₦airaland Forum

Ulio:
Mission accomplished!

Used henrico doctors hosp virginia. DR W.F
..mild pain started early hrs of 5th, by the time I got to d hospital as I was 2hrs away, I was 4cm dilated, baby arrived 11.6.16. (Vaginal birth no epidural - d pain no b here, I wnt try that next time) note that each time I look at my son d pain fades the more..

Was discharged after 2days
Dr 850, hosp 2078, paedtrician 1228, healthy baby 264 . hearing test cancelled

Gt birth certificate after 2weeks
Nig passport 240 expedited at d embassy n got it next day.
US passport 165 expedited n gt it next day at Washington passport agency.

Infant ticket with BA $349. De insisted baby's ticket is 1 way saying that's d remaining part of d trip as baby mst be attached to an adult else I purchase another ticket for myself returning to US. Payed at d airport on departure.

On board bassinet was provided, air hostess were of great help as I was alone from Washington to London. As usual entertainment was great.

Landed Abj 6th aftr the long layover very tired.
Mother and child are doing great thankfully.
Indeed my case has been different. Another testimony- gt a new job as I was away.

God's grace to everyone in d house.
Also met Tolu a fellow NL mama. It's been a pleasure meeting a friend and sister in diaspora.. We had a great time. .

Thanks to everybody for contributing to d success of this trip..AdomMum I really appreciate you.

LadyGuinivere:
@KaptainAfricaa:
The truth is that your friends unfortunately chose the wrongest time to try the Naija way.
What Herriko calls 'make america gr9 again syndrome' and I call 'Trump Fever' is In full effect.
If it was before, the guy would have pitied them . Did you say the same guy interviewed them twice? That's wrong o!
My dear, we are in unchartered waters. They can decide to try again and have another vo interview them. They can pray for a democrat to interview them . Note: this advice is selfish. I just wan use them learn the new levels at the embassy.
My independent opinion is that they shud count their losses and try brazil

LadyGuinivere:
@KaptainAfricaa:
The truth is that your friends unfortunately chose the wrongest time to try the Naija way.
What Herriko calls 'make america gr9 again syndrome' and I call 'Trump Fever' is In full effect.
If it was before, the guy would have pitied them . Did you say the same guy interviewed them twice? That's wrong o!
My dear, we are in unchartered waters. They can decide to try again and have another vo interview them. They can pray for a democrat to interview them . Note: this advice is selfish. I just wan use them learn the new levels at the embassy.
My independent opinion is that they shud count their losses and try brazil

KaptainAfrika:
Guys, I need your assist here, thanks.

1st interview:
The interview was coming to an end.
VO: Are you going to use this visa, for anything else? (I guess they are tired of change of intent letter grin )
HUSBAND: No, Just for vacation.
VO: Madam, are you pregnant?
WIFE: Yes, I am.
VO: How far along?
WIFE: 3 Months.
VO: Sorry your visa has been declined/rebuked/rejected.

2nd interview:
I advised my friend to attend without her husband, for medical visa. This is two months after the first interview. She says the interviewer was the same dude that interviewed, her and her husband.
VO: Why do you want to go to houston, texas?
WIFE: For childbirth, I will be on maternity leave.
VO: But in your last application, you said that you were going on vacation!?
WIFE: Yes sir. We were going for vacation, but we have changed our minds and would like to have our child in the US (Probably should have apologised here instead and come clean sha I.M.H.O)
VO: Your credibility is at risk. Two months is too short to change your mind. What do you at your place of work? (I guess he just asked this to fulfil all righteousness)
WIFE: I do xyz.
VO: Sorry your visa has been denied/rejected etc.

Guys, I suggested they come clean about their intentions. What would you advise? Also is there a place in the form for such? Thanks. I am not an expert and I would sincerely appreciate your inputs. Shalom!

KaptainAfrika:
Dear Visa Officer,
1. I wish to apply for an expedited visa interview for my wife, how do I go about this?

2. I wish to also find out, if visa applicants can be interviewed by the same Visa Officer more than once? My wife was interviewed by the same Visa officer who interviewed her, in her previous application.

