

DanteSilva:
Hello guys.
I just got my I20 and I'm supposed to resume this August, what do you think about going to maybe Cameroon or Benin Republic to do my visa interview as they are no available appointment dates here in Abuja.
Thanks

Speaking from personal experience from a while back -- I deferred my admission to my masters program without a need for my I20. When I was offered admission, I had three options. One was to accept the offer, decline the offer, or defer. I checked defer and my admission offer was updated. They did not request a reason for my deferment and I did not provide any. Very easy process. All of this happened at the level of the department. It did not involve the graduate school or the international student office.

If you are still unsure about the deferment process, email your graduate director or graduate coordinator and they will explain the process to you!

Villa12:
Please is it possible to defer admission when one hasn't sent his/her financial statements?

IW appointments are running into November 2024 in Lagos (June/July in Abuja) and in-person appointments are running into September/October 2025.

Your only hope to get a July 2024 appointment is via emergency appointment. And your excuse for an emergency appointment has got to be very, very, very convincing.

freshStarz:
Good afternoon guys

Can I get a USA visit visa against going next month (July) if I apply by this time?

Do you mean FTE jobs at Kent State or GA positions and what do you mean by black friendly (i.e. admit black students, high black student proportion, or does racism/discrimination exist)?

Nigerian or African students at Kent State may be best placed to answer your questions. Their African Student Association has a facebook page. The link to the FB group on the student affairs website is below

https://www.kent.edu/csi/kent-african-student-association

They also have an instagram page. You can send a FB or instagram message to one of the executive members or look through their member list and send a message to anyone who has a last name that could be Nigerian. However, I urge you to be as clear as possible in your questions as non-specific questions will likely not elicit a response.

liliberth:
I want to know if there are jobs and if it's black friendly like general questions

I scheduled my mum's IW appointment this week. I submitted the appointment request on Tuesday and was approved to schedule the next day. The earliest available IW date in Lagos as at Wednesday of this week was October 31, 2024. Again, this is for IW appointments and not visa appointments that require a physical interview.

adenikeO:
Good afternoon everyone,

Does anyone know the month available now for the US visa appointment?

Thanks!

Include the applicant's MBA degree on the DS-160 if the applicant indeed has an MBA. It is not uncommon for one to change courses or career trajectories over time. However, the applicant should be willing to convincingly articulate to the VO why they want to go for the proposed course despite already having an MBA and the lack of relevance this degree has to their new course or program.

naijachic:
Please is it advisable to mention a degree on DS-160 (MBA) that was not mentioned during the school application due to its non relevance to the proposed course?

The new DS2019 issued by ECFMG should cover you then.

PS. the other poster consistently calls himself "USA immigration lawyer apprentice" but has no idea about what he talks about half the time. Just ignore him!.

LookingUntoHIM:
Thank you so much!
I'll keep trying. I knew someone with understanding of the situation would reply.
Yeah, we should get the new DS-2019 in the coming days as ECFMG already stated that it has been issued. So, it's just for the programe to send it and like you mentioned i do plan to get it before leaving here. Like you correctly stated, the current one expires at the end of June and she already has her offer letter which I didn't think i would need but would make a copy of based on your suggestion.
I actually thought about that and i seem to still be interested in life in Nigeria against my wife's wishes just in the event anything goes wrong. I studied engineering and my COREN still dey intact.
Once again, thank you.

PS; the other ITK guy, i worked out of state for many months last year as an independent adjuster. Pay was about $3k weekly after tax ( not too bad for a puppet like me to climb roofs for). So, it's not a must you live with your wife all year round.

Hi, I suggest that you ignore the last poster. He is well-known here for these types of antics. He does not realize that international medical graduates (IMGs) doing a US residency can do their residency on a J1 or H1B. He also does not know that IMG residents can get a Conrad waiver to waive the 2yr home residency requirement. It is very easy for anyone to copy and paste from a website onto Nairaland and sound like they know what they are talking about. It is harder to understand the nuances of the visa information that is contained on those websites. This is often where the last poster gets stuck.

I was never on a J2 but I did my masters and PhD on F1 and residency and a fellowship on J1.

Regarding availability of dates in Nigeria, this issue seems to be common. If you read some pages back, folks have discussed this and how they eventually got over this. It seems it takes a couple of days to a few weeks to get a date confirmation. You may also want to email the consulate in Abuja or Lagos and inform them of your situation and see if they can help expedite this.

Since it appears that you qualify for an IW in Nigeria, you may not need any docs but I suggest that you have your DS2019 that shows you are in valid status as a dependent of a J1 holder and preferably a letter from your wife’s program director showing that she is still in residency (similar to an employment verification letter), and her paystubs may be helpful. Since you have an EAD, I presume that you are working. If you are working, you should have proof of your employment, SSN, and paystubs.

I never renewed in Nigeria. I always renewed in Canada or Mexico. Those are alternative locations.

My only concern is that since you wife is about to start a fellowship, It probably means that her residency finishes on 6/30. If your interview is between now and 6/30, a VO reviewing a renewal application with a DS2019 that shows an end date of 6/30 (2 months away) may find this problematic. Does she have a DS2019 from the fellowship program? If she has the new DS2019 from the new program, then make sure you take that along with her appointment letter showing a start date of 7/1 (the date most fellowships start). and the new end date (probably 6/30/26)

Also, since your visa expired less than 48 months ago but your wife is on a J1 which was for three years, it means you were probably on another visa before the J2 or your wife was on a J1 in another program before residency and you were her J2 dependent then. Either way, just make sure that you have the right immigration paperwork to account for the visa and period before residency. Those are the kinds of things that may lead an applicant to be called in for a 221g interview.

