Congratulations! SMREXY:
This is going to be a somewhat long...
Fams, in whatever you find yourself doing, always put GOD first. Without him, your hardwork and great profile could be regarded as nothing in few seconds. Indeed, GOD is nothing but Great and Awesome... Alhamdulillahi Robbil Alamin.
Also, NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR PURSUIT FOR SUCCESS!
My first visa interview was at LAGOS and was scheduled for November 27, 2019. I had a fully funded PhD in Civil Engineering (Water Resources Option) at University of Kentucky, Lexington.
So, this was how the interview went...
Me: Good morning ma'am
VO: Good morning, pass me your passport
Me: Should I include my I-20?
VO: Pls do
VO: Why are you going to the US?
Me: I'm going to the United States of America to have my PhD. degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Kentucky in Lexington
VO: Why University of Kentucky?
Me: I got to realize, during my online search, that the University of Kentucky meets my expectations with respect to my research specialization. I realized that Dr.__ specializes in fate and transport of environmental contaminants (had the mind to express myself further but wouldn't know what killed my morale at this point, just got blank)
VO: How many schools did you apply to?
Me: I was able to complete my application to only University of Kentucky. I would have also applied to University of Colorado but my GRE score was not up to the required score of the school
VO: What's your GRE score?
Me: 300 (I proceeded to give the breakdown)
VO: What do you do?
Me: I work as an Assistant Lecturer at....
VO: What will this PhD do for you?
Me: Apart from my research, the PhD will give me the opportunity to gain promotion to the position of full Lecturer as the position I currently hold is a training position that requires further training (meanwhile, I had prepared to say something different entirely but someone gave the advice and I thought it weighed more than what I planned initially, so my subconscious took it instead)
VO: Why are you changing career
Me: No, I would not be changing career. My first and second degrees were in Water Resources Management and I intend to specialize in Water Resources Engineering during this program. Moreover, I intend to focus on water treatment, which is better handled in Civil Engineering.
VO: What do you do?
Me: I work as an Assistant Lecturer at Federal University of...
VO: What do you teach? (I couldn't hear what she was saying until the third time)
Me: I teach water related courses (I had to say this twice and later realized I should have been explicit enough)
VO: Have you traveled out of Nigeria before?
Me: No, I have never had the need to
VO: Are you married?
Me: No, I'm not
VO: Started typing...
Me: In my mind, I felt it was going to be positive as she continued to type. Then a smile appeared on my face as she opened her mouth to say the unexpected.
VO: I'm sorry I won't be able to approve your visa this time. Then she passed my passport and I-20 with a yellow paper to me.
Me: I collected them with a smile and told her thank you.
My second visa interview at ABUJA was scheduled for January 12, 2020.
Me: Good morning, Sir! How are you doing?
VO: Good morning, how are you doing?
Me: I'm doing fine, thank you.
VO: Pass me your passport and I-20
Me: Here they are.
VO: Are you employed?
Me: Yes, I work as an Assistant Lecturer at the Federal University of...
VO: Why are you going to the US?
Me: I'm going to the US to have my Doctorate degree in Civil Engineering with specialization in Water Resources Engineering at the University of Kentucky.
VO: Why this school?
Me: Apart from the full time research assistantship I was offered, which covers my tuition fee with a generous stipend that covers my living expenses, the school meets my expectations with respect to research specialization. My guidance, Dr... who specializes in the fate and transport of environmental contaminants and their treatments also specializes in Water Disinfection, which is a problem I intend to tackle when I am back to Nigeria after my programme in the US.
VO: What do you do?
Me: I work as an Assistant Lecturer at the Federal University of... where I teach water related courses such as Water Quality Assessment and Pollution Control, Principles of Irrigation, Hydraulic structures and Elements of Hydrology. I am also a researcher by default (I had a letter from my Registrar but I didn't remember to mention it).
VO: How many schools did you apply to?
Me: I completed my application to University of Kentucky. Though I also have a pending application at Steven's Institute of Technology
VO: Are you married?
Me: No
VO: Have you traveled out of Nigeria before?
Me: No, I never had the need to.
VO: Sorry, bla bla bla
Me: May I please know why I was denied?
VO: It's written on the paper
Me: Thank you
The third one was at LAGOS on June 1, 2021 for a different programme and school.
VO: Good morning, how are you doing?
Me: Good morning, I'm doing fine. How are you doing too?
VO: Good, thank you. Pass me your passport and I-20.
Me: I did as instructed
VO: (Typed and glanced through his system and my I-20 for a while) I can see that you are going to Kent State University for a PhD in Geology.
Me: Yes please.
VO: How did you learn about the school?
Me: I used Google search and USnews.com to search and narrow down the schools that offer my course of interest.
VO: Why the school?
