₦airaland Forum

kaey10:
How can i make sevis payment right naw....pls

Taal17:
She cant force the school to open physically, what fees dd she pay? i doubt it was school fees because I dont think school will let her pay whens school ahsnt resumed
Does she even have her visa?

kenwizy:
Hello guys,
Please how much is SEVIS fee,
Is it a fix payment for all international student?
For how long will it expire?
Please who can assist with step by step procedures on how to pay..
This is urgent please..

Thank you

Taciturnity:
Congrats brov.. Walspring Has been helping a lot of folks pay. BTW I also got admitted to gsu..

Ola9292:
I have a CGPA of 3.02/5 in my undergraduate(BSC chemical engineering) and second class upper degree ( Msc advanced engineering management). I will like to do a Phd in the engineering management field.

Ola9292:
I have a CGPA of 3.02/5 in my undergraduate(BSC chemical engineering) and second class upper degree ( Msc advanced engineering management). I will like to do a Phd in the engineering management field.

tonero4urch:
Visa Transcript

Consulate: Ankara -Turkey

Attempt : 5 (two B1B2 tourist visa in Nigeria, one B1B2 tourist visa and J1 work and travel visa in Ankara -Turkey).

Interview : As a family (with my Turkish wife)

School : Georgia State University -Atlanta Georgia USA.

Cost of Attendance : 57k dollars

Funding : I would say i am fully funded (monthly stipend and an on-campus employment as a lab Assistant) because without adding my wife as dependent I should have a surplus of 150 dollars but because I am going with her i have deficit of 4,630 dollars)

Program : Department of Mathematics and Statistics (Biostatistics concentration). I already have a masters in Statistics degree from Ankara university Ankara - Turkey which was on scholarship by the Turkish Government.

Visa status : Approved

Nationality : Nigerian

Date :July 28

Interview Time : 10:45 am

In time : 11:15am

Out time: 12:00 noon

Visa interview duration : less than 3 minutes

Visa officer: Black American guy.He should be in his late 30's. His name is Mathew.

He was approving visas quickly. Me and my wife are 191 on the line. The last person that the black guy interviewed was 175 on the line so we were surprised when the VO told the guy calling people in for interview to call us without even following the line serially. I just thought he was determined to give us visa because even when we were in the embassy me and my wife were acting lovey dovey in the embassy and it seems he noticed it. Going for my visa interview with my wife made everything easy because I remembered how nervous I was the other times I went to the embassy alone. We were just discussing inside the hall waiting for our turn to the cynosure of all eyes. It was like...every eye was on us. It really relieved all my stress because i wasn't alone. I had fun as company in my wife.

When we got to the VO:

Me: A very good morning to you.
VO: Good morning to you.

Me: How are you today?
VO: I am fine and you?

Me: We are fine too.
VO: Okay (he took our documents which are i20 and passports and said we should place our fingers to do our biometrics and we did)

VO: Where are you going in the US?
Me: I got a fully funded admission with an on-campus employment as lab assistant in the department of Mathematics and Statistics in Georgia State University Atlanta- Georgia US. I have a deficit of 4,634 dollars because I added my wife as a dependent and my cousin Michael will pay the deficit.

VO: (He nodded and started looking at my my i20 and looking at the computer screen, he is probably reading the comments made by the other visa officers that rejected me in the past). He then asked me : Have you travelled to any other country apart from Turkey?( I guess he was looking at my DS 160 form and saw that I have travelled to France)
Me: I have been to France through Germany for a conference about Woman mutilation in Africa and the protection of the religious minority.

VO: How long have you been living in Turkey?
Me: I have been in Turkey since 2016. I came here on scholarship and i am leaving again for another scholarship in America. As you can see I am married to my Turkish wife (pointing to my wife) and i am on the verge of getting Turkish citizenship.

VO: (Nodding in approval) What is your plan after this program?
Me: I will be returning to my al mata to take up a lecturing job in Nigeria. I have a verbal agreement with the head of department that I will lead the Biostatistics lab that would be opened there.

VO: (He nodded and said) : "Good plan"
Me: Yes

All these while my wife was just looking and smiling sheepishly(lols) and waiting for the VO to ask her questions too and she was shocked when the VO said the golden words : "Congratulations I am approving your visas. Your visa will get to you(me and my wife) in 5 working days. Take care and follow the COVID 19 protocols when you get to America".
Me: Thank you very much and take care.
My wife : Thank you!

