Gbengaslc:
hello, pls what are the reqiured document that will be submitted at the us embassy during f-1 visa interview.

Your academic credentials and financials mainly.
However,
You may not be asked to submit anything.
Don't be too eager to submit.
Work on your responses and speech mannerisms instead. That's the key.

ebdib:


Keep in mind.
Housing priorities is mainly for undergrads
You're basically at the back burner for housing priority as a grad student.

Besides you may not want to shack up with undergrads and their binge drinking habits.
Can't redo all that university experience again.

If you can handle it. Off k is better.

thanks for ur opinion,

technolee:
Yes. What is your concern?

Can we talk, pls? I need to get your opinion about a thing or two, hope u don't mind? Gracias. Can I pm u?

ebdib:



Your academic credentials and financials mainly.
However,
You may not be asked to submit anything.
Don't be too eager to submit.
Work on your responses and speech mannerisms instead. That's the key.

ok thanks. can i ve your contact?

Just flying through this zone... e don Tey small!

How's everyone doing?
All the gurus still here have done exceptionally... Big ups to y'all(Una know una self)

Here's wishing everyone good success in all their chosen endeavours.

#Bless

Gbengaslc:
ok thanks. can i ve your contact?

My pm system is messed up but you can try.
Sometimes I can reply sometimes I can't.

dremmy:


Thanks very much. So if the scholarship helps. I would need to show i can still sponsor myself right? Then how does one get around the SEVIS. Heard it can be done at Seme?

You can get someone in the us to pay for you and yh at Seme but don't know how

amanze15:
Gurus in the house, I am having this problem of deciding, oncampus or off campus housing, I believe on campus would give me opportunity to make better grades to qualify me for a GA after the first year or staying offcampus which is cheaper, pls I need a lot of opinions on this, help a confused brother

Yo stay on campus if your a freshman that's how you meet people but it's expensive. .....then after one year you can live anywhere you like ....but be careful of off campus housing those landlords could be wicked....they doing people strong thing here...and make sure you read your lease well and know if you can sub lease

ebdib:


My pm system is messed up but you can try.
Sometimes I can reply sometimes I can't.

ok. This is my mail sannilincoln@yahoo.com

mandybaby2007:

Have u considered d cost to him of going to California then to New york even after he has said he no longer has any buisness in California?
Doesn't matter what you filled in DS160, as long as you have a valid visa nobody will ask you anything. Where u are headed is entirely your business. If anybody ask u where u r headed its just formality or for conversational purpose.

did you also consider the risk he would go through if they tend to ask why the change in plans? Individuals with different case.

pcbo:

It is from april 2015 to October 2019,is not 5 yrs I guess
NB:my program is 54 months

Ok, didn't know they issue such. If that's the case then it's better, saves the stress of renewal when you want to travel

slimmy05:
did you also consider the risk he would go through if they tend to ask why the change in plans? Individuals with different case.

What risk? Did anybody ask or tell you where to go when u entered US? Cos nobody asked me nd the 3companions I travelled with when we came in nd none of us went to the state on our visa cos we had some gallivanting to do on arrival.

mandybaby2007:

What risk? Did anybody ask or tell you where to go when u entered US? Cos nobody asked me nd the 3companions I travelled with when we came in nd none of us went to the state on our visa cos we had some gallivanting to do on arrival.

a lot are being asked where they are going to especially people who came to visit even people who came for study. A friend was asked for his connecting flight when he got to Atlanta and was asked a lot of questions before he was allowed in. People have different experience and yours can't be a baseline. I wasn't asked no questions at the POE and my big bags were not searched at all, does that mean that everybody gets the same experience. He is free to enter through any POE but be ready to tell them why the change of plans. A guy here was asked the same but he went with immigrant visa and told them his parents moved. They updated his address

Some1 pls reply me for Gods sake..how many years does the TOEFL n SAT result lasts for? I mean d validity..n be4 i'll get money to register for TOEFL,its gon be lyk early May,can i still register for d TOEFL takin place by June 27 by then. If not,what month be will next that i can take it

Dopekidd:
Some1 pls reply me for Gods sake..how many years does the TOEFL n SAT result lasts for? I mean d validity..n be4 i'll get money to register for TOEFL,its gon be lyk early May,can i still register for d TOEFL takin place by June 27 by then. If not,what month be will next that i can take it

Its valid forever but schools will ask you at least 2 to 5 years validity...

