₦airaland Forum

1. There are punitive measures for people who abuse their visas. I have noted that when asked how someone's relative entered the US and the answer was that the person entered, through an NIV Visa and remained in the US, the next thing is rejection.

2. I also noticed that having long work experience and/or strong finances, can overcome 'virgin passport' syndrome.

Has the whatsapp group been closed? I was removed from it, some minutes ago.

1. Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic. Someone should correct me, if I am wrong, but you really only need Nigerian passport and there is no visa requirements to travel to these countries, as they are part of the ECOWAS Group. Again, VO's have seen a lot of folks forging visa stamps for these places.
2. If you are travelling for vacation alone without your family, it may have raised questions about financial ability.
3. I would recommend going somewhere else for a vacation with your family to prove financial ability (and have fun with them) and/or applying with your family next time, but if you're applying again for a US Visa, give sometime, so you don't look desperate.
4. How did your Uncle get into the US, that may have played a role.

omonla5:
I was at the embassy today, this is how my section went.

V. O : Good morning
ME: Good morning
V. O: passport please
V. Ó :Why are you going to the United States
ME: I'm going for vacation
V.O: What vacation
ME: It's my annual leave and I've decided to spend sometime in the US
V. O: ok
V. O: where in US are you going
ME: Atlanta Georgia
V. O: How long will you be staying
ME: 10 days
V. O: where do you work
ME: I'm a Civil Engineer with so so and so
V. O: How long have you been with them
ME: 5 years and one month
V. O: Do you have any relative in the United States
ME: I have a uncle in Chicago but I'm not staying with him as I've make arrangements to stay at Intercontinental hotel Buckhead in Atlanta.
V. O: Do you have a wife
ME: I'm married with two kids
V. O: Are they going with you
ME: No, they are not going with me cos school will be in session and my wife is a school coordinator however we have plans to visit together during Christmas.
V. O: have you travelled out of Nigeria before
ME: yes, to some neighbouring countries, Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic.

V. O: sorry, I can't issue you a visa now. You can reapply later.

Abeg, where did I get it wrong. All the while she was asking me question she didn't look up, she was busy typing.

After I got out, people complained that the lady has been refusing people visa.

What are my chances if I reapply.

NOTE: She didn't ask me what my income is like or what I will be doing while in the US.

Thanks

THIS IS YOUR ANSWER FROM A VERY NICE VO:

"me: no, bt getting married next yr.
vo: congratulations, however we wnt b approving ur visa now. apply when ur status has changed"

Has your status changed, if yes, then apply again.

temmyt20:
hello fam...
i need ur advice. Here is my transcript from 2016.

vo: good morning, how ar u doing
me: am fine thnk u, and u?
vo: am fine. passport pls, what is d purpose of ur visit?
me: my cousin wil b getting married by December, wants me to b his best man
vo: #smiles, datz good. where do u work?
me: I work wth airtel nigeria as a customer care associate
vo: for hw long?
me: 3yrs
vo: ar u married?
me: no, bt getting married next yr.
vo: congratulations, however we wnt b approving ur visa now. apply when ur status has changed
me: thank u.

would be applying soonest.

1. will be representing my family as my uncles 80th birthday is comin up.
2. will be seeing my best friend, who happens to be my cousin, hez wife gave birth to twins few months ago. i was suppose to be the bestman but my previous app was denied.
3. will be sponsoring myself.
am now an NOC engineer, still with Airtel, salary is a bit above 400k
4. travel history..... wife and i( we both ride superbikes and belong to superbike clubs, we actually went as a group with other club members. #70% cost was paid individually) were in sudan for humanitarian services in 2017(hope they wnt come up with this issue of their ban that came up back then, also went to ghana twice with wify for bikers converge. was suppose to be in cairo, in December, my dad has a business there, i was suppose to go help him balance up his accounts, but something came up at work so i couldnt go.
also, i have two kids, #twins

what do u guys think

For where, he is Saraki's boy. All these statements he makes, is just to make himself look like a man of the masses. Did he refuse the money, I don't think so.

billyG:
d senate will suspend sen.shehu sani as dey suspend alli ndume for bigmouthism.

