Koldfuzhion:


The interview went well, I received the visa approval. I got to the Lagos consulate 30mins before the interview time. The CGI folks checked my appointment letter to ensure that I was scheduled for the day. Once confirmed, I was allowed in and told to arrange my documents in the order described in the interview invitation mail.

When I got into the visa hall. I was initially called for document verification at a window. All of my original documents were collected including my original school certificates. These were compared with the information that I submitted to NVC which had been mailed to them.

Once done, I was told to sit and wait till my number was called. There was no particular order to the way that applicants were called for the interview with the consular officers. After an hour, I was called by one of the officers.Below are some of the questions he asked:

Have you ever lived in any other country for more than 6 months?
Are you currently employed and where do you work?
How many years of experience do you have?
Where are you going to in the US and what are you going to do there?
Do you have any professional certifications along with your academic credentials?
Have you ever changed your name?
Do you have other dependents that aren't applying with you?

Once he was done with his notes, he mentioned that I had been approved and he gave me a white slip. He held on to my passport, but returned all my original documents that I had submitted during the initial screening.

The main takeaway is that even though the consular officer is not readjudicating the petition, they're validating the legitimacy of the application from an immigration perspective.

Most importantly, ensure that you're consistent in all of the information provided, as I saw a lot of people get entangled by providing inconsistent or incomplete information to the consular which led to the dreaded 221g refusal.

Wishing you all the best in your journey.

Congratulations.
This is very encouraging.
Wishing you all the best as you embrace your new life.

Chynwe:
Please I would like to ask this,apart from WES, are there other evaluation bodies one can use for transcript evaluation in EB2 niw process?

Look up Trustforte. They are a bit cheaper than WES but good.

Aku660:
Has anyone receive IL from Lagos consulate for January 2024?

My PD August 2022

DQ April 2023.

The wait is not easy.

Those who got DQ up to December 2022 are to have their interview this January.

Going by the family based visa category, February seems to be fully booked and some family based visa applicants scheduled for end of January have been rescheduled to first week in March.

By permutation, seems the earliest we can expect interview for employment based category may be for the month of March.
I do pray for an earlier date.

Rxmaxy:
@praizG
please I would appreciate if you can send the link to join the telegram group for those waiting for an interview date though consular processing in Nigeria after approval of EB2 to my email
maxyontop@yahoo.com

Please check your email, I have sent it as requested.

Newsolutions:



Please send me the link to the telegram group too. My email address is newsolutionsng@yahoo.com

Sent. Please check your email.

[quote author=cobu post=127112772][/quote]
Sent. Check your email

aomisola:

Can you please send me the telegram link also? aomisola@hotmail.com. We can see a lot of CR/IR receiving IL despite the fact that's its Thanksgiving day.

I will appreciate a response.

Thanks

I sent you a message

Rxmaxy:
Hello everyone, please I would appreciate it if i can get the link to join the telegram group for those waiting for an interview date though consular processing in Nigeria after approval of EB2, thank you

The link somehow isn't coming out right here. I don't understand why. I sent you a message.

aomisola:
When were you DQ'ed? I was told from a reliable source that NVC no longer sends the case status update since July 2023. I am January 2023 dq'ed, and the last time I got the status update was on July 30th. Though it was meant to be received every 60 days, it has been 90 days, and I have not received it. Fingers crossed, though.

I am Jan 2023 DQ as well. So every 60 days I received update ( i.e march, may ..) I did not received in July as expected, on making enquiry, I received an update on my status. Next update was September 1st and then recent one on 31st October.

Mandem101:
instead of IL, NVC sent at 12:30 am EST ~ 6:30am today the BS reminder "Your case will remain at NVC until an appointment is scheduled". Just saw this now . Annoying aF! same reminder sent sept 1 when IL was sent to DQ septemebr- December DQ guys... Maybe some January/february fellas will get IL this week or sometime in November. Just permutation no factual backing to this!!

Same here, received mine at 8.30am.

eakhilomen:


Are there January 2023 DQ in this room. Have all the December 2022 DQ gotten IL

DQ Jan 2023 here

Mandem101:
Quick update: Lagos consulate IL for some CR/IR candidate December DQ was received today. Fingers crossed to see if EB candidate will get some

Fingers crossed!
Thanks for the update.

TosinKate:
Missing previous employment and education section on DS 260 form

Hello house.

I have asked this question on different platforms and I seem to have different answers which makes me confused further.

My DS 260 form (EB2 NIW) is missing my previous employment and education as the principal applicant. My spouse's has this section.
While trying to figure things out, I tried putting another answer (homemaker) in the present occupation and the previous section showed which I filled accordingly. I liked back on the present to change it to the right occupation, Pam! *the previous section disappeared again*.

I have been on this for the past 1 week and I am not sure if I should submit it like that or not.

I had exactly the same experience, when I asked around, it also happened to some principal applicants, some of whom never had issues concerning it at the visa interview.
I submitted the DS 260 like that. I am DQed, awaiting visa interview.

Dmowumi:

Hello everyone,
I have been scheduled for November interview
PD: October 2021
Dq: November 2022
IL: August 2023

Has anyone had his/her interview?

How did you fill the contact sheet?
What to expect during the interview?
Any affordable accommodation with close proximity to the consulate?