VO: Take care!

When we were going out of the interview room, my wife was like....Babeeee....i was waiting for his questions and he didn't even ask me anything. I replied by saying "It's the will of God".

Tears of joy was just flowing from my eyes because I have been denied 4 times- If you know what that means. One thing about this visa stuff, if you get American visa on your first attempt you won't feel the same happiness someone that has been denied before but finally got it feels. The person that has been denied before would always be happier than the person that got it on first attempt. It's only God that did this for me and my wife and not man.

N/B : I just want to tell everyone here on this platform. No one on this Nairaland US student visa section has the power to give you visa. Only God, you and the visa officer make it possible. Why i saying this? I want to tell you my experience with Fairheart. I am not writing this to spite him or make vituperative statements about his person- to me he is a great guy. I wrote Fairheart on whatsapp with the help of a friend who gave me his number. I told him all the issue I am having about being denied 4 times (two B1B2 tourist visa in Nigeria, one B1B2 tourist visa and J1 work and travel visa in Ankara -Turkey). I wanted to have a mock interview with him and he charged me 50k saying he doesn't do it for free. I said that's too much and I can't afford it at the time so I removed the mock interview out of the equation.
Then I asked him his candid opinion about my case because I was helpless at the time and that was due to my past experiences. He then told me that I should remove my wife from my dependant and come to Nigeria and apply. He said it would be difficult to get a US student visa from Turkey as a Nigerian. I told him okay that I will take my chances since I have already book my interview date. So I told him that if I don't get it then I can come to Nigeria and apply.

Behold my brothers and sisters, me and my wife got out visa today. Why am I saying this? Let no one tell you that you can't get visa no matter anywhere you are and no matter how many times that you have been denied. It's only the grace of God, you and the visa officer that decides the outcome of your visa interview.

That will be all for now. Me and my wife are celebrating and popping champagne...shhhhh...no disturbance. Lols!

Greenman2020:
Visa interview transcript
Profile
School: MSU
Program: PhD Sociology
Scholarship: Full funding + Teaching Assistantship
Deficit: 3k
GRE: YES
TOEFL: Nil
Bsc in Sociology (Federal University)
Highest Educational level: Msc, Criminology (Federal University)
Undergraduate Gpa: 3.44/4.0
Msc Gpa: 3.2/4.0

No of F1 Attempts at the US embassy (3), denied in 2019 for Masters in Criminology with zero funding at West Texas A&M University. Denied again last year November with full funding in the same school for which my visa was approved today. (I posted my last denial transcript here. You can click on my profile to read it, if you like - of course.
Status: APPROVED
Abuja Embassy July 12th 2021

My interview lasted about 3 minutes. Here we go:

Massive palls of grey and black clouds hovered above the beautiful city of Abuja, a clear indication that Rain was warming up in the sidelines of the heavens, as I hopped into the waiting Bolt taxi which I had ordered a while ago. It was my first time in Abuja, I should say. As we drove from my lodge to the embassy, I admired the smoothness of the broad roads, how it gleamed in the distance, how it reminds me of the head of Papa Ajasco of Wale Adenuga production, and the many towering, foggy and greeny hills which rose like the back of an elephant from different corners of the city.

I arrived the premises of the embassy around 6.40am but we were not allowed in until it was about past seven. As expected, there was an heavy presence of people I would, I beg your pardon, call "embassy rats", those people who try to sell you water while you are in the midst of an ocean. Those who would say, Bros you go need passport o. Bros make we staple your form. Bros this. Bros that. But I ignored them all, except for a woman, I would later find her name to be Rose, who volunteered to take custody of my phone at zero cost. I rewarded her handsomely later, anyways.

Once the order came that we could proceed into the interview venue, I joined other applicants, mostly students, into the interview venue. We waited for a long time before a Nigerian man came into the waiting lobby to begin what seemed to me as a confirmation of appointments and documents. To save the reader's time, I went through other protocols before my turn to meet the VO, to meet with destiny eventually came. The place was window 8 and sitted there was a pretty, young, and stern-looking white lady who was just dishing out rejections like Akara.


VO: Good morning

Me: Good morning ma


VO: Pass me your i-20 and passport then place your hands on the scanner for the biometric capture.