Is Shehu Sani, not a senator also?

Give that woman a Cold beer!

1. No one knows your chances. You can only improve them by self-assessment. What do I have that will make someone else believe that I will return back to Nigeria.
- do I have a well-paying job, that I have worked in for years.
- do I have a family, that I can't afford to leave for long.
- can I afford this trip.
- does the purpose of this trip rhyme with my age, with the weather, with my job
etc.

2. Lets say Miss A entered the US legally, and has made plans to get married legally, and wishes to invite her family to the US - unless all the invitees have STRONG TIES to Nigeria, her parents may be given visas and her siblings rejected. The idea is that these siblings will be 'ties' for the parents to return to Nigeria. So its usually better for the parent and at least one sibling to apply, preferably a sibling with STRONG TIES to Nigeria. A VO would surely understand why the presence of parents, is important in a marriage ceremony. My opinion o.

In that case, you are good to go. All the best.

phembeth1:
@kaptainafrika I have all the documents for the divorce issued hy a comketvnt court of LAW and the America Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers is an International body, that I have my membership details and I have attended a conference in that regards in South Africa. I have my membership no, certificate and letter.

1. Have you finalised your divorce?
2. Do you have evidence of the divorce document?
3. How long were you married to your first wife?
4. Is the American Society of Agriculture an international body? why are you paying dues to an American based body that is not international?
5. In my opinion, you may have a tie and/or credibility issue, if you can show evidence for Q1 and Q2 you may be fine.

phembeth1:
I have actually been denied USA visa twice 2014 and 2016 respectively. In 2014 I applied for a conference on EVAPO-transpiration organized by America society of Agriculture and Biological Engineers as a married man and in 2016 a conference organized by the same body on Youth Development Program of the same Society which I'm a member( annual dues and conference fees paid promptly) but still denied the visa. I have Divorced my Ex-wife whose name was included 2014 and I remarried same year. Now please I need possible question I may be asked by the VO. My interview is coming up in few days time and I applied for vacation to DALLAS with my new wife(name used in 2016) married for 4 years and 3 years old son. I'm the Managing Director of my company that is into AGRIC-business ( both science and Engineering) and my salary is a bit below 400k while my wife is a sub-distributor of Dangote noddles, sugar, floor and pasta. she has an Income of about 600k monthly and a rebate of between 1.5m-2m Quarterly that varies according to her patronage. I have a Ghana work permit in 2010 to 2011 which I went there as a water resource manager for an Agric company(stayed just few months to train their staff) KENYA twice on vacation once and a day stop over the second time, South Africa for America society of Agriculture and Biological Engineers conference and Ghana for honey moon with my wife in 2014, new year vacation with my wife and son in 2016.
what are my chances this time around, and what are the possible questions and queries I may come accross

1. Just newly married - is this a ploy to get a US Visa and abscond? (The VO may think) but this could be offset by great income and/or length of stay at place of work and/or travel history
2. Some VO's maybe sentimental to the last name thing, I mean you're married, why keep your maiden name - but this is not relevant actually, one of our gurus has not changed her last name yet but she still got her visa's on a steady.
3. You have a 7 months old child, when last did you appear before the VO (Anything that shows that you were pregnant at the time of the interview and didnt disclose intent or the fact that you were preggy, may put a dent on your credibility, having a baby in the US isn't illegal, as long as you can afford it), so were you pregnant or planning to give birth in the US later on? the answer to this will help you in future applications.
4. You have a powerful travel history, your husband does not. Travel history may be offset by great income for both couples. I suggest you guys level up as a family, try other countries whose visa process are good but then "virgin passports" have gotten visas.
5. What has changed since you last applied?
6. ONLY GOD KNOWS YOUR CHANCES, BUT YOU CAN IMPROVE THE ODDS.
7. I think ECOWAS countries don't count for travel history again, these are countries you can virtually walk into with your ECOWAS Passport.

sherilycious:
I and my husband wanted to go for honeymoon vacation in 2016 when we newly got married, but we were denied. I feel its cos our passport carried different surnames cos i was still answering my surname
Now i have done change of name ad gotten a new passport, we have a 7months old child, although we have not traveled together as a family, but ive gone to UK, dubai, china, benin ad ghana while my husband has gone to only benin. What do you think is our chances of getting the visa now. Any advice is welcomed please

Osheeeeeee.

ladylco:
Captain, this is one of your post I will give thumbs up.

