₦airaland Forum

OyoTunjiUSA:
Hey 🤠

Thanks for the A2A.

1. I will liken the topic of Proving home-ties at USA embassies worldwide to solving Inequalities in mathematics, In which you can have more than one answers.

2. Proving home-ties can be ; Retirement pension, Properties back at home, Other children and grand children, Business (es) at home, Strong Alumnus member, Active Elder in church or mosque, Must attend an in-coming graduation of their children in Australia, They are signatories to CDA Landlord association accounts , Must attend a family-court litigation to solve family landed dispute etc.

3. Parents visiting their children in the USA also needs character and communication skill ideas, especially our parents who are not too western. Teach them to stick to same story, and to be friendly with the consular.


Best Wishes 🙏

ocube:
IW Application Timeline

Background - Owing to the long wait time for visa appointment for IW application I was lay back in filling our (DW, son and myself) DS 160 form as Abuja had 86 days while Lagos had about 117 days as at first week of June 2024. I later started filling the form with Abuja in mind as the place of submission. I got our photos ready by 15th July, 2024 and was about making payments for the visa when I decided to have a look at the wait time for visa appointment again by 17th July. And Voila! Lagos had 6 days , I quickly filled another form for Lagos for the 3 of us, made payment, detached my family from my appointment scheduled portal and opened new portal for DW and son, then scheduled each person. The next day, appointment days were released for us all, and we chose the 24th of July for submission.

Timeline

24th July 2024- Submission at DHL Surulere
25th July 2024- Passports delivered to consular office
26th July 2024- Application approved by consular officer subject to final processing
29th July 2024- Visa issued
30th July 2024 – Passports received from consular session and is currently being processed for delivery
31st July 2024- Passports ready for pickup
7th August 2024- Passports were picked up from DHL Surulere with five years visa for us all.

Websites used for monitoring the process

1. Visa appointment wait times - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html
2. Visa status check - https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx

Thank you all for your contributions in creating a repository of information on this platform.

God bless you all richly.

OyoTunjiUSA:
Hey 🤠

1. No one can give you the accuracy of expected amount until your actual reason of travel is revealed. The number of applicant going for the trip must also be considered in determining the total cost.

3. An individual going for a 4-days conference cannot be compare to a family of 4 going for 2 -weeks Xmas holiday, neither can we compare a pregnant woman going for baby-delivery in Texas to a young lady who is going to inspect toy factories in New Jersey for possible import order.

4. In all, USA consular officer 65% of the time does not request for physical financial evidences, and the reason for that is because they rely on your body languages , as well as on the accuracy of your answers in tandem with your DS-160.

5. However, POF is still a major requirement, therefore , use the clue in sense 3 above in determining your total cost and go along with it when attending your interview.


Best Wishes 🙏

Tersly:
Hello everyone ,
I applied for US F1 visa ( MBA)and got interview appointment for October but was able to get an earlier date later which is August 21 , I had to defer admission to January 2025 due to resumption date , I have been able to update my D-160 and got a new confirmation with a new serial number ,but the “family details” (dependents) is unclickable for me to edit theirs so as to get updated details like mine.
Please am I supposed to leave their details like that or they need to be updated too like mine , if yes how do I do that please ?

NewWifey:
Thanks for your reply. The guest would be attending a wedding in the US this Christmas to return to Nigeria in January. Total duration shouldn’t exceed 3 weeks. I’m clueless about the amount needed for a mom of 4 adult children attending different universities in Nigeria. Is there a reasonable ballpark amount to consider?

Primetouch1:
good evening , do you mean for your son it was IW applying for aged below 14 ?

OyoTunjiUSA:
Hey 🤠

1. The last day for VISA applicants to buy VISA fee (MRV) physically inside GTBanK is August 08, 2024 . But those with GTBanK accounts can continue buying MRV till August 15. 2024.


So you mean visa applicant won’t be able to buy visa fee in the GTbank even after they move to the new service provider?
Best Wishes 🙏

LadyCaplin:
Congratulations!

I submitted my application the 3rd week in July and the status is still on Application received.

Are there people here who submitted last month via Dropbox and have received a response?

Not sure what to make of this delay. Someone I know got a response after 7 working days.

It is well.


Am in same situation right now, I submitted with my husband on the 12th of July, my husband's status changed to issued on the 18th of July, he picked up his passport on the 25th of July, my status has been on Application Received.

OyoTunjiUSA:
Hey 🤠

1.. If you are going for the trip alone , then a consular officer would like to see approximately 12.M NGN. To and fro (flight tickets), as well as accommodation costs would be put in place first. Followed by other miscellaneous or unexpected expenses.