Me: Okay ma. (I passed the documents to her and placed my hands on the scanner)

VO: I see that you're going for your doctorate in Sociology at MSU

ME: That's correct.

VO: Tell me about the research you plan to conduct

Me: My research is in the area of cybercrime and access to economic opportunities. Precisely, under the supervision of Prof XYZ I will be investigating the correlation between access to economic opportunities and youth involvement in cybercrime.
VO: Okay. Alright (kept typing into the system). Is your research going to focus on Nigeria?

ME: (VO give me through pass, I no gock am) Yes. Nigeria has had several issues with cybercrime in recent times. My research will be focused on Nigeria.

VO: Tell me about your plans after your studies

Me: I plan to return to Nigeria to take up a full-time lecturing job. I've always wanted to become a professor of Sociology. I also plan to publish academic papers that would interrogate and proffer solutions to the challenges of Cybercrime in Nigeria.

VO: Okay. So you plan to become an academic?

Me: Yes.

VO: Okay. I will be approving your visa. (Hands me the white paper and begin to talk about Covid-19 protocols bla bla bla. My ear don already block like ghetto soakaway. Lol

Me: Collects white paper with thanksgiving in my heart and left smiling.

NB: Take your case to God in prayers even if you're an atheist. The issuance of visa at the embassy, in my opinion, is 30% hardwork and 70% grace, if you like call it luck. However, this is not a liberty to relax. Work hard and also pray hard. I will advise whoever is attending the interview to be straightforward with answers. Only say what you are asked to minimize the risk of saying things that might potentially be used against you by the VO. Also try as much as possible to make your responses unique.

SPECIAL APPRECIATION
I am grateful to my friend Seun in the US who helped me throughout this visa application process. I am also thankful to my friend Babs who never gave up on me. Of course, I also thank all the beautiful people here whose transcripts and inputs have helped me tremendously. Big shout out to Fairheart who gave his expert opinion on my last rejection and encouraged me to apply again. To those who are still dreaming, don't give up. Cheers!

FutureSenator:
Hello Olomojola,

Seems you were not prepared for your interview. There is a thin line between vague responses and wordy responses, you have to find a balance.

Next time, at the point when the officer tries to confirm that you are going for a masters in management - volunteer the full information. Tell him your masters is in Business Analytics and explain like you explained above. When you are asked why you chose a school - you should have very specific and elaborate reasons.

When you walk up to a Visa Officer, there a few honest questions running through his mind. Do you really want to travel for study purposes? How much do you know about your course? Will you return to Nigeria after graduation? How intelligent are you? How are you paying for your trip, or how do you plan to pay?

Depending on your responses and the officer's conviction, your interview can be extremely short or extended. Even though you might not be asked all those questions, prepare to answer them all. It is just like any other exam you wrote in college - based on your preparation, you can estimate a score even before stepping into the hall!

Cheers.

Shanid:
PLEASE ADVICE ME ...
MY PASSPORT RENEWAL IS IN PROGRESS...I WAS TOLD IT WILL BE OUT ANYTIME FROM AUGUST 14. CLASSES START 30TH OF AUGUST. MY SCHOOL SENT A MAIL THAT I SHOULD CONFIRM MY ADMISSION BEFORE JULY 30TH. WHAT CAN I DO PLEASE � HELP...I NEED TO REPLY TO MY SCHOOL ON OR BEFORE FRIDAY . Anyone?

UAVdrones:
In some states, you can get your passport the same day you applied for it. If it's possible, go to other states and have it done.

Duisburg:
So, what's wrong? I used Chrome during my application too.

Try starting all over again.

kaey10:
Wow...nice is it for fall. Mine is fall 2021

walepepe21:
Nice one! What I will advice you to do is that try to retake GRE and score at least 315 (Q-160), Do Wes for your first degree which is 3.02/5 (at least with Wes Evaluation you will be able to have something around 2.9/4.0 but it depend on your last 60 credits units + you can even be 3.0/4.0) so that where you had C you can have B’s there and that herself is B in USA standard which is 3.0/4.0.

As for your MSc result , that’s okay as you said you had a 2:1 which means you’re above 3.5/5.0 which is fine as you’ve advanced and improved in your coursework’s.