You are on course. Your POE will be Chicago, but as you have a flight ticket to your final destination you will be just fine.

johnpoko:
please don't misinform me. I booked a direct flight to Philly from Lagos and the flight has two stops, one at Doha and one at Chicago then the last connecting flight is from Chicago to Philly? what do you mean by if o love myself and I don't want to risk my visa. is it my fault that they gave me two stops? its not like I'm the one who chose to stop at Chicago.

HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY IN LIFE. You took part in an attempt to forge travel history and deceive the VO into granting you a visa, unless you are going to confess your forgery and throw yourself at the mercy of the US Authorities, I suggest you keep away from the US Embassy for life.

Seunemman077:
Good evening all

Please I need advice and ideas, I have us interview tomorrow with my wife at Lagos 8am, I have applied before in feb 2016 I was denied at Abuja embassy, I was single den I ddint travel but my passport was stamped by agents, I requested Kenya only to be stamped but the guy stamped other countries like Ghana Togo Benin same day arrival same day exit for the three countries when I was asked about my work cos I work with gtb I was able to respond correctly with confidence but the consular through a question to me asking did I go to Ghana by air or road so I said by air which was supposed to be by road due to the neighboring countries stamped so I was denied

But now I got married last year oct me and wife went to Kenya for one week with my new passport she is also working pls based on my last experience what could be the questions that can be asked due to the issue I had on my passport ?

I once read a post where a woman was sent back, because there were some disturbing videos on her phone from whatsapp for example videos of terrorists cutting peoples head, that is usually sent on whatsapp. Basically, the crap people send to each other here in Nigeria, on whatsapp could be a red flag. So better to be safe than sorry, I usually just delete all my whatsapp messages.

johnpoko:
[i][/i]
Thanks a lot. Please expantiate on number 5.

1. Keep all your important documents in your hand lugage e.g. passport, hotel booking etc
2. Charge your phone till 100%
3. Confirm if you will have hotel for the long layover.
4. Don't eat what you don't know o. But what's the fun in not trying new stuff.
5. DELETE ALL YOUR WHATSAPP MESSAGES and SMS's and SIGN OUT OF ALL SOCIAL MEDIA APPS.
6. Don't make new friends on your flight, the last thing you want is being mistaken for an accomplice for a drug mule. Don't hold anybody's bags, old women included.
7. Have fun. The flight is part of the holiday.

johnpoko:
Hello guys my agent just booked my flight. My flight is scheduled to land at Doha International Airport (Qatar airways), then after a 9 hours lay over, we will land at Chicago O'Hare Airport. Abeg na my first time to travel abroad and my first time to enter Aeroplane. Any advice for me? I fit charge my phone for plane? e dey get free WiFi? what and what should I do and not do? thanks

1. Is the training relevant to your field?
2. Is the training organised by a reputable body, even if there are only known in the US?
3. When you travelled to Barbados, did you transit through the US?
4. When you say "the sponsors are sponsoring the training" why is that? is the training not relevant to your company enough for them to sponsor you?
5. Are you employed?
6. Did you use an agent to package your application? if yes, there is a possibility he has done the same packaging for others.
7. Are you married?

dynamic006:
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. What could I have got wrong. I was scheduled for January 10, Abuja Us embassy. the interview goes thus.
me: Good morning
v.o; where are to traveling to in the U.s
me; Atlanta
v.o; why are u traveling to the U.s
me.; I'm traveling for a training .............
v.o. who is sponsoring the said training in the U.s.
me: I replied the sponsors
v.o. do u have any traveling history
me. I told him country I have travelled,
v.o,. why did u travel to barbados
me; for holiday and......
v.o; do you have kid
me; yes, I have one.
v.o; sorry you visa can not be granted this time, apply some other time.