Lastly, visa renewals are never guaranteed. Although renewals are likely to be approved, especially if there is nothing adverse in your immigration history, there is always a non-zero percentage that your application will be rejected. Nobody wants to hear this but consider what you will do if your renewal application is rejected and you can’t go back to the US immediately. Good luck!

LookingUntoHIM:
Hi Guy's, Thanks to y’all that take time out to help people here.
I’m currently in the US on a J-2 and plan to come home for my Dad’s funeral, I filled my DS-160 some days ago but all I’ve been seeing is “there are currently no available appointments’.
Is there a way to get around that?
Also, I think I’m eligible for a Dropbox as my visa expired less than 48months ago but I also haven’t gotten any confirmation email based on what I’ve read that one will get that first if eligible.
Do you think changing the venue from Lagos to Abuja might be of any help?

Reach out to the Graduate Director to find out if you are being considered for a TA or RA. Some programs make application decisions and TA/RA assignments at the same time while others do so after application decisions have been made.

You can also review the research profile of the faculty members in your program. If the research interests outlined in your PS or your skillsets match the research interest of a faculty or an ongoing project that they may be leading, you can email them, informing them of your research interests, any aligned research skillsets that you may have, and a desire to be an RA on one of their projects. Even if you do not have matching interests, you may have a transferable skillset in your area e.g. data analysis, that they may find useful. Consider attaching your PS and CV when you email them.

As someone alluded to in an earlier post, GA/TAs/RAs do not always find you; most times, you have to find them. Good luck!

Chemist4life:
I saw this on Department page

The bank statement must cover the total cost that is due to you otherwise they are not likely to issue the I20.

Ayosharon4321:
Please it’s urgent, I need a response. God bless

Madam Debbie!

LOL @ The USA lawyer apprentice. The man who has been kicked off NL multiple times only to return with various usernames (NewBoyKhasoggi ---> BagOfSweets ---> ArinzeAminu ---> SleepingTablets ---> OyoTunji).

The man is known to consistently share wrong information and when he is called out, he starts rambling and deflecting. As usual, he starts responding to a post before he even comprehends it.

My posts on the issue he is referring to are unchanged.

I will reiterate that the only thing an international student must do in order to receive their I20 is to meet admission requirements, be admitted and submit their financial documents. I20 is a federal immigration document authorized by DHS. The school issues it on behalf of SEVIS DHS. The International Student Office processes I20; not the Admissions office. You can pay the entire tuition but without the financial docs, they won't issue the I20.

Some schools may require a token tuition deposit to hold a student’s spot/confirm enrollment for the reasons I mentioned in my other post. However, U.S. schools (not Canadian or UK) can and will routinely waive this deposit until the beginning of the semester/tuition deadline. You can even pay the entire tuition but without the financial docs, they won't issue the I20.

Secondly, based on posts here, most people on this thread have gotten GAs and information about GAs without paying a dime for this information. GA opportunities are not hidden or secretive. They are posted on departmental listserv daily. If a faculty member likes a prospective student during the admissions process, they will reach out to them and vice-versa.

The man woke up this morning looking for someone to argue with and trying to derail the thread. He is yet to realise that I don’t do online arguments.

Anyway, I am glad that the OP confirmed their university and got the clarification that they wanted. Good luck to the OP

Debbieeeeeee:
Once they offer contrary opinion to yours it’s a problem.
You love stirring up commotion and you don’t really really have to respond to every question. Usa lawyer apprentice.
Dear Johnzak, reading from you is always a breathe of fresh air please never stop giving your opinions on certain issues. Thank you.

I am glad that you confirmed it. Good luck!!

Aishat89:
Thank you very much for sharing these (my heart skipped at some point not until I checked her admission letter) and saw I made a mistake in the spelling of the uni it's TUFTS UNIVERSITY and Yes I was able to get it also using the Link you sent in your post. God bless you.

Since they are insisting na to pay like this remain o. I am very excited to be a member of this group.. insights shared here are premium. Thank you all for helping out. I will keep up with this thread.

I do not doubt that some schools ask incoming students to make a non-refundable tuition deposit. This is typically done to confirm enrollments and lock-in commitments from incoming students so that the programs can let waitlisted applicants know if they will be ultimately accepted or not. Certain programs, especially private or Ivy League programs (like Columbia) or programs that receive a high number of applications, require a tuition deposit for these purposes.

However, tying the release of information about GA opportunities or a GA offer (that may or may not be made to a prospective student) to any payment is not common, especially after the school has waived almost half of your tuition. Again, many people on this thread have been offered GAs at the same time admission was extended to them and few (if any) have stated that they had to pay anything before the GA offer was made.

Ultimately, it is the OP's choice. I just offered my opinion. As long as they ensure that the school is legit and that it is Tufts Uni and not Trufts Uni. I wish them all the best!

Zihno:
Hello,

I have no idea about the school but it isn’t uncommon for some schools or program to require deposits especially in CS/DS/ML/AI MS programs. My friend got into Columbia University for MS in Quantum science and Engineering and the required non refundable deposit was $4000. $4000!!! Which had to be paid 2weeks after they received the admission letter.