Me: Thank you for this question. Firstly, I will like to let you know that Kent State University offered me a full-time Graduate Teaching Assistantship position that fully covers my tuition fee and living expenses including 70% of my health insurance as you can see on my I-20. Also, I was able to establish a research correspondence with Dr... who was excited to receive my mail after mailing him to inform him about joining his research team towards conducting a research on the modeling of hyporheic zone which is the interface between surface water and groundwater systems and allows for the exchange of both organic and inorganic pollutants. Also, I should let you know that the school initiated a platform known as flashfriends that allows for the interactions between current and prospective graduate students to enable the sharing of information about the school and all, which was very helpful during my application process.
VO: I can see that you've been refused twice, 2019 and 2020.
Me: Yes, that's true for the same program in Spring 2020
VO: Which school was that? (I didn't hear well so I asked to be sure)
Me: That's University of Kentucky
VO: You applied for Water Resources Engineering then, why Geology now?
Me: Thank you for this beautiful question. I should let you know that my major, which is Water Resources Management, is an interdisciplinary course that cuts across geology, hydrology, civil engineering and environmental science including climate science. So I am going for the Geology aspect which will allow me conduct a research on the modeling of the interaction between surface water and groundwater systems which is similar to the research I intended to conduct with my PhD at University of Kentucky. (All this while he kept typing and wouldn't say anything). So I chipped in this... Also, I was unable to sustain my funding at University of Kentucky due to COVID.
VO: How did you get this great funding?
Me: Thank you. I believe the admission committee must have been greatly impressed with my academic excellence and research capability. I completed my first degree with a First class and my second degree which is a Master's degree with distinction grade. Also, I'm quite sure my recommenders must have submitted excellent recommendation letters on my behalf because they know me quite well having worked with them while they were HOD of my department where I currently work as an Assistant Lecturer. So they know about my capabilities quite well.
VO: Are you married?
Me: No, I'm single
VO: Do you have kids?
Me: No, I don't
VO: Typed for a while that I was already hoping I got the Visa this time... Then blah blah blah
Me: Felt bad, said thank you, then left.
The interview lasted longer than this as he was just typing, typing and typing. I noticed his countenance at some point while he was reading through something on his system so I have a feeling that the issue is from my profile which I wouldn't know what it is. The denial was quite shocking because I was not expecting it throughout the period our conversation lasted.
Now the fourth and the FINAL...
I wouldn't know how, but God perfected everything. The next 2 days after my last denial was my birthday. I checked my visa portal to see what's up and luckily, I saw first available date "June 28, 2021". I thought I was dreaming because the date appeared too close for a recent denial (that's a freaking 27 days after last interview). With faith, I rushed to pay another MRV fee and I was fortunate to still have the date intact at LAGOS Embassy.
What if I tell you that I do not really have a transcript to share for my fourth interview. I mean my experience was nothing but God's mercy. At the utterance of my first response, I was already about to give up because I realized I was in no way at my peak. However, God was merciful enough to change the story for me.
So, I was scheduled for 11:30 am but I left my hotel around 8 am. To locate me became an issue for my bolt driver so I spent several minutes trying to get him to find me. That didn't get me worried though because I felt I still had enough time since it's just a 25 minutes drive to the embassy. Eventually, I was able to capture him after he had passed me again. Thank God I saw his car colour and plate number on the app. I eventually got to the embassy arena and had my bag and phone kept with one of those business oriented fellows... If government no provide job at least some people thought it well to earn through a legit means other than scam and related ways. Meanwhile, they were not even considering the scheduled time of interview so I was just passed in for document verification. It's like not much people were fixed for today because the population was not so much as my first but more than my third.
After the whole waiting, I was eventually led with four other people into the interview hall. It was then I realized that people plenty small o... But still not as much as my first.
When it got to data capturing, the lady asked me when I took my passport photograph and if I had used it for a previous interview. Since the latter response was a yes, that's how she gave me a note to go and snap another one outside o. Thank God they already have a guy on standby in the waiting arena who was charging just #1,000. I went back in after I got the new passport and I completed the process. Then comes another long wait for finger print capture. That's how oyinbo's computer no wan capture my fingerprints o. I was like abi my international passport is fake ni abi dem don ban my passport ni... don't mind me, it's not a good thing to have visited the embassy several times without approval. He had to restart his system and apologized for the delay, then I felt a lil relief that the problem ain't from my end. At last the system came on and fingerprints were captured successfully.
Finally joined the last que for interview proper, then I started viewing different VO-Applicant interactions proper. In this life, until GOD says it is your time, my brother and sister just continue to have patience o because this visa approval/denial of a thing could make a denied best student feel like losing all hope. Some guys with strong case and everything intact, the next thing sorry blah blah blah�. While some with shaky voice and less effort will just get it ...boom... visa has been approved! There was the case of a guy who had previously went to US twice for tourism and spent 6 good months without any good reason to bail himself out. Mehn the VO tackled the guy till the end o even as he was trying to tender other high grade certificates to cover up his flaws. At last he was rejected and everyone kinda laughed because it was turning to a drama between them.
Meanwhile, there were 4 VOs (one was like a part-time because she wasn't really stable at the window but she eventually became my super hero).
