₦airaland Forum

Incomparable:
Sir, is it a must to mention more than one school, when you are faced with the question of "how many schools did you apply to"?

AusterHeights:
Guys, is it advisable to pay tuition (for masters) before visa interview?

femi312:
Infact, its 'extremely' advisable NOT to

ghs007:
I just checked my visa application status on the CEAC website and it is showing Administrative Processing and it was updated today. My visa was approved yesterday, the consular officer told me that my visa was approved. She gave me the pickup letter and did not circle any location ( I think she didn't circle the pickup location because I think she was rushing because I was the last person to be interviewed yesterday in Abuja). I hope there is no problem because the status showed Application received earlier today.

Sorelee:
Give it some time or were you told that you would be placed on AP yesterday if No then give it some time

ghs007:
Is it a normal procedure? I was told that my visa is approved.

Chidon360:
Helo house, I re-scheduled for appointment on 21st of June after being denied on 19th June and got a date on 31st of this July, and time is 6:30Am, which was successful. I got a confirmation email from the embassy and i printed the slip aswell.
yesterday I got an email from USA embassy Lagos, which reads " Congratulations, you have successfully rescheduled your appointment. Your appointment details are below.
Date: 4th August
Time: 8:30
and etc

Am confused, because am having two appointment dates now.
Pls what will be the problem here? I haven't login to the site since I booked for the interview let to talk of re-sheduling my appointment to a later date.

I need a clarification on this so as to know which date I will rely on.

ghs007:
I just checked my visa application status on the CEAC website and it is showing Administrative Processing and it was updated today. My visa was approved yesterday, the consular officer told me that my visa was approved. She gave me the pickup letter and did not circle any location ( I think she didn't circle the pickup location because I think she was rushing because I was the last person to be interviewed yesterday in Abuja). I hope there is no problem because the status showed Application received earlier today.

precyrich68:
thanks for the contribution.

so at this point, what should I do differently before applying again? ?

I am not married, I am returning home to manage the family plantation . How else do I prove my ties to home country? ?

Note : During my interview, the consular officer just asked me two questions :

a. why did you choose the school? ?
Through strong recommendations from friends studying in the US . Paul and Virginia Engler college of Business west Texas a & m university has a strong reputation for outstanding performance in business. administration since its inception in 1910. it's is among the top ranked business schools in the USA.

secondly, the school offered me graduate assistantship to pay tuition and fee at an instant rate rather than as an international student.

b. who is paying the balance of your fees?
Mrs xxxx xxxx , my elder sister.

That was all. she handed me an already typed rejection letter. saying my application is being rejected this time, no proof of enough ties to home country.

I want to apply again, what do I do differently? ?

gracechellar:
What school pls...

Sorelee:
Ma No, but you look more of a serious student if you applied to more than one school. assuming you were to write jamb will you choose just one skol when you have an option to choose 3 more ?

femi312:
Infact, its 'extremely' advisable NOT to

abike12:
when they ask any question please respond with any available document. so when they asked about the balance of your fees you should've responded with mouth and the sponsorship letter/bank statement of your sponsor. don't wait for them to ask you for the document.

family ties - things like documents of landed property, pictures of your family members, proof of the plantation, etc

mentioning friends as the reason for choosing a school suggests you have ties in the US and may not come back. F1 is still a non immigrant visa and you have to prove intent to return at the completion of your studies.

kfrosh:
Wrong advise
Don't be in a hurry to bring out any documents unless the V.O requests for it. It's makes the V.Os suspicious of your credibility.

jamoyakz:
Yea right that was why I asked if he took standardized tests (some times that could be the decided ), plus I seen alot of peeps in here writing long epistle (na just two to three minutes interview ). when you cram you tend to mk mistakes. also sometimes those VO might not be in the right frame of mind and might also affect their decision. that was why I stated God factor last after we have done our best

Ubah1:
Login to your dashboard and see what you have there. If its August 4th. Use it, that's your current date. Embassy do reschedule interview dates on their own if there is public holiday or an event happening then

Sorelee:
Tobigspice go and collect your visa... your why US first answer is good that's sud do, how did you hear about the school nice but make it shorter not sure you did be given all the time to say all that you have a edge with your funding use it for your reason for choosing ETSU

haywhy28:
Hello everyone, my visa interview is in a week from now and I'm thinking of postponing it due to some very important reasons. I have paid for sevis and all. Although I'm yet to mail my school's grad studies coordinator for admission deferring, is it possible to shift/postpone my interview date till Dec? Do I have to pay for a new visa fee and sevis fee if I'm going to another school? Please how possible is this?