Best Wishes 🙏

Habibasunramu:
I filled the ds 160 form last year July and my appointment is coming up in October, is it compulsory I fill another ds 160

MrKM:
Hello,

I applied for a family B1/B2 visa with an Interview Waiver (IW) appointment set for September 19, 2024. However, I've been notified of a mandatory company event in the US during the first week of October 2024, where I am scheduled to present.

Upon reaching out to the Embassy regarding an earlier IW appointment, I was informed of a rescheduled date for July 17, 2024 that I had missed, as the notification email was inadvertently sent to my spam folder in July 9, 2024 and i discovered it in August! The earliest available date I could rebook was September 24, 2024, which is too close to the event date, considering my need to depart Lagos in advance.

The Embassy call center advised that IW appointments cannot be rescheduled or canceled.

There's also a recent notification on the US TravelDOcs website that the U.S. Embassy/Consulate in Nigeria is moving to a new visa services provider. All nonimmigrant and immigrant visa application services will be suspended on August 16, 2024. All previously scheduled visa appointments for dates after August 16 remain valid.

Could you advise on any alternative solutions that might be available that will be favorable to me?

Thank you.

MechM:
Hello Gurus here,

I have a concern, I applied for B1/B2 visa with purpose of just vacation, after a month I got an invitation to attend a seminar in USA fully sponsored by my company. What is the best way to go about the main purpose of the travel, should I stick to what is in the DS-160 application or the seminar, seminar is coming up next month and I was able to get an expedited interview date this month. I am travelling for the seminar first. I have a good job and dont intend to japa o. Please I need your advice. Also, I have travelled to US before and visa expired 6 years back.

Shofat4real:
Good evening friend.

Please as a visitor to the USA staying for 2 weeks with one of family members, just for vacation, how much should be ideal to have in the bank account as a proof of funds (one person applicant) to be reflected in the bank statement?

Thank you.

Mamabella:
Good evening everyone. Hope we all have great day. Please did anyone submit their Passport for IW and have gotten their passport back ? Date of our submission was 29 July.

Hanihani:
@OyoTunjiUSA greetings to you . Please, I need an advice . I am a single parent and I have a 7 year old that I did like to visit USA with . I have a job and few lander properties . I am also a part time fitness trainer and a cook too. These are my side hustles. Before I had my son I have been to UAE, Benin rep, Ivory Coast, and after I had my son both of us have visited Maldives , Mauritius Island , Kenya, Lome, Benin etc . We did like to spend our Christmas this year in New York . My son longs to experience or make a snow man☺️ and I will be pleased too to experience Cold weather . We are not trying to elope but to visit . Our interview is in a few weeks from now. Lest, I forget I was never married and I am 32 . Please, what do you have to say ? Expecting your response and do remain bless!

Babyngchuks:
Pls who knows the website where one can pay a visa fee, went to the bank and they told me it is done only online

OyoTunjiUSA:
@Hanihani
Regarding the above, a curious consular officer might ask you ' What were your activities in those travels, so , be ready to defend yourselves.
Let me quote you, "We did like to spend our Christmas this year in New York . My son longs to experience or make a snow man☺️ and I will be pleased too to experience Cold weather.

OyoTunjiUSA:
Hey 🤠

1. Fill another DS-160 and indicate Business Seminar as your purpose of visit . You must also update necessary dates , arrival city etc on your DS-160 in order to align with what you would be telling the consular on the day of your interview.

2. Also, remember that you need an invitation letter from the seminar organisers and this must be corroborated by your employer. Some consulars does not like much questioning, so, they rely on your DS-160 info.

PS: Your previous USA sojourn will count a bit if you did not violate the terms.

PS: Update your DS-160 and print out another appointment letter after updating.


Best Wishes 🙏

MechM:
Thanks for the feedback. After I fill the new DS-160, how do I update on the other site where I paid and booked the appointment date?

Temmydina:
@OyotunjiUSA greetings to you sir and greetings to everyone.

I'm reaching out for advice. I graduated with a degree in plant science in 2021 and ran my own business until 2023, and briefly worked as a personal assistant. Now I’m transitioning to a nursing career and have been accepted to a US university. However, I need help with funding - the university offered half of my tuition as financial aid, but I'm struggling to cover the remaining half. I'm listing my mom as my sponsor, since my I-20 form lists my mom as my sponsor, despite neither of us having the funds. Someone has offered to provide a Proof of Funds (POF) for a fee - is this a viable option? Additionally, since my work experience and previous studies don't align with my new career path, should I still include them in my DS-160 form?

NB: I have paid my visa fee but yet to completel my DS-160 or book a visa appointment.