₦airaland Forum

bamideleniayo: Thanks so much Kevwe_flex..
Pls can explain little bit more on the 2nd answer where u said I need to submit my e-passports that must be valid at least six (6) months beyond the dates of the trip and that Some airlines will not allow you to board if this requirement is not met. I just a little clarification on that Cause on my e-passport the expiry date is 2018...! Thanks so much

olutola1: Okeymen, thanks for your advice. I think I'll go with it, don't wanna be sent back to the end of d line. lol...I'll keep my stuff safe somewhere. I'll advise everybody to do d same to avoid unnecessary hiccup.

Anthony Lofty: @kevwe_flex i sent u a PM or u add me 2 fbk tonylofty

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.?

rantileye: Regards to the comment above, is it possible for the DV winner to come back to Nigeria to marry and take his wife down to US? and if possible, how long must the DV winner stay in the state before the wife can join and possibly d children if there is any?

kevwe_flex: Hello folks here are some google tricks, they will wow you.
1. Type the phrase "do a barrel roll" in Google, and the screen will tumble around. The same thing happens if you search for "Z or R twice." If you're feeling lazy, you can simply click here and see the effect for yourself. Because it was built in HTML5, it doesn't work on all browsers. Firefox and Chrome seem to support it best.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/1466703_Google_gravity_jpg934c897cfc73f8672a264e69d02d0f6e
2. Enter "Google Gravity" in the search bar. Hit "I'm feeling lucky" (if you have Google Instant enabled, it's on the right hand side of the suggested searches). Then watch your world fall down.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/1466702_askew_jpg7c0737ddefa6be913f3a776045939d15
3. Simply search for the word "askew." We dare you not to tilt your head.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/1466706_recursion_jpgd1c13dfda60de80577500da0bb127fd0
Here's one for word nerds and philosophy majors. Search for "recursion" and Google asks "did you mean recursion?"

www.nairaland.com/attachments/1466704_Mentalplex_jpg597b7c5067db682de34af31790e44b8d
4. Mentalplex:This one started life as an April Fool's joke, but is still around at google.com/mentalplex Baffle your less Internet-savvy family and friends!

www.nairaland.com/attachments/1466705_Pacman_jpg90382a0e9202acd7427392142cf62c79
5. Pacman:The Google doodle that launched a thousand lost hours of productivity will live forever at google.com/pacman

6. Type "Let It Snow" on Google for a Lovely Surprise.

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?

blessed512: Hello my e-family! Trust the Lord is helping us. Pls will a DV lottery winner be regarded as US citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident? I'm confused... Smile!!!

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!

adeadebayor: My pple help me to rejoice cos my family visa has been approved, detail later. God I thank u.

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!!!!

mcro: You guys are doing a great job here. More power to your elbow. Thanks for the compliments, and for the advice. I just say make I resemble u small ni. It is well my brother.

kennex89: I will be going to the interview with my wife, she is the principal applicant, she played as single but we got married in the process through registry and may 1st she told me she won, so some friends advised that we can go together as couples that it is possible. what do you think we have all documents to back this up.

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.

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

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.

gokman4u: 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 In Jesus Name.
Congrats once more.

ewhoma: http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_6211.html
U guys can check d site for confirmation.

bukiemma: Thanks Fam.. I love u all!

I got there around 4:50am and met 5 cars packed outside cos dey open their gate by 5am.