Thanks.

cc: abujaniv

abujaniv:
2. No, they can't, and no, she wasn't. We can see who interviewed you previously and ensure a new officer reviews your case. When an applicant feels they have been interviewed by the same person twice, they are mistaken.

justwise:
This is you looking for help and NOT 'your frined'

justwise:
This is you looking for help and NOT 'your frined'

justwise:
This is you looking for help and NOT 'your frined'

firsttymum:
Busted

Chanbaby:
Congrat dearie. How was ur experience with the hospital and dr xydas cos I will be using both soon.

Beehandz:
Turkish don't provide accommodation

justwise:
This is you looking for help and NOT 'your frined'

nefertitiram:
Just come back to Nigeria and join DSS. They need your services like kilode

Austine2020:
Justwise is Real and original DSS in disguise,Lol

nefertitiram:
Just come back to Nigeria and join DSS. They need your services like kilode

KaptainAfrika:
Yeah it would seem so. But I'm the one on nairaland. [b]My friend is no[/b]t. Nice investigative work though. If only we had someone like you in EFCC, we would have recovered our stolen loot since.
I would still appreciate your input, if you have any.
Cheers!

KaptainAfrika:
Guys, I need your assist here, thanks.

1st interview:
The interview was coming to an end.
VO: Are you going to use this visa, for anything else? (I guess they are tired of change of intent letter grin )
HUSBAND: No, Just for vacation.
VO: Madam, are you pregnant?
WIFE: Yes, I am.
VO: How far along?
WIFE: 3 Months.
VO: Sorry your visa has been declined/rebuked/rejected.

2nd interview:
I advised my friend to attend without her husband, for medical visa. This is two months after the first interview. She says the interviewer was the same dude that interviewed, her and her husband.
VO: Why do you want to go to houston, texas?
WIFE: For childbirth, I will be on maternity leave.
VO: But in your last application, you said that you were going on vacation!?
WIFE: Yes sir. We were going for vacation, but we have changed our minds and would like to have our child in the US (Probably should have apologised here instead and come clean sha I.M.H.O)
VO: Your credibility is at risk. Two months is too short to change your mind. What do you at your place of work? (I guess he just asked this to fulfil all righteousness)
WIFE: I do xyz.
VO: Sorry your visa has been denied/rejected etc.

Guys, I suggested they come clean about their intentions. What would you advise? Also is there a place in the form for such? Thanks. I am not an expert and I would sincerely appreciate your inputs. Shalom!

justwise:
I really don't understand this..why do you find it difficult to state clearly that you are the one in this case rather than referring to non-existing friend?

You answered your own question in your reply to LadyGuinivere's post, so follow your own advice.

chibertha:
Well this one is tacky but if they intend to apply again they shouldn't go to the same embassy or consulate used in the previous 2.
My take though

TOKNOW:
very nice experience, I enjoyed every bit of it.

MamaP003:
Thank you very much!

Greetings to everyone. I should have come back earlier to share but somehow I did not. Anyway I am doing that now. For those who can’t remember or perhaps do not know at all, this moniker had earlier dropped an album which you can reference on page 299 of Part 4. I think every track was a hit back to back. DW and I have successfully completed our missionary journey to the Glory of God. We got back few weeks now and it’s time to share. I will post thus: Introduction: Port Health, Part 1 - ‘POE Experience’, Part 2 - ‘Others’ (which include stories on Flights- local and international, Accommodation, Documentation – US passport, baby visa and Bills).

Introduction: Port Health

We were flying at 35weeks 3days and got Doctor’s Fit to Fly stating the same gestation age. At the counter, Lufthansa asked us to go to Port Health to get clearance from them. We did. Official cost is 1500 naira.