What could have been the reason for my denial. that's is my first appearance. likewise can I reapply again for the same program, since The program commencing first week of april. thamks

Don't bother applying, do you know if the agent has filled in something similar for other people and the embassy knows? here's a piece of advice for visa applications and other things in life, always be honest, if it will be given to you, it will be given to you but at least you were honest.

Richbest18:
Greetings to you all..

I was refused a u.s visitor visa last year (Aug/Sep). I wanted to go on vacation.



I want to re-apply, maybe using conference. I was 26years as at the time i applied, the agent that did the package for me filled my marital status as married but am single, position at work; Branch Manager, the agent also made a mistake on my salary which didn't correspond on my statement of account (the agent wrote N150,007 instead of N235,000). My fiancee stays in united states (Nigerian, born and brought in u.s). Last visit to Nigeria was 4-5years ago.

My question is this;


(1) When reapplying, should i use the same information the agent used
(2) How can i apply for conference,
(3) What is the process/requirements for spouse visa and how does it work. My fiancee wants to visit Nigeria soon for us to do a court wedding. I asked her to chill alil for me to seek advice/another possible means.

NB I have not traveled out of Nigeria before, I was born and brought up here. Never had interest in traveling out cos i get scared entering the plane.

I appreciate your advice.

1. Has he been told that he is under any punishment?
2. He should come clean, but not expect to be given a visa, he's already shown that he's not credible.
3. After number 2, he should leave the US for a while and go somewhere else, and do something else - these constitutes a change in circumstance(s).

Onedimple:
Good evening everyone. This forum has been of a huge benefit to me. I was able to get my visa app approved 2 years ago after reading through all the submissions here. @ladyg, @seyewest and everyone, I need your honest take as usual on this issue. I met someone who has misrepresented in his application due to an agent's "wickedness". In his first application, his agent convinced him to lie about his marital status (he claimed married while single) stating that unmarried applicants do not have a chance with USA Visa. He was also encouraged to lie about his monthly income to show he has the funds to sponsor himself and he has applied twice. I heard the story and advised him to reapply and come out clean by stating th truth with the sole aim of clearing his misrepresentation. Please, i will appreciate your thoughts on this. Many thanks.

Eeyah! that was a trick question and I THINK it was just done to justify not giving you guys the visa. Giving birth in the US is not a crime. Many people actually used their tourist visa for tourism and then later for childbirth.
I THINK you should apply again but this time, leave your daughter behind and go with your wife, and if asked say that you have someone taking care of her.

Drelexy:
I have been a silent reader here in short and I must say this thread is so wonderful. My family interview was today but was denied. My wife who I told everything and said she know it ruined the whole thing and am not happy. The transcript below.

Vo. Passport please
Me :Here it is, Good morning( I don't even know if she responded)
Vo: is that your daughter
Me n wifey: yes
Vo: why are u going to america
Me: We are going to attend my graduation( Did MBA online in xxxxx school and they invited me) and we will visit so so places too.
Vo: Online program
Me : yes please
Vo: Nice and expensive school.
Me : yes but it worth it.
Vo: going for how many days
Me: 10 days
Vo: have any of u traveled out before either personally or as couple
Me : I traveled to Poland, France, Switzerland, Italy Greece, Germany, Malaysia Ghana .that's before I married my wife.
Vo: typing as if is Nigeria budget why asking these questions.
Vo: what did u went for in Malaysia
Me: for annual vacation and I explained more.
Vo: you have any relative in america
Me and wifey: No
Vo: where will u be staying
Me: xxxxx hotel in xxxxx place.
Vo: How long have u been married
Me and wifey : 3years
Vo: where do u work
Me: xxxxx company and into xxxxx things.
Vo: your position:
Me: Ism (Information system manager)
Vo: your duties.
Me: I pour down everything
Vo: cut in how much do u earn
Me: xxxxx income and got xxxxx from extra works. At this time the vo notice am very confidence and flowing well then she turn to my wife.
Vo: madam what do u do?
Wifey : Am accountant in so so company in so so place. And am into fashion
Vo: fashion what do u mean?
Wifey: I make clothes
Vo: OK nice.
Vo: your accounts please
Me and wifey: here they are
Vo:looking at both account carefully:
she took her time to look at our account, don't ever take fake account to there cos u might not be lucky. She scrutinize our account that a man in my back was shaking.
Vo: have it
Me: thanks:
Vo: your daughter should be in school then how come she is joining the trip?
Me: Her school gave her exemption for the trip and here is the letter and her school fees receipt 3terms paid once.
This time the vo stretch to the white paper while looking at the screen. Then suddenly she caught my wife off guard.
Vo: madam are you pregnant
Wifey: No
Then the question I think got us denied.
Vo: do u wish to give birth in america if given visa and still valid for two years
Wifey: confused
Vo: repeat it again and looking out my eyes if I will signal my wife.
Wifey : confused with the question
Vo: repeat it again.
Wifey: Answer yes.
In my mind I said oh my God.
Vo: type for 2minis and gave us the blue paper.