However, Funding is very limited in Engineering Management as few universities have this program in USA (I am not discouraging you but rather telling you about my experience) unlike having other thesis-based degrees like ChE , MEE, ECE etc. Even most do have it as a Ms degree. Funding is a major constraint concerning going for this degree as it’s management oriented as I can see maybe you will love to Focus on a leadership career as it tends towards management!

However, I will advice if you actually need funding for your grad studies, try to apply to what you read in your undergraduate degree which is ChE or you can apply to related degrees like ISE( Industrial & Systems Engineering), PhD in Manufacturing Engineering, PhD in Mechanical Engineering, etc as your coursework’s in your grad degree will give you a super edge to have funding unlike someone coming with his/her Bsc direct application straight to the PhD as most engineering PhD application love you have a Ms degree before you can be admitted to their PhD program and be fully funded ALL based on your solid performance in your advanced degree coursework’s.

You can check this link out for more details about EM https://worldscholarshipforum.com/get-phd-in-engineering-management/

Furthermore, Try to do TOEFL too so as to solidify your application process as it’s very useful too this time around. Please score 315+ (Q-160) , TOEFL 90+ (S-23) and do Wes Evaluation of that your first degree to be Able to put you in a good shape and that’s all you need to prepare your mind towards Fall 2022.

Finally , if you have any question or concerns at all this my responses kindly ask and I will respond. Thank you and I wish you ALL the best !!!!

tonero4urch:
Visa Transcript

Consulate: Ankara -Turkey

Attempt : 5 (two B1B2 tourist visa in Nigeria, one B1B2 tourist visa and J1 work and travel visa in Ankara -Turkey).

Interview : As a family (with my Turkish wife)

School : Georgia State University -Atlanta Georgia USA.

Cost of Attendance : 57k dollars

Funding : I would say i am fully funded (monthly stipend and an on-campus employment as a lab Assistant) because without adding my wife as dependent I should have a surplus of 150 dollars but because I am going with her i have deficit of 4,630 dollars)

Program : Department of Mathematics and Statistics (Biostatistics concentration). I already have a masters in Statistics degree from Ankara university Ankara - Turkey which was on scholarship by the Turkish Government.

Visa status : Approved

Nationality : Nigerian

Date :July 28

Interview Time : 10:45 am

In time : 11:15am

Out time: 12:00 noon

Visa interview duration : less than 3 minutes

Visa officer: Black American guy.He should be in his late 30's. His name is Mathew.

He was approving visas quickly. Me and my wife are 191 on the line. The last person that the black guy interviewed was 175 on the line so we were surprised when the VO told the guy calling people in for interview to call us without even following the line serially. I just thought he was determined to give us visa because even when we were in the embassy me and my wife were acting lovey dovey in the embassy and it seems he noticed it. Going for my visa interview with my wife made everything easy because I remembered how nervous I was the other times I went to the embassy alone. We were just discussing inside the hall waiting for our turn to the cynosure of all eyes. It was like...every eye was on us. It really relieved all my stress because i wasn't alone. I had fun as company in my wife.

When we got to the VO:

Me: A very good morning to you.
VO: Good morning to you.

Me: How are you today?
VO: I am fine and you?

Me: We are fine too.
VO: Okay (he took our documents which are i20 and passports and said we should place our fingers to do our biometrics and we did)

VO: Where are you going in the US?
Me: I got a fully funded admission with an on-campus employment as lab assistant in the department of Mathematics and Statistics in Georgia State University Atlanta- Georgia US. I have a deficit of 4,634 dollars because I added my wife as a dependent and my cousin Michael will pay the deficit.

VO: (He nodded and started looking at my my i20 and looking at the computer screen, he is probably reading the comments made by the other visa officers that rejected me in the past). He then asked me : Have you travelled to any other country apart from Turkey?( I guess he was looking at my DS 160 form and saw that I have travelled to France)
Me: I have been to France through Germany for a conference about Woman mutilation in Africa and the protection of the religious minority.

VO: How long have you been living in Turkey?
Me: I have been in Turkey since 2016. I came here on scholarship and i am leaving again for another scholarship in America. As you can see I am married to my Turkish wife (pointing to my wife) and i am on the verge of getting Turkish citizenship.