Someone should please help. i'd appreciate it if you can help me with the steps as well.

Thanks.

abike12:
when they ask any question please respond with any available document. so when they asked about the balance of your fees you should've responded with mouth and the sponsorship letter/bank statement of your sponsor. don't wait for them to ask you for the document.

family ties - things like documents of landed property, pictures of your family members, proof of the plantation, etc

mentioning friends as the reason for choosing a school suggests you have ties in the US and may not come back. F1 is still a non immigrant visa and you have to prove intent to return at the completion of your studies.

Kirusky4life:
I was denied visa yesterday and I tried to reschedule today. Whenever I get to where to the page to pick a date, it say no currently available date. Then I tries again this evening, it wrote something like, "You are reaching the maximum time you will view this"
Please I want to know if there is number of times am expected to visit the page before mypaymenr transaction reference becomes inactive ?

TheGrandChemist:



Visa approved 3rd of July, 2018. Lagos Consulate.

My interview transcript:

After highlighting from my Camry (LoL. I mean a Uber ride o) at the US embassy, I was motioned to come in for a check by a security officer. After the check was completed, he explained that a phone won't be allowed into the consulate. I had this knowledge even before he said this, but I had to come along with my phone because of the Uber app. Well, I was granted access into the consulate after giving the security officer what he requested for (N1,000 to help secure my phone). Everyone just using the slightest opportunity to hustle in Nigeria.

Well, after progressing through that stage, another check was done on us by some security officers too, to confirm that we are not in possession of the prohibited items mentioned. On completion of that, we were addressed by a female consulate officer and were told to arrange ourselves in two rows; first row was for immigrant visa, and the second row for non-immigrant visa. (while all these transpired, we were still outside the consulate). We were then ushered into the consulate. In the consulate, another security check was done. This time, we were told to unhook our belts and place in a tray. The tray contained our belts and our documents; the trays were taken past a security check machine to check for any suspicious object. When the checks were completed, we retrieved our belts and documents.

We were then ushered into another office for documents verification. When that was completed, we progressed into the next stage, which is the biometrics, where we had to do our fingerprints.

And here comes the next stage, which happens to be the most crucial stage; the interview proper - The Judgement Day (LoL).
The atmosphere was pretty tensed, seeing applicants receiving blue papers made matter even worse. At some point, I was getting scared, but I had to summon courage based on Edo boy wey I be. There was a guy who I even thought would have his visa approved; Lo and behold, he was denied, even after all his elaborate explanation. The guy already has a master's degree, but was going for another master's degree in the USA. There was another man who works with MTN Nigeria as a site engineer, but wanted to go for a master's degree in the USA. The guy did well to answer the questions thrown to him alas, he was still denied. At this point, I was scared to the bones. While I was standing there waiting for my turn I witnessed countless interviews ....And out of those interviews, I only noticed 3 approvals ( one was an elderly woman approved by a white American man at window 2. The other was a lady going for her master's degree approved by a white American woman at window 6. The other was a young man approved by a man at window 4).

Well, I happened to be interviewed by a black American woman ( chubby and darker than the black American woman at window 7) at window 5.

Well, to my interview proper:

The black American woman at window 5 motioned me to step forward. I advanced forward immediately.

VO: Good morning (before I could say good morning, she greeted first).

Me: Good morning, ma'am.

VO: Pass me your passport and I-20.

Me: I passed the requested documents.

VO: How did you hear about this school?

Me: I first read about it on some educational magazines. However, I didn't stop there, I had to do an extensive research on it using websites like usnews.com and thegradcafe (while I was saying usnews.com she joined me in saying 'oh you came accross it using educational websites!', and I responded to her in the affirmative).

VO: How many other schools did you apply to, and name them?

Me: 4 other schools. I was naming them as e dey hot, but she quickly jumped in by saying 'Hold on. Take it slowly'. I started again, and named all the schools while she typed, but this time, I did it slowly as she requested (Georgia State University, Ohio University, Louisiana State University and Oregon State University).

VO: What's your highest qualification?

Me: Bachelor of Science, Chemistry.

VO: When did you graduate?