We drove in at 5am and waiting in d us consulate premises. At about 6:30am dey started security checks and we sha went inside d hall. They wasted our time cuz all d interview consulars were having a meeting. And dey started interviewing us around past 10 or so. In a nutshell, my num B402 appeared on window.... Hmmm I've 4gotten d window number cos of d extremely cold a/c. My interviewer looks good oo, beautiful white young woman.
CO: hi
ME: gudmrning
CO: hi speak louder pls
ME: hello (louder)
CO: are u Emmanuel Oladipupo
ME: yes ma'am
CO: what's ur highest edu level
ME: National Diploma
CO: how old are u?
ME: told her
CO: what?! 33?
ME: told her again (she dey hear double)
CO: ok nice, so who played 4 u
ME: I play by myself
CO: did u have any problems playing it?
ME: not at all
CO: how did u played and where
ME: I played in a cybercafe
CO: oh ok, so how much did it cost u
ME: #120 naira, cos I bought 1hr ticket
CO: dats nice, so who filled ur forms for u
ME: I did by myself
CO: woow! Are u sure?
ME: yes ma'am
CO: are u d only child?
ME: no I'm d last born of 4
CO: where are ur siblings?
ME: 1st is a lady and is in d usa, d 2nd a lady is here in 9geria, d 3rd a male is in d uk and I'm d 4th
CO: ur sis in d us, what kind of visa did she entered with?
ME: lottery
CO: who assisted u in playing lottery?
ME: no one, infact dis was my 1st and I won
CO: who wil u be staying with?
ME: my sister in d usa
CO: wat state
ME: maryland
CO: what do u do presently?
ME: I just finished my ND so I was waiting for asu to call off strike so I can process a direct entry in2 a uni
CO: ok good so wat wil u do wen u get a visa
ME: I would love to further my education
CO: who paid for ur visa fee and other processing?
ME: my dad
CO: (she checks all my forms) emmanuel are u sure u filled all these urself, and are u sure u have never helped some1 to fill b4
ME: yes ma dats d truth
CO: oh sry I 4got to ask u to swear to say d truth, now pls raise ur ryt hand and swear
ME: I did
CO: make sure u pay ur green card fee b4 u trav..... Oooh sorry ur visa has been approved
ME: nawa oo *inside my mind* "e be like sey she dey nervous maybe na my cute face dey make her 4get everytin
ME: Thanks ma'am.

AND I LEFT!
U guys wouldn't believe dat she 4got to collect dat blue card from me. It was wen I got home dat I saw it.

Thank God sha and tnk u all... U guys really helped me a lot, hope my story no too much? Just wanna tell u all d questions she asked cos it myt help ppl awaiting their turn. PEACE!

bukiemma: Halleluyah!!! Visa has been approved!!! Details later pls... Driving home wit full speed at d moment