VO: (Nodding in approval) What is your plan after this program?
Me: I will be returning to my al mata to take up a lecturing job in Nigeria. I have a verbal agreement with the head of department that I will lead the Biostatistics lab that would be opened there.

VO: (He nodded and said) : "Good plan"
Me: Yes

All these while my wife was just looking and smiling sheepishly(lols) and waiting for the VO to ask her questions too and she was shocked when the VO said the golden words : "Congratulations I am approving your visas. Your visa will get to you(me and my wife) in 5 working days. Take care and follow the COVID 19 protocols when you get to America".
Me: Thank you very much and take care.
My wife : Thank you!

VO: Take care!

When we were going out of the interview room, my wife was like....Babeeee....i was waiting for his questions and he didn't even ask me anything. I replied by saying "It's the will of God".

Tears of joy was just flowing from my eyes because I have been denied 4 times- If you know what that means. One thing about this visa stuff, if you get American visa on your first attempt you won't feel the same happiness someone that has been denied before but finally got it feels. The person that has been denied before would always be happier than the person that got it on first attempt. It's only God that did this for me and my wife and not man.

N/B : I just want to tell everyone here on this platform. No one on this Nairaland US student visa section has the power to give you visa. Only God, you and the visa officer make it possible. Why i saying this? I want to tell you my experience with Fairheart. I am not writing this to spite him or make vituperative statements about his person- to me he is a great guy. I wrote Fairheart on whatsapp with the help of a friend who gave me his number. I told him all the issue I am having about being denied 4 times (two B1B2 tourist visa in Nigeria, one B1B2 tourist visa and J1 work and travel visa in Ankara -Turkey). I wanted to have a mock interview with him and he charged me 50k saying he doesn't do it for free. I said that's too much and I can't afford it at the time so I removed the mock interview out of the equation.
Then I asked him his candid opinion about my case because I was helpless at the time and that was due to my past experiences. He then told me that I should remove my wife from my dependant and come to Nigeria and apply. He said it would be difficult to get a US student visa from Turkey as a Nigerian. I told him okay that I will take my chances since I have already book my interview date. So I told him that if I don't get it then I can come to Nigeria and apply.

Behold my brothers and sisters, me and my wife got out visa today. Why am I saying this? Let no one tell you that you can't get visa no matter anywhere you are and no matter how many times that you have been denied. It's only the grace of God, you and the visa officer that decides the outcome of your visa interview.

That will be all for now. Me and my wife are celebrating and popping champagne...shhhhh...no disturbance. Lols!

Adlac:
Many thanks, @first while I posted my challenge to the group, I immediately mail the webhelpdesk of the school.

Thereafter, I was able to continue my registration with the use of my phone.

In couple of two hours I got a feed back from the school to remove the sign "+" from my mobile contact. Immediately I did this it fly.

Once again,
Many thanks.

tonero4urch:
You know we agreed that I will contact you after I get my visa. Now I have gotten my visa. Can we connect? My email is tonero4urch@gmail.com. You can as well drop your email so we can communicate and probably exchange number so you can tell me what I need to know about GSU and Biostatistics concentration of the department of Mathematics and Statistics. You can probably advise me on how I can get accommodation. I will be expecting your email.

Vahn:
expiration = 1year

I paid 180k (a friend helped beg his brother in the usa), dollar to naira rate has crashed again so hold more money.

You can send ask @walspring for his service, he can help you

teebaxy:
how much is it in dollars Sir?

teebaxy:
Please I need the actual SEVIS portal ... The one I have here is not even accepting my school mailing address .egov.ice.gov/sevis/

Adesquare1992:
Good pm guys,
Pls I just realized that the duration for my Master's program is for three years. The program starts 23rd of August 2021 and ends 23August 2024.

During this period I am expected to take between 33-36credits.

Does this feel normal?

Erudite77:
Good morning. Hope you're good.

It's said that it's better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret. So I would like to ask a question relating to having any travel experience.

If one has travelled to at least one country in the past, does one need to get a paper from the country (like police report that Canada asks for) to submit during American visa process?

I will be looking forward to getting your useful response.

Thanks in anticipation!

Adesquare1992:
Good pm guys,
Pls I just realized that the duration for my Master's program is for three years. The program starts 23rd of August 2021 and ends 23August 2024.

During this period I am expected to take between 33-36credits.

Does this feel normal?