Me: I graduated February 2012.

VO: So, what have you been doing since then?

Me: I went for a compulsory National Youth Service Scheme. After that I worked in XYZ Table Water Industry for 1 year as a quality control officer/production manager. I then proceeded from there to my current organization where I work as a billing officer.

VO: What is the name of the organization you currently work for?

Me: XYZ Electricity Distribution Company

VO: So, it means that your total work experience doesn't have any connection with your course of study ( She said this with her eyebrows raised and a weird look on her face.)?

Me: I quickly read her body language, and I knew that this woman wan change am for me o. For the first time, I thought to myself "Na so my village people wan take win this war?" . So I quickly responded, "that's not exactly the case ma'am". Like I said, I have worked as a quality control officer at Bamjoh Table Water Industry (While I was still talking, she realised this and quickly corrected herself by saying 'oh, you were once a quality control officer, I see') and this is related to Chemistry in every way.

VO: how did your course of study helped you ... muttering.. muttering....

Me: Ma'am, I didn't get you clearly.

VO: She repeated the question again, but I still didn't hear her clearly.

Me: I'm sorry ma'am, I still didn't get you well.

VO: This time around she then spoke up louder than before, and I heard her correctly. The question was, how did your course of study helped you in your previous work experience?

Me: I responded, 'oh, my course of study Chemistry, has a branch known as Analytical Chemistry. Analytical Chemistry deals with the qualitative and quantitative analysis of compounds, which of course deals with the determination of impurities in substances and as well as pH level when necessary. I was able to use this knowledge to determine the presence of impurities and pH level of water produced prior and after production as a quality control officer at XYZ table water industry.

VO: She nodded her head suggesting she's impressed with my response. She continued by asking another question: Who is paying for your tuition?

Me: I was offered a full tuition waiver, and a graduate assistant position worth BE,000 USD annually.

VO: But I can't see a full tuition waiver on your I-20. I can only see BE,000USD for an on campus job....still muttering some words.

Me: While she was muttering, I was searching for a document showing proof of my full funding in the documents in my possession. She noticed I was trying to reach out for a document, then she responded, 'don't worry, I don't need any other documents from you'. At this time, she realized I got a full tuition waiver after taking a sternly good look at the I-20.

VO: What is your on-campus job about?

Me: It's a graduate assistantship position where I would work as a teaching assistant in the first semester, and then apply for a research assistantship position in the second semester if I choose to.

VO: She nodded her head in affirmative.

VO: What will this degree do for you?

Me: I have a concrete plan, and that is to pick up a lecturing job at my Alma mater on completion of my PhD program come Fall 2023.... I was about adding more points when she interrupted me...

VO: What is the name of your Alma Mater

Me: The university of Benin.... I continued my conversation by adding that I have established a strong connection with a professor in my Alma mater who happened to be my undergraduate supervisor, and he has assured me that I will have a strong edge over other applicants by the time I am done with my PhD at Brigham Young University. I will also love to work as a research consultant for multinational organizations like shell and Chevron while I lecture in the university.

VO: In response to my reply she nodded her head again.

VO: Are you married?

Me: No, I am not married.

VO: Engaged?

Me: Not at all.

VO: Have you traveled out of the country at any time?

Me: No, I have never had any reason to travel out of the country until now.

VO: Then she typed for some seconds, and said those sweet words. I will be approving your visa.... Congratulations... Bla bla bla.
I was trying to get the other things she was saying, but I couldn't get her clearly at this point. I only heard that you will be notified when your passport is ready for pick up. LoL. I think I also heard her say something about keeping my I-20 safe... Bla bla bla. LoL.

I couldn't believe it at first, because the way she was asking me questions looked like she was finding a fault in my application so as to use that to deny me. I almost gave up and was like, 'abeg do your worst, I don tire jare'.

To God be praised. I walked out majestically while still trying to curtail the joy within me. I almost got myself imploded because the joy within me was massive and was ready to come out. LoL



Cheers!!!

Oegbeyem:
Does anyone know if I can get a date before 20th?

Micheal3727:
[b][/b]
Yes tonight

Oegbeyem:
are you sure my brother? So I will go and pay tomorrow and reapply asap

Micheal3727:
Yes

wisepluto:
Who knows anyone writing GRE soon. I have a fantastic Princeton material that helped me a great deal. Will give it out for free, though it cost me some dough when I got it.