I was checking out the scenarios at each of the windows but didn't let what was happening affect my morale because a lot of drama was happening for whoever is ready to laugh and some set of people were actually deriving joy from it. All the while, I just kept praying to God for mercy because after my 3rd interview, I knew what was left for me in this sojourn is nothing but Allah's mercy. I wasn't having any VO in particular in mind but was praying that I get interviewed by the VO that will be willing to allow God use him/her for my case. Thankfully, I got God's mercy in a miraculous way and my prayers were fully answered.
When it was almost my turn, there's a guy in my front that was about stepping to window 2 (or so) where the part-time VO is but was beckoned on to move to one of the active VO window where dramas were happening. This left me open for the window 2. I got there and the following happened...
Me: Good morning ma'am (with a smile)
VO: Good morning
Me: How are you doing ma'am?
VO: I am doing fine (with a smile)... Maybe she likes my attire because I wore native
VO: Pass me your documents.
Me: *(After getting rejected 3 times without me being asked if I have any document from my employer, a friend advised that I include it with my I-20 and fake ignorance. After all you've been denied before so it's no new thing, the most the VO will do is to return it)* So, I folded the letter of introduction I got from my Registrar (stating that I'm a bonafide staff of the Institution with my job role, including that I am expected back at my job after the programme) and placed it in front of my I-20 in-between my international passport, then passed it to her.
VO: (Luckily for me that was the first thing she saw) She removed the letter and glaced through it so swiftly as if she didn't read anything and returned it back to me that she doesn't need it. In my mind I was like... *chai mama don vex o* �
Me: Collected it and felt as if nothing has really happened.
VO: Why did you choose this school?
(Me that I already have a good proposed response for such question just realized that nothing was in my head again o, but at least went ahead to say the rubbish English that my mouth could speak at that time)
Me: I chose the school because among the schools that I applied to Kent State University had my focus with respect to course interest and research focus. I currently work as an Assistant Lecturer (VO cuts in...)
VO: that's okay, you work as an Assistant Lecturer? Where?
Me: At the Federal University of... in...
VO: Okay! What will this degree do for you?
Me: As an Assistant Lecturer, it is expected that I ensure (VO cuta in again)
VO: Where did you say you work again?
Me: Federal University of... in...
VO: Checked something on her system, then was like University of what did you say?
Me: Federal University of... in... In fact I have a letter from my Registrar incase you wish to see.
VO: No, I don't need that. Who is paying for your education?
Me: The school offered me a Graduate Teaching Assistantship position that comes with tuition fee waiver and a generous stipend which I am grateful for that covers my living expenses and 70% of my health insurance leaving me with a deficit of $1,835.
VO: So who is paying for the balance?
Me: I will be covering that with my personal savings.
VO: Checked my I-20 and was like 'Okay'
I was just staring at her. That's how she carried my passport and dropped it inside a box and removed a white paper o. Then she faced her system and started reading through what's there. Then everything started looking like a film trick. She wasn't really happy with what she's seeing there. So she took out my passport from the box and also picked my I-20. At this point, I became really scared and started saying all prayers that my mouth could say. Thank God there's nose mask to shield my mouth's movement. All I was asking for was God's mercy as much as I could. She eventually stepped out to speak with someone I was not seeing, but it was obvious she was soliciting for a consideration on my behalf (only God knew what these people don write for my case o). She came back, started doing something on the system and it seems like copy and paste or deleting something sha. Meanwhile, she's yet to return my passport into the box but at the same time still have the white paper placed beneath my I-20.
VO: What position will you attain with your PhD?
Me: Lecturer II
VO: Okay!
She resumed to her typing and after a while, the golden words came out of her mouth... "I am approving your VISA"
That's how my system just scattered that I was trying to listen to what she was saying but my ears no gree hear o. All I wanted at that moment was to allow her stop talking so I could thank her for the consideration.
Eventually she finished talking and I thanked her and pray that God continue to bless her abundantly. It was obvious from her facial expression that she's happy about the decision and how I felt afterwards.
Special appreciation to my one and only chiefest chief, PEPEronically macaroni who saw my first interview transcript on Nairaland, reached out to me and gave me some encouragements that denial is nothing, that I will eventually get it if I remain steadfast. Thank you very much great Scholar, brother, leader and all-in-1 personality. May God continue to be your fortifier.
God didn't stop at that, He always had people sent to me at every point of my bad times. In no order of arrangement, these Scholars have been of great and immense support to my morale in all ramifications: Afeez, Ariwoola Mattew, Demmy, Yusuf, Debik, Zaynab, Mayowa, Chinonso, Gifty, Enyo (Nairaland), Eyo, Kemi (Nairaland), Kush, the whole ACER family and FCLN family. You guys are the best!
Alhamdulillahi Robbil Alamin... God will not start what He cannot complete. So, remain steadfast in your pursuit for excellence! |
Travel › Re: General USA Student Visa Enquiries-part 16 by Peter52: 6:25am On Oct 21, 2021