My wifey is a smart woman. I told her interview is not just about smartness but preparedness. I even told her what to say if same question is asked but she said she was nervous and a bit lost. All The same thanks to the gurus in the house.

Including the Christians dying for their faith in the middle-east and the North? or the Christians of the early church who were fed to lions in the arena? or the missionaries who left the comfort of their homes, to share the gospel with the lost?

hisgrace090:
God is in the business of making people rich through covenant.

This is a fact!

See job 36-11/ its reads, if they obey and serve Him, they will spend their days in prosperity and their years in pleasure.

If you have no ties to Nigeria, you may not be successful, so first look at those ties. That said, no one can tell your chances. Invitation letters don't factor into the process.

Aroka:
Good morning good people.

I'm planning to attend my cousin's graduation ceremony at the us university of wisconsin madison in may, i have never travelled out of my country and i have a virgin passport. i mean i'm green. i have been invited by the university on behalf of my cousin. what are my chances getting a visa.. and what are some of the VO's questions i should be prepared to answer?

1. Interviews have no set formats. But be truthful, let your answer correspond to the form.
2. Letters are not looked at.
3. You maybe asked you relationship with the friend.

bj7004699:
dear nairalanders, can somebody who once participated on B2 interview should pls explains to me how does interview done ? Note: my younger brother is going to US embassy for B2 interview next week..... he received a wedding invitation letter from his friend in US. thanks

Going to the US to shop for a wedding dress, is the problem.
What may have helped you? very good finances i.e. that salary that is heavy. Personally, I would say 400k and above, my opinion o.
Maybe they would have considered that you had a job that pays well, a fiancée waiting for you in Nigeria and you were coming to spend your hard-earned cash in the US. These would have been in your favour.

goldenlolo:
Please help me look into this my people, what did I do wrong?
I was denied last year September
V.O: Good morning
Me: Morning Sir with a smile, requested for my passport, I gave him
V.O: Have you travelled before?

Me: No please, I don't have any reason to until now.
V0: Why do you want to visit the United State?
Me: My aunt living in Atlanta Georgia asked me to come over to assist me to shop for my wedding dress.
V.O: Where is your fiance?
Me: My fiance lives here in Nigeria
V.O: Is he going with you?
Me: No Sir, he is going to be busy in his working place during the period of my visitation, December.
V.O: Sorry you are not qualify for the visit, he gave out the blue paper and returned my passport.
Please gurus help me look into this before I apply again.
Thank you.

I need to invite this woman to my place, need to ask some pertinent questions about her sanity, at my place....

That plot-line, no longer works.

ojoshu:
Good day people, am really in needs of your advice and kindly tell me what steps to take. Well, there's a girl I met on the internet, we have been dating each otherfor a long time, she's an American and she wanted me to come to the state to live there with her, she promise to send me an invitation letter.
kindly explain what to do next please

Why would your friend want to travel without his family? unless its for a serious reason e.g. medical reasons, he should stay back pending when they can travel as a family. Its too risky.

twodee75:
plz I need urgent attention. my friend just gotten a family visiting US visa, but his family will not be going with him for now due to some vital reason, plz I want to know if he wouldn't have problem at POE? thanks

From what I know.
So long as you dont leave the airport, you wont require transit visa except US, UK and Canada...to my knowledge.
If you have long layover, when booking you will be told that you need a transit visa to leave the airport, and come back later for the final leg of the flight e.g. UAE, Ethiopia...to my knowledge.
Alternatively, there are hotels in airports where you can lounge without crossing immigration e.g Dubai...to my knowledge.
But its always good to check the information online.
I recommend Emirates, you probably get to see Dubai before continuing your trip.

