₦airaland Forum

LagosismyHome:
Funny enough you can't say for sure if the community college was not an issue or if you had said yes you have a relative she would have still said no ...

There are many transcript when everything looks right only for the VO to say no. You never really know what in their mind until you get to the end

That been said , I won't rush and reapply because you don't know the comment this VO has put since she caught you in a lie. Consistency is key

Those that refuse to air on the side of caution always get their results in no time.

The guy went and told a blatant lie and still has the temerity to call out those that cautioned him for good and an agent that did nothing wrong.

Dopekidd:
Hello guys. My brother in the US just helped pay for my sevis fee but there's a lil error on the receipt. My date of birth is Nov 20 1998 but on the recept it shows Nov 29 1998. Someone on this thread actually told me it's no issue at all but I just want to be sure

I had a similar case, shoot them a mail @ fmjfee.sevis@ice.dhs.gov and they'll correct it.

See a sample below

Good day,

I just came across a mistake in my Date of Birth on my SEVIS I-901 Payment Confirmation. The Date of Birth on the payment confirmation is 37 may 1900 while my Date of Birth is 36 may 1900.

My name is Methuselah Nwachukwu Oluwagboteminikan and my SEVIS Identification Number is N0000987777. My Date of Birth is 36 May 1900. Please see my International Passport showing my Date of Birth attached for your information and guidance.

Kindly change the Date of Birth on my SEVIS I-901 Payment Confirmation to 36 May 1900.

Thank you.

Nahum777:
I was put on administrative processing. Transcript on the way.

Congratulations!!!

Even after that uncomfortable hotel experience. If it was me, I would have searched for another place, positivity is required in hours leading up to an interview.

bigfrancis21:
The trend I've noticed lately this season is that more females students are getting approved than male students.

Congrats to those out there who were approved and will be approved.

You are right sir.

I think it is not far from the fact that they are more articulate and give their all at opportunities like this.

Also, you rarely find them having this desperate immigration intent, even if they do not intend coming back, they conceal it by making it hard to detect on their profile.

precyrich68:
thanks for the contribution.

so at this point, what should I do differently before applying again? ?

I am not married, I am returning home to manage the family plantation . How else do I prove my ties to home country? ?

Note : During my interview, the consular officer just asked me two questions :

a. why did you choose the school? ?
Through strong recommendations from friends studying in the US . Paul and Virginia Engler college of Business west Texas a & m university has a strong reputation for outstanding performance in business. administration since its inception in 1910. it's is among the top ranked business schools in the USA.

secondly, the school offered me graduate assistantship to pay tuition and fee at an instant rate rather than as an international student.

b. who is paying the balance of your fees?
Mrs xxxx xxxx , my elder sister.

That was all. she handed me an already typed rejection letter. saying my application is being rejected this time, no proof of enough ties to home country.

I want to apply again, what do I do differently? ?

Good morning,

The VOs would always tie rejection to something. The reason for your rejection was because you were not prepared. Home ties is given less emphasis when it comes to F1 Visas.

Read the transcripts here and you would be fine. Your response to the question posed was off point and at best not adequate.

Read through the transcripts here and also download the compiled transcripts on the first page of this thread. Search for a user called folmus and go through his profile, he posted a Facebook link to some F1 orientation videos by consular officers.

Once you've done the above, do a proposed transcript and post it here for fine tuning.

Thank you

Dewumi054:
Good afternoon people

Please is there anyone in the house who chose to study Geography/GIS in the united state, has been interviewed by the VO and has been issued a Visa? Please I need your help. My interview is just a week away. The first issue is the issue of home tie and the second is pertaining to the course. I've surfed the net and I couldn't come up with a better response to *why the course?* Please I need a response as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance

Madam, this is a mutually beneficial community where people learn from the strength (approvals) and weaknesses (denials) of members as there are lessons to draw from both.

You were denied a visa before, the logical thing to do is to drop your transcript first to serve as a lesson to others and to be used as a basis for advising you.

Thank you

almedida:
Hello everyone!

What a great job guys are doing here. God bless you you all. A friend directed me to this thread.

I really need an urgent advice; I had my interview at Lagos US Embassy on July 11th and after the dialogue with the VO, she gave me a paper written on it "Electronic bank statements; 'mybankstatement', send code to US Embassy Nigeria, cost N1000" and then circled LagosNIV@state.gov on the white paper given to me.