You decide on when to register since you will be the one to write it and not people here on NL

Dopekidd:
Some1 pls reply me for Gods sake..how many years does the TOEFL n SAT result lasts for? I mean d validity..n be4 i'll get money to register for TOEFL,its gon be lyk early May,can i still register for d TOEFL takin place by June 27 by then. If not,what month be will next that i can take it

toefl is usually valid for 2years.

Pls gurus help me on this, on my ds160 confirmation page the NAME PROVIDED option has just my surname and first name (my middle name is not there like it is in my international passport) is this going to be a problem?!?!

Athough on another page of the ds 160 the 3rd page or so there is an option for full name which I entered my surname, first name and middle name. BTW my interview is by the corner. Everything is in the hands of God. Pls I need your response

Pls gurus help me on this, on my ds160 confirmation page (page with the the bar code) the NAME PROVIDED option has just my surname and first name (my middle name is not there like it is in my international passport) is this going to be a problem?!?!

Athough on another page of the ds 160 the 3rd page or so there is an option for full name which I entered my surname, first name and middle name. BTW my interview is by the corner. Everything is in the hands of God. Pls I need your response

Wishing all those going for interview luck.
Please all should be eloquent and be real don't fake if u can't smile,since first impression sticks n u only have 3 minutes

technolee:
Yes. What is your concern?

Can we talk, pls? I need to get your opinion about a thing or two, hope u don't mind? Gracias. Can I pm u?

Sch opens on 13 August as stated on my I-20
Can I go to US on 15th july n also will like to be in New York for some days before going to de state of my sch,is it red flag to de immigration officials at de point of entry
NB:is it possible to book my flight for july now?

icedbeatz:
Pls gurus help me on this, on my ds160 confirmation page the NAME PROVIDED option has just my surname and first name (my middle name is not there like it is in my international passport) is this going to be a problem?!?!

Athough on another page of the ds 160 the 3rd page or so there is an option for full name which I entered my surname, first name and middle name. BTW my interview is by the corner. Everything is in the hands of God. Pls I need your response

You are good to go bro.
It does appear like that, most times middle name really doesn't count, it's your family name (surname) and your first name that matter. Even in school, whenever I wanna clarify issues it's usually my DOB, surname and first name, they have made my middle name so useless . God will favour you on your interview day. Confidence should be your shirt and trousers on that day, be fashionable with it. Best of luck

pcbo:
Sch opens on 13 August as stated on my I-20
Can I go to US on 15th july n also will like to be in New York for some days before going to de state of my sch,is it red flag to de immigration officials at de point of entry
NB:is it possible to book my flight for july now?

If there is a stop over, it's cool to book for the date you have proposed , however, if it is a direct flight I'll suggest you book for 16th. Just to be on the safe side. You need to follow the 30 days rule. I think you are good to go with the date. For the New York parole, get to the state of your school first, you can go to New York afterwards. Prevention is better than cure, be cautious and proactive, although it's no big deal to land in New York first, be prepared for any question those red neck will ask you. Cheers!

pcbo:
Sch opens on 13 August as stated on my I-20
Can I go to US on 15th july n also will like to be in New York for some days before going to de state of my sch,is it red flag to de immigration officials at de point of entry
NB:is it possible to book my flight for july now?

Yea u can go on July 15, u shouldn't av problem staying in new York before going to ur school, cos JFK is a major POE. You can also book your flight now.

innovativeame:

If there is a stop over, it's cool to book for the date you have proposed , however, if it is a direct flight I'll suggest you book for 16th. Just to be on the safe side. You need to follow the 30 days rule. I think you are good to go with the date. For the New York parole, get to the state of your school first, you can go to New York afterwards. Prevention is better than cure, be cautious and proactive, although it's no big deal to land in New York first, be prepared for any question those red neck will ask you. Cheers!

Pretty good advice.

Yes, prevention is always better than cure!!

Am surprised your school resume by 13th August and you have already gone for the interview and have your visa in possession.it means 120 days rule doesn't affect you.slimmy05, dis ur Ghanaian friend needs screening.

pcbo:
Sch opens on 13 August as stated on my I-20
Can I go to US on 15th july n also will like to be in New York for some days before going to de state of my sch,is it red flag to de immigration officials at de point of entry
NB:is it possible to book my flight for july now?

slimmy05:
Ok, didn't know they issue such. If that's the case then it's better, saves the stress of renewal when you want to travel

Ghanaians are usually issued visas equivalent of the number of years for their program. Different countries with different visa rules. I'm sure it's not the best for us as Nigerians to always have to either come back to our country after 2years for renewal or go to neighboring country like canada in the case of programs extending beyond 2years. I believe our relationship with US in this regard will change soon so students can be given visas for the duration of their study. Congrats @pcbo.