PART 1 – POE EXPERIENCE

We traveled to the US without holding any dollars in cash. We didn’t want to buy dollars at the cut throat cost at black market. This was exactly what I was going to tell them at POE. If you check my previous post, you will see how we intended to get dollars for our bills. At the time we traveled, we were going to depend solely on 4 ATM naira debit cards between DW and I and across 3 banks. The rate was higher than official rate but much less than black market. This was not to be as we eventually used the services of Moneygram, a 4th Nigerian bank, and requested domiciliary account transfers in the course of our stay in the US. I didn’t take my dollar card and as is typical with uncertainties in Nigeria, soon after we traveled, ATM withdrawals from naira debit cards were capped at $100 per month and POS transactions capped at $300 per month down from $1000 a month. Eventually, ATM withdrawals were suspended as you know. In between, Form A had not been processed by the bank at the time we left. It therefore meant we also did not have receipts to prove to the CBP Officer that since we did not have any cash on us, at least we had prepaid our medical bills. I called the US to try to pay over the phone at the airport on day of travel but it kept on declining. I later learnt CBN issued that directive to prevent debit/credit card fraud. I don’t know if it was also applicable to dollar denominated cards. At the stopover in Frankfurt, we were scared silly because of the possible consequences of not holding cash or having receipts at POE. I called Nigeria via whatsapp with free wifi in Frankfurt and someone close to me after telling her the risk we were taking said ‘maybe you guys should just come back to Nigeria. You can sell your ticket from Frankfurt to New York and come back’. That’s how high the tension was.

Fastforward. Landed in JFK in the evening. I requested that DW bring out from her handbag our bottles of anointing oil and put a little on her head. She did and I did exactly same. At this point, I had put myself together and was somewhat confident. We were directed to a CBP Officer. Oh, i forgot to mention that I did not even print a recent account statement before travel to show at POE. So our situation was: no cash; no receipts; and no bank statement. Our only strategy was to log into our accounts and show them our live account balances. After doing self-help at the kiosk, we were directed to a CBP Officer and the following ensued:

We- Goodevening

CBP – Goodevening

We – (without him asking, I pass 2 passports to him)

CBP – (Looks at DW and says) Are you together?

We- Yes

CBP – What are you here for?

Me – Childbirth and vacation

CBP – Why the US?

Me – Because of the better medical care and the educational opportunities that come with giving birth here in the US.

CBP – How much cash do you have?

Me – No cash. Just debit cards

CBP – How much is in your cards?

We - Told him without any specifics... ‘About....thousand dollars’

CBP – How long are you staying?

We – 8 weeks

CBP – (He had brought out his stamp to stamp us in when he heard 8 weeks)..Hmm...You said childbirth?

We – Yes Sir

CBP – Hold on a second ( he walks in to speak with whom I assume was his supervisor. The supervisor was looking at us through the glass window while responding to whatever question the CBP officer that attended to us asked him. This took about a minute. Then here came the CBP officer)

CBP – Did you tell them at the embassy that you are coming here to give birth?

We – Yes we did

CBP – Really?

We – Sure

CBP – (smiling...) So you went to the embassy and told them you are coming here to give birth and acquire citizenship for your child and they gave you the visa?

We – Yes Sir

CBP – ‘Meeehhhnnn.... I love my country’ (& he started laughing)

CBP – (By this time he was stamping us in and wrote B2 in our passports) Okay guys! Welcome to America!!! I wish you all the best. Have lots of fun.
(He said these with a funny excitement. DW and I giggled with the way he said it.)

We – Thank you. We will ( Off we went)

Time taken was about 5 minutes including time he took with his supervisor. We were stamped in for 6 months till March 2017.

As we were walking to get baggage, DW kept asking me ‘is that all? I can’t believe this ’. At a point, I said ‘Please let’s leave this place before CBP calls us back and say they forgot something’. Lol

After getting our luggage, at the final exit, all passengers were asked to show passport and tickets. DW and I got to our turn and the following ensued:

Officer – Hello...Passports...(looks at quantity of luggage with us and asks...) Sir, are you based in the United States?

Me – No

Officer – Okay Sir...(writes ‘A’ on a form and says) Sir, can you take this there? (pointing to Agriculture)...it is written Agriculture, they’ll tell you what to do.

Got to Agriculture in a few short steps with our luggage.

We – Goodevening

Agric Officer – Goodevening. Are you carrying fruits, vegetables, meat?