Before you asked why didn't I ask what she meant by that, I already insulted myself, but believe me, I wasn't myself. Before she gave me the paper, she asked what my sponsor is doing, I told her a successful businessman, that owns a company that is into freight forwarding, importing and exporting. She went inside with the statement for a few minutes, came back and asked me to tell my sponsor to send an electronic bank statement to the email above.

When I checked my status, it read Administrative Processing. Please if anyone has had similar case or know about it, kindly help a brother. I sent a mail to the email above for more information on what to do, no response yet. My passport is still with me.

I will surely post my transcript and explain any steps taken once I'm settled with it, so that others can also learn from it and know what to do in case. Thank you.

God bless you guys!

I guess your sponsor's bank is GTB.

I used this when going for my interview even though funding and loan more than cover for my cost of attendance.

You can now send your bank statement to the embassy from your Internet banking platform. Once you login, go to statement and click on it, you'll see send statement to the embassy.

You'll be charged 1,000 naira and will be sent a code which you'll print and take to the embassy. That is the cade the VO would use to access the statement on the system.

So tell your sponsor to send the statement to the embassy from his/her Internet banking platform and print the generated code and give to you. It is that printed code that you'll send to them.

I don't know if this is possible with other banks as I used GTB to do mine. Also, I used online banking so I don't know if it can be done from the branch.

Thank you

K234:
Thanks..did you receive a text message or an email notification??

Welcome

Both, two text messages and two emails, one each for both (F1 and F2) of us.

K234:
Hello guys, is there anyone still waiting for pick-up notification of their passport and visa from the embassy, especially those who had their interview between June 24 - 29??
I've been tracking my passport and visa status since my interview on the 29th of June (my Visa was approved and the V.O said I should pick it up within 3-4 working days) and it's still showing that my "Passport is still with the embassy". It's been more than a week since my interview...Should I be worried??

Our interview was on 29th June, 2018, got messages to pick up on 3rd July, 2018 and picked up the next day.

The white paper you were given says you can only launch an inquiry after 10 days of not getting any message from them.

Our interview was in Lagos.

Update time.

I have gone to pick up our passports.

Wifee and I received emails and text messages informing us to go for collection. She's not around so I picked on her behalf. The requirement to pick for her was to drop a photocopy of my Id. The DHL office does not have a photocopier so I made the photocopy outside in a car that is parked on the street for one hundred naira for a copy.

On booking flight, British Airways was our first choice but we can only take one 23kg check-in baggage per head in their economy. We fashi am based on say we want carry three bags.

We now faced Turkish Airways, Etihad, Emirates and Qatar. Screened out TA because it is the most expensive.

While the Dubai and Doha airports top the Abu Dhabi airport in terms of class and prestige, the have more traffic. Also, fares for Emirates and Qatar are higher than that of Etihad across most if not all dates. So I'll be booking Etihad for price and traffic reasons.

I have looked at the pricing of fares and discovered that it is cheapest for dates that are far into the future like 3 months+, and cheaper around 3 to 9 days before departure.

I am looking at booking a one way ticket to JFK for the two of us for $1,653 for any day between 24th and 31st of July. That is the lowest it gets to on Etihad when the departure date draws near. That amount is less than 600k naira.

On housing, I have gotten an agent to hold a studio for me @ $1,179 per month, it is available from July 17th and can be held till July 31st. The initial unit we were considering @ $1,022 available August 6 was given to another tenant. There are other units @ $1,022 that will be available by September, I might switch to the cheaper unit later.

The greatest advantage of the apartment is its location; I'll only trek for 6 minutes to campus.

May God bring all our hopes to pass.

NeverSayNever11:
Hello Fam, I just noticed 21st date is now available, Is it possible for someone to use his/her GTB account(I don't have one) to pay visa fee for me online and use it to book an appointment immediately

Yes, it is possible

Your details will be used in filling the form on the payment window, once that is done, the receipt will contain your details


Thank you.

jeffery23:
Please help!!!

Hello gurus in the house,
A quick one please,via my DS-160 Comfirmation page i chosed lagos without knowing I can’t get appointment before 15th August, i can still see some early available date at Abuja ,Please can I go ahead and schedule an apppointment at Abuja? And I hope it won’t affect Lagos showing on my DS-160 location selected

Note: it’s my second time of reapplying,my visa was delayed as at May 2018 and my school is resuming for fall August 15th 2018.