I was denied visa yesterday in abj consulate on the grounds of not having strong tie with home country. can i apply again by next week or next two weeks. my program resumes on May 22. If yes, pls how do i g about it?

klarke:
I was denied visa yesterday in abj consulate on the grounds of not having strong tie with home country. can i apply again by next week or next two weeks. my program resumes on May 22. If yes, pls how do i g about it?

Sorry For the Denial...Why not defer your admission

#Interviewtranscript

Fellas, and so I came, saw, and conquered!

My visa was approved at the Lagos Embassy yesterday afternoon.

Preamble:

I was at the embassy on the 1st of April for my interview. I was in the 6:30am slot. My School was supposed to resume on the 19th of August. For some reasons I had to go to the embassy early because (1.) I got two offers, one in Canada and the other in the US. The Canadian offer gave me till 30th of March to decide and I asked them to extend my decision period till 10th of April and they accepted. I did this to buy time because I had already started the US processing before I got their offer. So with that extension from Canada, I had to go to the embassy on time. As it were, I didn't want to lose in two places and was trusting God that no matter what happen, one will come through as per visa issue. But I was more afraid of the Canadian Visa issue than US for whatever reason sha...

And so my interview on the 1st of April at US Lagos Consulate went does:

VO (Male): Good morning
Me: Good morning with smiles
VO: Pass your passport
Me: Pass it
VO: Place your four left fingers on the scanner
Me: Do same
VO: Checking on the system and then asked, what are you going to do in US
Me: I'm going for my doctorate
VO: Oh, ok.
Me: Fix my eyes on him
VO: Oh, you are going to the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign?
Me: Yes
VO: Why a doctoral program at this time
Me: I recently completed a Master's degree in Information Science and my interest has been in the intersection between people and technologies. I am interested in how people use technology and the best way technology can be created to benefit a given group of people. Hence I am focusing on community informatics at my PhD level with specific interest in multilingual devices for indigenous language speakers in Nigeria.
VO: Nodding, I see
VO: Are you working with a specific professor in the school?
Me: Yes, told him the name of my advisor and her specialization
VO: How did you get to chose this School?
Me: I used google to streamline my choice based on my interest at the PhD level and I saw a couple of schools which UIUC was part
VO: When do you intend to travel
Me: August 10 ( I already wrote this while filling the DS 160)
VO: Who is sponsoring your trip
Me: My uncle will be sponsoring me although I have an assistantship from the School covering tuition with monthly stipend
VO: You are travelling August 4?
Me: No I said August 10
VO: Then he typed for long and then began to count his fingers. I'm sure he was trying to consider the 120 days rule. He counted his fingers like twice (you know 120days is four months and so he was counting from April to August I guess). Then he left his counter and beckoned to a colleague and that one took a look at the application on the system and they discussed for like a minute. Then he told me: "you know what, I am approving your visa, but I can't issue it now. There is a 120days rule for f-1 visa."
Then he offered me a while paper and wrote on it that I should come back 12pm any Monday or Wednesday on or after 22 of April(this will be exactly 120days to my resumption)
VO: Do you have any questions for me
Me: Ok, I will like to know if the interview will be all over again and will I be interviewing with you or any other person
VO: Not really, you may just be asked a few questions. Just come with all your documents.
Then he asked me to return the white paper and he wrote on it that f-1 visa can't be issued until 120days to resumption, return on 22nd April and signed.
Me: Collected my passport and left feeling cool anyway

Note: No document was asked except my passport, I-20 and sevis receipt

Fastforward:

22nd April
VO: Good afternoon
Me: Good afternoon
VO: Pass your passport
Me: Passed it
VO: Oh, you were here earlier this month
Me: Yes, April 1st
VO: With smile, you came earlier than the issuing period for your type of Visa. Today is about the right time. You are going for your PhD right?
Me: Yes
VO: Removed my I-20 and passed it to me. Make sure you always keep that in your hand luggage when travelling. Picks a white paper with location to pick my passport and circled it. Pick your passport here on Monday. Have a great day
Me: Thank you

NB: I know the 120days rule, but I have to take that chance because of my situation and thank God it didn't work against me. Plenty of prayers went with it though!

Thanks guys...

klarke:
I was
denied visa yesterday in abj consulate on the grounds of not having strong tie with home country. can i apply again by next week or next two weeks. my program resumes on May 22. If yes, pls how do i g about it?

Please post your transcript first,then the Prof's in the house will do justice to it .
Dont know the reason why I prefer lasgidi to abj embassy sef