Hello all,

Since I came here to learn more about the experience, I think it is only fair that I also share mine for others to benefit from. Thank you to all the contributors.

So, I had my interview today for a B1/B2 visa at the Lagos Consulate. I was applying with my kids (7 and 4). My wife already had the same B1/B2 visa. The appointment was for 9.30am and we got there at 8.45am. There was quite a crowd at the embassy today. The timeslot we had selected was for 12.30, but the appointment confirmation changed the time to 9.30am, same day.

We were swiped a couple of times and then told to join the queue. And that's when the disorganisation began. There were two queues and the officials said we could join either of them. It turned out that only one of them was in use. So people that came long after we did were going in while the officials kept saying we could stay on the non-moving queue. So we changed queues. At the top of the queue, we came across a very rude official who clearly thought the applicants were a burden, giving snide comments and being generally nasty.

We got into the processing area where we were yet again swiped and then joined another slow-moving queue at around 9.22am. We eventually came to a lady that checked our names against a list and placed a sticker on the passports. We joined a third queue where a barcode sticker was printed and also pasted on the passports. When this was done, we were finally able to sit down. It was almost 10.00am by this time and the kids were getting a little cranky.

Eventually, the same rude official ushered us to join yet another queue from which we walked across the street into the Consulate. Here, we had to remove belts, wristwatches and keys and go through metal detectors. When this was done we walked into the processing area. We passed by a number of people coming out with downcast faces. First queue inside was the intake to scan the barcode on the DS160 invitation letter, next queue was for the fingerprints (kids did not have their fingerprints collected) and finally to meet the Consular.

I was ushered to a window and the man in front was being interviewed. I have to say I was disappointed in his responses and I wasn't surprised that his visa was denied. He had said he was in Napoli on vacation over three different years and when he was asked what he did while there, he responded 'we were driving around, going here and there...'

Anyway, filled with confidence but a little bit of trepidation, I stepped to the window with the kids

VO: Can I have your passports
VO: Why are you going to America?
Me: We want to go on vacation to Orlando, to take the kids to Disney World and Universal Studios, and I would love to see New York afterwards.
VO: Will your wife be joining you on your trip?
Me: Yes, but she was in the US last year on business so she already has a visa
VO: Where did your wife go to in the US?
Me: New York and Boston
VO: I see you have been to France, UAE... When did you go to France? (I had filled this in my application)
Me: 2016
VO: What did you go to do there?
Me: I work with nnn and we had sold some equipment to yyy, so I went with them to demo and get trained on the equipment
VO: How much do you make in a month working for nnn?
Me: All in, fffffff (naira) but the net is between gggggg and hhhhhh (The deductions vary on my salary)
VO: How long have you worked with nnn?
Me: In May, it will become 11 years
VO: I see you were also in (ME country). What did you go to do there? (also filled in my form)
Me: I am currently working there on transfer from nnn
VO: Have you ever travelled with your family on vacation?
Me: Yes. With her (pointing to my daughter) to the UK and UAE, and with him (pointing to my son) to the UAE alone.
VO: When did you go the UK?
Me: My wife studied in the UK so I went with her (pointing to my daughter) in 2012 and 2013.

The visa officer typed a bit, put our passports on the pile of passports on his desk, brought out the white form from a drawer, circled the DHL collection center and said: Your visa has been approved. You can collect your passports in a couple of days at your preferred location in Victoria Island.

Me: Is that all? (after I had collected the form)
VO: Yes, thank you.

And then I could finally take my son who had been holding in his weewee to the bathroom, and then to drink some water from the drinking fountain at the back. It was after 11 when we got out.


General Points
1. I printed all my documents in black and white because my coloured ink was finished. This was not a problem
2. It had been said that passport photographs were required. No one asked for this. I would advise you still take this with you.
3. I took along the GTBank payment confirmation but no one looked at it. I would advise you take this too just in case...
4. Car keys were allowed. I had thought this would be a problem. Of course, phones weren't allowed. Some people dropped their phones at the sentry post outside where there were some policemen hanging around. I don't know if they paid for this or how much was paid.
5. While waiting on the queue, a lady had her driver bring her bathroom slippers to her on the queue and she changed from her heels into the slippers. She went in with the slippers and when I came out and saw her, she had the white paper meaning she got the visa. So while your appearance matters, comfort should be more important because you will be there for a while and standing for most of the time.
6. Speak clearly and audibly. If you have an affected accent, it is more than likely the VO won't even hear what you are saying.
7. I had printed mine and my wife's bank statements and my payslips (all in greyscale), but no one asked for them. These, in addition to the ones I mentioned earlier were all the documents I took with me.
8. The appointment times were not respected. A man in from of me said his interview was for 8.05! Time was already after 9 at this point.
9. I had bounded three passports together for myself (current and previous two). At the intake queue, the lady that attended to us removed the oldest and handed it back to me, probably because it was too bulky.
10. By the time we were done, the crowd had considerably thinned out. This means they processed almost everyone within three hours. This was around a hundred applicants that I estimated.

I hope this has helped. Wishing you all luck in your applications. Remember to avoid using agents and always tell the truth. Also do a honest self-analysis about your chances. Depending on miracles for instance, means you most probably won't get the visa.

And when we've gone and experienced the order, we should come back to Nigeria and insist our leaders provide us with the same, while at the same time, be good citizens.

I'll make an exception and comment on this thread.

I wholeheartedly disagree with the original poster and the moniker Raayah in their statements about Nigerian education being sub-par and foreign graduates being better than Nigerian.

I am leading an international team of engineers and specialists on a multi million dollar project with a multinational company and I was recruited from Nigeria. It has been a right royal mess with the resources, many European, many from the Middle East, some from some sub Saharan countries. In many instances, I rely on Nigerian resources, problem only being work permits for them which can be tedious.

The biggest problem I have on the project of course, is my resource planning and the CVs I receive from recruitment companies are in many cases as bad as you can imagine.

I only had my Unilag education and Nigerian experience on my CV, same with my Nigerian resources.

To the unemployed; keep reading, know a little about everything, improve your written and spoken English and add value to yourselves.

You are only as good as you choose to be.