Will appreciate your feedback,God bless you

Go ahead and book your appointment at Abuja.

Thank you

brave1773:
The fat frog at window 7 finished me.... I felt pain
Someone help review my transcript
Vo: good mornning
Me: good morning
Vo: pass your passport and i20
Me: see them
Vo: where are you going to?
Me: i am going to Gannon university
Vo: to do what?
Me: study for my Bsc degree in electrical Engineering
Vo:what is your level of education?
Me: HND in electrical engineering.
Vo: how many school did you apply to?
Me:i applied to gannon and montana state university
Vo: why gannon?
Me: i chose gannon not minding the fact , it accepted
me as a transfer credit student. I am impressed.
with the course structure that layed emphasis on.
project leraning. In the sence that gannon
colaberated with local industry to bring the.
practical knowledge to class room to make the.
students stay abreast of rapid changes in.
technology.
Vo: are you married?
Me: no.
Vo: do you have a kid?
Me: no..
Vo: who is paying for your trio?
Me: my dad
Vo: did you write any test?
Me: no.... It was not required by the school.
Vo: sorry you do not qualify. Please Help a brother.

Oga I have nothing against you, maligning a VO should be a no no, we shouldn't descend to that level.

They are are to do their jobs and treat each case according to its merit. You should also know that they are being supervised. This is not ruling out their being subjective.

I ran a quick check on you profile. You have considered or made enquiries about studying in Canada, Germany, Finland and the US and talked about travelling to Australia. You have also been denied a Canadian and US visa before.

In light of the above, you can see that you have stained or decreased your chances of securing a Visa.

haywhizzy21:
I have been wondering if some schools award full scholarship to business student(most times its either its engineering or science related descipline),now i have an evidence,,Congrats ,,may u achieve ur heart desires on ur new mission ..

Thanks and Amen!!!

On the scholarship, I am still responsible for about $10,000 per annum after the GA stipend so the courses you mentioned are still better as you can get funding that would more than cover for all your expenses.

On MBAs with good funding, check Carey in Arizona and UMass, armherst, your tuition is automatically waived if you are admitted. You can get full funding in Fisher College of Business, Ohio through what they call scholarship for Africa and in Haas, Berkeley through the master card foundation scholarship.

So for the bright and determined, you can go to school in the US for almost free.

livvyBee:
Azzin the guy no get wahala at all. I noticed the black lady too. She asked them so many questions. I salute the bravery of the second girl that asked to be interviewed by another person.
I noticed the security guy wasn't sending so many people to her either. Maybe its cos she was taking so much time.

Even the second white lady also rejected 2 people that I saw

We thank God for everything. See you in America!

That second lady was our choice if we had our way because we met her during the VO session at the Education US orientation last Wednesday, but when I saw that her questions were much, I just thank God that I wasn't directed to her.

The second guy she was interviewing was mixing things up, like he didn't take any test and was not straight forward with his responses.

The guy I feel for most is the guy that was interviewed and rejected before me, his responses (the ones I had) were on point, maybe there is a lacuna in his profile.

God bless your trip.

livvyBee:
Wow. I was right behind you. I was the next person he interviewed immediately after you and your wife.
Congrats! Im happy for you guys.

You were very articulate with answering the questions.

Congratulations. I must have sighted you in the hall but didn't take note of the person after me.

That guy does not have problem.

Our aunty, the black lady, on window 2 was doing what she knows how to do best. She was the first that came and rejected the first lady, the second lady told her she has interviewed her before and requested to be interviewed by another officer, the VO took her passport to confirm what the lady said and asked the security guy to direct her to another window after the confirmation.

F1 and F2 Visas approved this morning. We were the third to be interviewed by a guy with headphone; he granted the first and denied the second guy, the first was a lady and her young son for B1/B2 and the guy was for F1.
Once he was done with the guy, he signaled us and Wifee and I stepped forward.

Us: Good morning

VO: Good morning

VO: Your documents

Me: I passed both passports and I 20s

VO: Which school are you going to?

Me: I am going to the UConn School of Business in Hartford, CT

VO: So what will you be doing after the program

Me: So I presently work in the investment management industry, I will be returning to Nigeria to work briefly in the investment management industry and later set up my own investment management firm.

VO: Why did you choose this school?