We – No

Agric Officer – What country are you coming from?

We – Nigeria

Agric Officer – oh Nigeria! What do you have?

Me – grinded egusi, grinded ogbono, dried fish, rice (I turned to DW to continue since she did most of the packing... (wife continues...)
Agric Officer – (cuts her...) Okay. Put these 3 bags in the scanner (he pointed and selected 3 randomly)

I put the first two and it went through without any problems.

Agric Officer – Don’t worry about the third one

Agric officer 2– Let me get you your bags and get you out of here quickly (gave them to us and said ) Enjoy your stay!

Part 2 – Others

Flew South West airlines, had 2 stops from New York i.e Dallas and San Antonio before touching down. Then this woman walks up to DW and I at baggage claim and tried to strike a conversation. Are you guys Nigerians? We answered in the affirmative. ‘I saw you guys in Dallas when you walked pass but i wasn’t able to talk to you’. ‘i saw your wife’s dress and suspected that you are from Nigeria’ (DW wore a Nigerian attire to travel). ‘I also saw you guys walking in the plane to take your seats’. Quite frankly, DW and I were more interested in taking our bags and zooming off to our hotel (which by the way some prepayment was made) for a bath and some rest after travelling for so long than we were in engaging in a discussion. We were tired. This woman kept on asking us at baggage claim if she could do anything for us and we kept on saying ‘No, thanks’. The offer we acceded to was to drop us off at our hotel if she was very sure it was no inconvenience. She had her husband come pick her up at the airport. In the course of the trip to our hotel, they (her and her husband) said ‘why don’t you guys come take a shower at our house and eat before going?’ DW and I in our usual characteristic turned it down but after a bit of convincing, we obliged. As soon as we got to this large beautiful home in a beautiful neighbourhood, they said ‘If you don’t mind, you can stay at our home, you don’t need to go to a hotel. We would drive you to the hotel when you have eaten and are well rested to get a refund.’ We were stunned to say the least at the offer because we didn’t know them from anywhere neither did they know us from anywhere. We were excited but they seemed even more excited to have us stay than we were of being given free accommodation for as long as were to stay in the United States. It wasn’t a decision to regret. What started out as a casual discussion has blossomed into one of the closest relationships DW & I have had with any family including our own immediate family. Today, these persons whom I have referred to above as ‘this woman’, ‘she’ and ‘her husband’ are now ‘blood’. If I were to recount the whole experience, I would type a very long time but what I typed above is a tip of the iceberg. We were welcomed to the world of freebies. Feeding (even though we came with some foodstuff), Transportation, shopping? Free. They organised a very elaborate surprise baby shower after baby was born with lots of friends in attendance. LO was given cash and gifts in thousands of dollars. For the clothes alone, if LO were to wear a clothe a day, she will not use all of them in one year. One weekend, they took us on a road trip to another state outside Texas for site seeing. Every weekend, they took us out to eat in one cafe or the other. On another weekend, Cinema...etc. Our hosts are a truly great and extraordinary family.
When our beautiful daughter was born, host (wife) was kind enough to bath her throughout –Morning and Night till the day we left. When it was time to go, they asked us to shift our flight and stay 2 extra months or 1 month at the least. I think they have forgiven me for not shifting the flight. Lol.

DOCUMENTATION
Did expedited and picked US passport in 2 days. Went to Passport Office without SSN. I put in 0000. They said they have a new policy that SSN must be filled in to get passport. They advised I should go to Social Security Administration Office few blocks away and they will give me the number. Took LO’s birth certificate and US Passport Application form to SSA. On sighting them, they gave me her SSN. Processed it and as I said earlier, collected it in two days. Host took us to the passport office and Vital Records Office for birth certificate and waited all the while. Got back home, checked in the mail only to realise SSN card was in the mail a day earlier but did not check.