Mush:
My POE is LAX and most of these airlines make stops in their base country eg. Dubai, Istanbul, Doha, Paris and co.

Under what conditions wouldnt i generally require a Transit visa?
Like if one doesnt step out of the airport, it wouldnt be required ya?
Sorry bout the long question.

Looooooooooooool sorry about that. It is usually advisable to apply in the place where you have a strong tie in.

Uchboggy:
My Experience at two USA embassies (Abuja and Oslo)

I currently reside in Norway but booked a USA visa appointment for Abuja in December since I was traveling home for the Christmas holiday. I didn’t know I was making a very big mistake.below is a summary of my experience at the embassy of USA in Abuja and then in Oslo.

I must say that USA sees Nigerians as criminals. Miles away before you get to Abuja Embassy you’ll see all sorts of armors ,a crowd of security personnel like they are expecting a war. they checked us almost 5 times before we got to the real interview. Yet they still denied more than 90 % (including me )

While in this place (Oslo) you won’t even see a human being until you are close enough to touch the entrance door. And the one person you see isn’t armed (even a knife). Yet they approved more than 90% of visas including mine.


In Nigerian the consulars are hostile and behaving like they are giving you the key to heaven while here in Oslo they would even assist you to make sure you get the Visa.

I can’t just explain enough. I didn’t even say one tenth of what I said in Abuja yet it was approved.

Below is the most hilarious part of my experience in Abuja. I spent more than an hour trying to prove to the consular that my norway Visa and resident permit were legit. There was no method I didn’t use. He first took me to a special investigation room, asked me to tell him about norway and where I resides in Norway, the name of the airport in Oslo, how much a bottle of beer costs, the name of my school and the location of the different campuses, asked me to show him some of my results, my Norwegian bank card,my school ID, asked for my school email,he went as far as asking the security people to escort me outside to get my phone so he would see pictures I took in norway, he checked the plate numbers of the cars in the pictures to confirm if they were norway number plate, he went further to send a mail to my school email and asked me to reply. In fact there was no other way I didn’t prove beyond doubt that I resides in Norway.
You wouldn’t believe I was still denied after all.(I was later granted when I reapplied in Oslo in January when I returned from Nigeria)

Later, after I was granted in Oslo I understood the plight of the guys in Abuja. They must have been wondering why someone who would be granted USA Visa almost automatically in Oslo come down to Nigeria to apply for a Visa.

The moral of the story is that you stand a better chance of getting a USA Visa from outside Nigeria than in Nigeria.


Please if you’re a tourist/Traveler or aspiring tourist or you just like travel stories please follow this new tourism thread. Lest share our stories and experiences in different cities of the world. Let’s show them that Nigerians travel too!

https://www.nairaland.com/4328301/tourists-travelers-let-meet-here

I low-key envy female applicants - you don't fill in some informations. Where are the men's rights activist...

Champora:
@seyewest I also had this issue. The section for filling in my previous educational background didn't appear on any of the two DS-160 forms I filled. I called the Embassy's customer care and they couldn't do anything. They said it was beyond their jurisdiction and I should fill only what I saw on the form. So I never filled previous educational history because that section wasn't in my DS-160 �

Both interviews were successful thank God.

Whatever makes you sleep well at night.

gemcn:
he can take his money elsewhere, but it's his prerogative to get worked up or not, when he paid non refundable visa fees, had invested time (Sebi you people always say we should read from part 1-3,it costs time) and emotions.

it's OK to keep saying its a privilege and a not right, but don't castigate people on how they choose to feel.

even life itself is a privilege, people die everyday for no just cause, and yet we don't go about being happy about it just cos life is a privilege.

even in every business transaction, you do your due diligence, hope for the best, but at the same time, you have the worst case scenario at the back of your mind.

if the worst happens, even after considering the worst, you don't necessary have to feel good about it.