Malcolm28: Good day Forumites, please permit me to give a detailed account of my experience at the embassy during my interview on 3rd December. Been very busy on some other issues that why its coming a bit late.
We left the place we were staying at Anthony Village at 4:30 am to avoid the morning traffic to the Island. We actually got up at 3:00am to get the kids ready. Arrived the embassy at about 4:55am. There were like 5 other persons waiting. My Mother-In-Law drove us there so she had to look for a place to park and was directed to a parking lot that can be accessed by car only through Obalende (but open to the embassy by foot, so people can park there and have close proximity to the embassy surrounding).
While waiting, around 5:30 my wife and mother-in-law retreated to the car to feed the children again so they don't get cranky when the process begins.
We were called to move out and join the queue for screening at 6am.
After the 1st screening where they make sure you don't have phones on you, etc, We were made to all pile around the 2nd point where a lady came to address us stating the 2 broad visa categories and how the process will run. We were at this point separated into Immigrant and Non-Immigrant categories. She also talked about timing of our interview etc. We were then told to bring our interview notification letters and open our medicals at this point and fix in our passports which we all did. There were repeated warning about what must not be found on us. My wife explained to them about items for the kids but they would not bulge. They insisted that we can only take in biscuit for the kids. My wife had to go out of the time 2 times to return items to my Mother-In-Law who was waiting in her car at the parking lot.
We eventually went through the 2nd Screening were the bags and everything was thoroughly checked. We were then issued blue slips, a small form to fill in your name and address, email and telephone #, we were also given a sheet payment (Please ensure you keep every sheet given to you so as not to have issues when they are demanded).
We went through a 3rd screening again after which we were ushered into the main embassy building. We were asked to remove our belt, shoes and our bags were again screened at this point before we were allowed into the interview hall after picking a slip that gave us our number for the day (B415).
On getting into the hall, the security man asked what Visa category we were for, and told us where to sit and where we would make the payments, Immediately my family found a place to sit, I proceeded and made payments (N218,000) for 4 of us (at rate of 165/$).
Immediately I was done paying the fees, my number blinked in window 14. I was asked to come for submission of documents. That lasted for about 5 minutes, the guy would asked for one document after the other, I would produce them and give him, he would ask for duplicates I would give him, friendly black guy. After that process, I went back to sit. My daughter was all over the place, walking and playing. my wife held my Son do there wasn't any issues. Many Children were crying, tried to help one Women whose Son was crying profusely but to no avail.
For a while there wasn't any activity at the windows, (they were probably reviewing the documents we submitted).
At about 8:30, the interview process began at window 14 where an old woman was interviewed and placed on administrative processing because she couldn't provide some details to the CO even with the help of a Yoruba interviewer. I thought I was gonna be interviewed at this window since my documents were collected here. The man at Window 16 was also there and interviewed a pregnant lady who I think filled to go an unit with her husband. It took a while for the process to be over and I could remember the scare of window 16 and was wishing that my interview did not take place there. Shortly after the lady left, my number appeared at window 16 and my wife called my attention to it.
Went there with my whole family, my daughter was sleeping at this time so I had to pick here while clutching the documents too.
The process process went thus:
CO: Are to XYZ (pointing to each of us)
We: Yes
CO: Asked me to raise my hand a swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth
Me: I did
CO: Asked to take our finger prints (me and wife)
We: We did (left hand, right hand (4 fingers) and then both thumb
CO: Gave us our forms to sign (asked that one of us sign for the children on yellow marking)
We: Did that
CO: Asked when we got married
We: Both me and wife responded in unison
CO: Asked me have I been married before this marriage
Me: No
CO: Any Children apart from this 2
Me: No
Co: whats your highest qualification?
Me: 2 Masters Degree
CO: I can see the MBA is the most recent. When did conclude the course
Me: Told him when I completed the program and submitted project
CO: Tell me about you project
Me: Told him about the project and the major findings
CO: He was nodding and smiling and very happy with my analysis of the project and the findings
CO: Brought out 2 sheets and tells us this is where you will be collecting your visa on Tuesday next week. Tells me to not bother coming with my family to collect the visa. Also suggested I nominate someone to pick up the Visas for me since I don't live in Lagos. Then said congratulations.
Me: Was kinda taken aback! Thanks him and leaves
As we were about to exit, I heard my name. Turned around to window 16 and the CO motioned to me
Went back.
CO: Please can I have the receipts of visa fees payment?
Me. Reached into my pocket and gave him the receipts. He collects one and gives me the other
Me: I tell him I almost forgot to update my details on the place of residence when I enter the US. I then hand him a sheet of paper containing the address. He promises to update the info for me.
The whole interview process lasted for about 3 minutes.
We then walked out of the embassy.
It can only be God! The process was swift just like I had prayed to God it would be. And the fact that it was window 16! The dreaded window 16? God works in awesome ways.
For those waiting for their interview or awaiting 2NL, God will do it.
Congrats to the forumites who were in the same venue with me that morning. We were the family of 4 I was wearing a brown trouser, with and blue stripped short and a navy blue blazer jacket, my daughter was wearing a red trouser while my wife wore a black suit. We were the ones echoing peoples numbers when they are called, Remember?
Thanks so much to everyone here who prayed with us, I understand so many people were praying for us. @Obatide and Glory2Glory, God bless you specially, you were there. Thanks everyone. We will continue to keep in touch and we will all see in the US.

Obatide: Good day fellow members of this Great forum, May God crown all our efforts with success.
Thank God for all the success stories we have been hearing, May His name only be praised and I pray that GOD will favour the rest of us.
About the issue of Sharing cantacts, I so much like it but we should not Forget the primary purpose of locating this forum, which I think to many, is: to get information which will aid our successful interview whilst Running away from Agents.
EVERY BODY COULD REMEMBER his/her FIRST EVER POST/READING ON NAIRALAND as evidence of my claim.
In view of this, I suggest we present issues here for different opinion and suggestions (There is safety in multitude of cancel) then PM any member you wished to have personal chat with, this will make the thread grow the more and serves as Reference to future members.
However as G2glory points, We should look beyond issues of interview and discuss FLIGHT BOOKING, CARRER IN USA, ACCOMODATION, HOW TO SETTLE IN QUICKLY and so on, to make the forum more lively

on this below, im in for Good

If we can do PART 1, in 9ja now then we plan ahead of 2014 Thanksgiving day in USA and continue from there.
may I chip in this; those who have secure their VISA, pls migrate on time so as to settle down fast in other to be our secondary hosts
Any more suggestions?