Me: I just smiled, first the program fits my interest, I work in the investment management industry and I am going for an MBA with a concentration in investment management. So I applied to four schools and got admitted into two, so my other reasons will be relative. The other school I got admitted to is in Boston, so it is more expensive to live in Boston than Hartford, I got a Graduate Assistantship that comes with complete tuition waiver, monthly stipend and a subsidized health insurance which is better than the $65,000 scholarship I got for the entire duration of the program in Boston and lastly, both programs have a student management fund, the Program in Boston has an Asset under Management of about $500,000 while the program in Hartford has an AUM of about $2,000,000. The advantage of working with a larger fund is that it allows you to invest in more stocks and sectors therefore increasing your experience.

VO: He faced my wife and asked “will you be staying with your husband for the entire duration of the program or you will be travelling in between?” (This was the only question she was asked).

Wife: I will be staying with him all through sir.

VO: Now facing me, how did you know about this Program?

Me: So the schools I applied to all match my interest, I used the FT 100 MBA ranking and the US News ranking I combined them with insights I got from several orientation from the Education USA and The MBA Tour held on October 7, 2017 in Lagos.

VO: I can see that you got a loan

Me: Yes, from MPower Finance.

VO: Do you have kids?

Me: No

VO: When will you be travelling?

Me: I will be travelling by the end of this month, so the orientation is scheduled for August 13, 2018. (Wifee told me on our way home that it is next month and not this month, so it was a mistake on my part)

VO: I have approved your Visas

Me: Thank you sir

Thanks to everyone on this thread, what is going on here is priceless.

Aronman:
Please I want to go for education USA this morning.. Pls what's the time

The time is 10:am.

Strive to be there by 9:am as the place is usually filled up before 10:am.

Interesting read

https://www.quora.com/Why-do-Nigerian-applicants-always-get-denied-visas

adedoja99:
That Morehouse man just got his visa approved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God paved the way, and I cleared the rest with my hardwork. Thank you so much nairalanders. Transcript loading soon.

Congratulations

Aronman:
How can I attend education usa

For the orientation, it is every Wednesday and starts by 10 am. But you have to be at the embassy by say 9 am. Tell the security guys that you are going to education for orientation.

adedoja99:
Ohh, now I remember you Sir
I also left immediately the consulate officer left. But, I met her outside and asked a few questions and also to gauge my confidence level . She seemed easy to discuss with cause i did today, but I know I will still stammer on Friday

Good luck with your interview.

Once you're real and not fake, you don't have anything to fear.

Part of the reasons of going for that orientation is to familiarise yourself with that environment, you can see that they are all human and make mistakes.

Once given the flour, make it count. Dress best, it makes you have this I can do all things spirit.

Watch the Facebook link posted here by folmus to get more acquainted with everything non immigrant visa.

You can do it.

adedoja99:
I was at educationUSA this morning too! If only you remember who answered the question about the meaning of STEM .

You sabi book o, you saved all of us.

I know guys from here would show.

I was the one that asked the consular officer whether F2 visa holders can study part time.

I left after the Q&A session with the consular officer.

I was at EducationUSA today.

A guy asked the question on not being able to book an appointment immediately after a denial, the consular officer referred him to their help desk. She also added that he should be able to get a date.

The consular officer said they attend to about 1,200 non-immigrant visas per day and a VO interviews about 600 applicants per week.

On whether they are trained psychologist, she said detecting a lie comes naturally by experience. That you cannot be talking to about 600 Nigerians and not get an idea of who is lying

whyqueu:
Egbon Twoods

Bank investment can be withdrawn at any time ..You can sell/buy stock at anytime you need it and there's always a market all the time for it .

Oga, stop being confrontational.

Schools don't take stock investments for purposes of I-20 and I believe the embassy will not consider it for F1. The only case where people use their shares for embassy interview that I am aware of is for the B visa.

Now this is the way out.

Since you say your Father is a Stockbroker,tell him to look for someone to transfer like *2 of the amount you need to his stockbroking firm, let your Father have his stockbroking firm transfer the amount to his bank account.

Once the above is done, print the statement and take it to the embassy, note the amount and explain that he sold his shares and transferred the money to his account once he learnt that proof of stock investment is not acceptable.

Please ensure that the money you guys would source must first be transferred to his stockbroking firm, before transferring to his account, because that is the only way the above explanation would make sense.

Act fast before they withdraw your visa.

On the submission that there is always market for stocks, Please don't go and say it anywhere again o. FTN cocoa, Daar, and Unic have all hit 20 kobo, the minimum price, and no one is touching them.