FLIGHT
We made a call to Lufthansa to add baby ticket and got a quote for $86.40. We paid over the phone on the spot. All through the legs of the journey back to Nigeria, we were given bassinet. The hostesses were always telling us what we already knew...how beautiful my princess was.lol. Lufthansa gave her some gifts. On SouthWest, after looking for a long time one white woman asked DW if she could carry LO a bit. DW said ‘yes’. Next thing, the woman began taking selfie with LO. She turned to DW and said ‘hope you don’t mind’. Similar events happened in Dallas and New York. In Germany, they were doing like a celeb landed. People that were supposed to be scanning our bags were gathering around baby stroller smiling and looking at my daughter sleeping. I wanted to take a picture of the scene but my phone was acting up. They will take turns even from the other line. It was at this point I told DW that we have to increase the bride price of my princess when she grows up and we would open a nice boutique where we can be selling her hair as Brazilian hair or Peruvian hair since everywhere we go admirers keep saying she has long hair. It will help a bit to recoup our cost of investment on this missionary journey 

VISA ON ARRIVAL
Requested my people in Nigeria to go to the airport and get visa on Arrival approval for LO. They got it same day in a couple of minutes. All that was required from us was to send scanned copy of baby’s international passport, mother’s international passport, father’s international passport and date of intended arrival. My own passport was asked for since I was travelling with them. They said the Visa on Arrival will cost $198 and will be paid the day we arrive. Got to the airport – when asked for baby visa , we told them visa on arrival and showed them visa on arrival approval reference letter. They signed something on the letter and told us to go. I asked ‘what of the visa?’ They said ‘Oga, don’t bother. See this fine baby – get her a Nigerian international passport and present both US and Nigerian passport anytime she is leaving Nigeria. When she is entering Nigeria, present only Nigerian passport. Anytime you are ready to do her international passport, call us and we would get it done same day.’ We exchanged numbers at their office there. They told me the cost of it. Gave them something little for their kindness and left. Got home and noticed my own passport was not stamped. DW was stamped. Called them and they told me to come to their office at the international airport. I went there in the afternoon the next day and gave them my ticket with DW and LO. They did all they needed to do and backdated my stamp to the day before – our arrival day. It took about 45 minutes. I understand the delay had to do with them inputing it in the system.

BILLS
Doctor - $2800, Hospital - $3325, Epidural - $500, Scan- $135, Paediatrician (including first visit)- $500, ear piercing - $40. Collected zero balance from hospital, doctor and paediatrician.

We are home now bonding with our precious little gift. We can’t seem to stop famzing her. After going on this journey, I personally have come to appreciate DW more. It is not easy. I also understand only a bit now of what mums that travel alone experience. For those that have twins there and are alone, I remove my cap for you. Travelling as a first time mum or returnee without help whether single or multiple pregnancy is not easy especially if you have no one in the US. These women are the real MVP’s.
To those who have this dream and are yet to go for this journey very especially those who are yet to go for visa interviews, by all means keep the dream alive. If it is your dream, just keep at it. Don’t let anybody talk you out of it. Dreams are personal. It is not the responsibility of another person who by the way has his or her own dream to tell you how yours does not make sense. What appeals to one may not appeal to another. Giving up is an easy convenience too cheap to buy. Don’t fall for it. US Birthright Citizenship as we have it now may not be around forever, things may change. Nobody knows. Let the future not catch you telling your child ‘If I had known, I should have pushed harder’. Your one sentence reply to these critics of your desire for your kids should be ‘It is better to have it (US citizenship), keep it and not use it than to need it and you don’t have it.’ Notwithstanding, God knows the future of everyone of us including our kids regardless of citizenship, and by the Grace of God we shall all prosper.

A friend of mine heard our story from POE to Arrival and told me ‘I don’t want anything from you. I Just want you to lay your hands on me’. Even though I laughed, I became immediately reminded that DW and I have experienced God’s favour in this journey. I said to him what I wrote in my previous post and I will reiterate here, ‘Promotion comes neither from the East nor from the West but from the Lord’ and ‘It is not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth but of God that showeth mercy’. Romans 9:16.

I wish everyone the best.