Chidinho10:
Lol, I'm glad you finally agreed to the point.

However, I want you to remove that thought that people in top MBAs are aliens. They have one head like everyone else.

Also, not everyone that apply to Harvard or other top MBAs are top Analysts in top finance firms or earners of $148k+. We also have earners of less than $1k monthly in Nigeria that still join those schools and join top companies. So those schools are not reserved for aliens.

A large percentage of MBA students are even career switchers. People switching from marketing to Finance; people switching from finance to consulting and people switching from core tech to product management. So not every applicant is a Wall Street geek.

Finally sha, I rest my ink.
Thanks alot.

Oga, you have chosen to believe what you want, I did not agree to any point, I only showed you why the top MBAs report high salaries and it is that a bulk of the entrants are high earners.

I never mentioned anywhere that Nigerians that earn low salaries do not stand a chance of getting top MBAs, the debate was about top MBAs reporting high salaries.

The reports on switching careers is not entirely true as presented in the reports. A friend worked in the credit department of a bank and lands a consulting job with PWC in the US, he is seconded to a client's office to manage credit, on paper you would say he switched from banking to consulting but he is still doing the same thing.

The above does not however take away the fact that people do switch to different industries and assume new roles.

LagosismyHome:
Grandma ....
Chidinho10 you see how you making me bring out my dirty leg in public ... chei

I am a young girl oo. At least still in my 30s

He he, young at heart.

Let add more perspectives.

This time fourteen years ago, you were US bound for an MBA program.

Twelve years ago, two years before the financial crisis that wrecked the us labour market, you were hoping for a job and probably a rookie employee in the midst of the crisis.

You survived all the ups and downs.

We give you all the accolades, because that is what you deserve.

Chidinho10:
It's not about employment fam.
Check the firms those people joined and their salaries.
100% placement at McKinsey, Bain, Boston, Goldman Sachs, J. P Morgan and Bank of America is different from 100% placement at small retail shops. How many graduates at Northeastern MBA join McKinsey? Can you compare that with Harvard Business School MBA? Some MBA programs can get you to some places while others cannot. People that pay those huge sums for brand names know what they are looking for.

Salaries are very much different and prestige are also different. These are simple mistakes people do before dumping into the MBA train.

Oga, the guys that go to the top schools you mentioned above are self selecting i.e wizkids and stars that want to be superstars. They have the profile and a prestigious MBA would do the magic of getting them to a VP level faster with three years experience as analysts.

You dont find guys with those self selecting profiles in the mid programs because it does not fit their plans.

Do you expect an associate from Vanguard, Fidelity Finance, GS, State Street, etc to apply to Fisher, Smith, Babson or UConn? Definitely No. His place is the top program and he won't settle for less than his pre mba salary that is around 140$ to 180$k. You now see why they report high salaries.

Go checkout rejects from havard, stamford and the like and you ll see that the top programs will continue to report those attractive stats

LagosismyHome:
Textbook / forum and reality are two different things.... I am MBA class of 04 - 2006 and leave it at that. You haven't even started the program and making some statement..... Today is a busy day to go back and fort

you and I conversation should happen in 5 years time . Then you would have moved from textbook to reality

Good evening GrandMa,

Please I volunteer to be carrying your bag, Nairaland is truly blessed with oldies like you.

More grace.

All those talking about top MBA programs should focus more on the prestige and not employability.

See the 2018 ft ranking attached below, there is no material variation between the percentage of those employed 3 months post mba between the top 20 and the bottom 20 for US schools. In fact the last two US schools reported 100 percent employment.

D'Amore McKim school of business is the MBA program of Northeastern University, it reports 100percent employment. That scool is not in ft 100, it is in Boston MA where you have Havard, MIT, Babson, and Carroll that are on the ft ranking yet it gets all its MBAs jobs.

Getting a school that fits your plan shouldn't be an issue for an prospective MBA student, if you can't reach that school boy decision then you have no business going for an MBA.

Coloniel5000:
hello house, please would anyone know if there's still an available visa interview date for June.. thanks.

There are available dates.

The earliest date for regular appointment in Lagos is June 18th while the earliest for expedited appointment is May 31st.

Thank you.

Walspring:
Ask your sender and you get accurate info on that since the sender knows what (s)he used to send it.

Boss, I just sent you a pm.

Kindly respond.

Thank you.

As an update, please don't bother again, I have sorted myself out.

Thank you.