------ 1st Missionary journey concluded - Set of 2016 --------

Hello my good people. Your case is different has started working for me already. I was able to scout for just $1063 from lagos airport @400/dollar. I went to the airport a day before my flight and on the day of my flight to buy from the bureau d change at arrival wing of the airport, as people were selling $ to them I was buying from them, even approached people arriving to sell to me. I arrived USA via jfk with KLM. No fit to fly was requested (travelled at 30weeks) Flight experience was good, enough to drink when requested for, friendly hostesses. I had extra 3 seats that I used as bed . Had 7hours layover at Amsterdam. Fast forward to jfk poe experience. I anointed my head with oil removed my shoes and took possession of the land (don't mind me I had to take charge). I got to the self service machine tried to figure it out when an officer came took me to another machine to help. A printed copy of my information was generated with circle on it and I was asked to join the queue. After some time a new queue was form and I was asked to join in. The CBP officer was a young chinco looking lady. She was just smiling with the people ahead and stamping them in in less than 2mins.
As soon as she saw me her smile just seized I was like is it because I'm a very dark complexion person or the green passport (but my God pass u) .

Me: good afternoon
CBP: no response
CBP officer: why are u here
Me: for childbirth
CBP: what do u do
Me: I am an homemaker
CBP: Are u married
Me: yes
CBP: what does ur husband do
Me: he is ......
CBP: where does he work
Me : he works with bleep company
CBP: is this ur 1st child
Me: yes
CBP: how much will it cost u
Me: $8000
CBP: how will u pay
Me : I have my bank card and my husband will come in before the baby is born with more cash
CBP: how much cash do u have
Me: $1063
CBP: do u have any document from the dr
Me: yes... gave her my Dr correspondence
She took it went through
CBP: what hospital are u using
Me : houston Northwest medical centre
CBP: do u have a document showing how many months u are
Me: yes! gave her my fit to fly
CBP: who gave u this document. Are u aware ur date of birth is wrong
Me: My Nigeria hospital and Yes. (Reacting like I just noticed too)
CBP: where do u say your husband works
Me: he works with bleep company
CBP: re-echoed the company again
She started typing. Then one male CBP walked up to her and told her to see someone once she is free. Na so she begin smile ( for my mind this one don see man). I began to pray God of shiloh show up as my father is declaring on shiloh altar let it speak here.
CBP: how many bank cards do u have
Me: 2 and my husband is coming with more cash before the baby is born.
CBP: Is this ur first child
Me: yes
Na so she stamped me in and gave me my passport. No secondary inspection. Na so I run no look back. Picked my luggage paid $6 for trolley.
Fast forward to agriculture cos I declared I had food. Passed my bags through their machine and asked me to go to the other side with my trolley. I collected my bags and used the air train to where my hotel pick up is. A lady used her fone to call the hotel and they said they will be there in 10mins. They came picked me up and took me to the hotel I checked in. At midnight they called that I should come with the credit card that was used for the reservation that the room has not been paid for. May while my agent did the booking and also booked the connecting flight to houston. I said I don't have the credit card and they said I will have to pay cash cos the transaction was declined. I paid $145 cash.
Fast forward to American airline for my connecting flight to houston. Was About to check in when they said my name was not on their system that they need the credit card cos the booking was blacklisted. Still don't have the credit card so they said I have to pay for the flight through a debit card cos they don't accept cash and I have just 10mins left before booking will close. Na so one of their officers hurriedly took me to a debt card machine and loaded it with the money $407 ($341 for the flight, $60 for luggage and $5 for the debit card). Came back to the airline officer she checked me in and said the flight has been delayed and she pray I don't missed my connecting flight from charlotte to houston. Another prayer session started. We arrived charlotte and I checked for the gate and ran to board. As soon as I entered the plane 5mins after the door was shut.
I just give thanks to God for his help and favor I have enjoyed thus far. I THINK Americans are more friendly and helpful that the British people. Just resting and wondering how one can go round without public transport. Na wao America here I come.

Pls pardon all my errors. I have still not recovered from the journey. I greet everyone on this thread God bless u.

fatima04:
Good day house. Please can anyone help with cheap affordable accommodation in Houston between Dec27 and 18th Jan. Thank you. Travelling soon oo. A beg!