Kindly share please

Congratulations. Wish you success in your interview.
Please what visa category are you?

Dmowumi:


Have you gone for the medicals please?
Did you pay extra fees for vaccines at Iom?

I haven't gotten to that stage yet
This is information from those who did theirs at IOM. You pay for the vaccines during the medicals. This is besides what you initially paid during registration.

TosinKate:
Hello house. Regarding attestation of birth certificate for a married woman. Will it be the former name before marriage or the new name after marriage that will be included?

I used current (name after marriage as it appears on the international passport).

Koldfuzhion:


I've just received an IL from the Lagos Consulate for 3rd week in October 2023. EB2-NIW. Priority Date: Feb 2022, DQ: September 2022. Hopefully others also received ILs.

Congratulations @Koldfuzhion. Wish you a successful interview.
Someone I know who got DQ in November 2022, also got IL yesterday.

Adidee:


With the information received, I believe it has been sent to NVC.
However, you should receive a formal mail of approval notice through your attorney within the next couple of days.

Have you also tracked your case on the USCIS website? If you haven’t use the link below to verify if it has been approved.
https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/mycasestatus.do

I joined a telegram group for people going through consular processing and I get valuable information there; you can ask questions and get prompt response to your answers.

https:///+IbgduScMz4lmMDg0

https:///+IbgduScMz4ImMDg0

Invite link for EB2 NIW consular processing group

All the best

The link for the telegram group is not working or at least not for me. Please can you resend?

Adidee:


Oh wow! Narrowly escaped the retrogression date.
PD sept 2021
DQ December 2022

Hopefully we ‘l get the IL soon

What about those whose priority date is February 15th 2022? The final action cut off date for EB2 ROW is Feb 15th 2022 and those with PD earlier than this date is considered current. However, no mention about those whose PD is exactly ON the cut off date.

johnJS:
Hmm, thank you for sharing this. Some of the reviews on them that I read on yelp and other websites had complaints in this regards. I thought they were just unhappy because of unsuccessful applications but it appears they do pile on the bills a little?

From the little I have seen online some attorneys will charge a flat fee for all the work they put in from A to Z which should be preferable.

Do you mind sharing what kind of fees your friend has encountered with them?

He was charged $9000

johnJS:
Hello all,

To cut a long story short I have basically struck out with getting an attorney through relatives in the US.

Helpout12345 you previously mentioned a couple of attorneys one of which was better for industry professionals – Zhang & Associates of https://www.hooyou.com/

I did a little research on them and though their reviews online appear a bit mixed (people with refusals are naturally disgruntled) the fact that one or two others here gave positive reviews of them helps.

So I am thinking of contacting them to get finally get this process started.

However, I would appreciate any further recommendations of attorneys experienced in the oil & gas immigration area as this is the specific industry the principal applicant works in. And like Helpout12345 hinted I would be looking for those who would give very hands-on help and direction in writing/drafting letters, petition and whatever else may be required.

The idea behind getting an attorney versus DIY is to get this exact kind of help and of course to enhance our chances of success especially as we are doing this from Nigeria.

@johnJS, based on the experience of a friend currently using Zhang and associates for his EB petition, you need to up your bargaining prowess when discussing attorney fees so you dont end up paying more (should you decide to use them). As far as I know, my friend drafted the recommendation letters for Zhang and associates to edit, dont't know about petition letter stage yet.

semmyk:
Just to add-on a bit on consular VO, extract of earlier post: FAQ

Thanks @ semmyk.

Helpout12345:


I know it's a long read. But focus on section 212a number 1 to 10 line items and their waiver section. If you need more deep dive into any of them, just ask here.

Sure will thanks

@Helpout12345 can't thank you enough for being very informative. It was indeed a long read and educative. Indepth knowledge about the laws that govern the INA is very important, but can be tedious to follow.
Thanks again.

Helpout12345:


Here you go. Based on states or Alaska or Hawaii. You will use 125pct figures.

https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p

Those figures are expected to carry you and family for a period of 1 year without needing any public charge benefits.

Great!
Thank you @ Helpout12345
Sharing the interview experiences of 2 individuals who got their EB2- NIW approved.
One had some savings but no where near the 125pct figure for family of 5. He however had evidence of an online job for a US based company which he had in Nigeria . He was drilled repeatedly by the VO to show proof that he'd still have the job when he moves to the US

The other individual, a medical doctor and a specialist in a field, had stated in his EB2- NIW application and proposed endeavor/letter of intent, to engage in research in his field. He had some savings ( did not bring that up and was not asked), however, he was offered a residency training position in his field and his annual salary was above the 125pct figure required for his family size, and included medical insurance. The VO asked why he was going for the training in the field he claimed to be a specialist. He asked questions hovering around the EB2- NIW application and how he intends to carry out his proposed endeavor and if he really had exceptional abilities he had claimed to have.
Both individuals got the visa but had a sour taste in their mouth after the interview.
@Helpout 12345 and others with experience or information, please what advice would you give to someone in the first and/ or second scenario or other scenarios you know of.
What other factors can make the VO deny an EB visa?
Does multiple prior non immigrant visa refusals, prolonged stay at a prior US trip, inability to get police report from another country e.g China, Russia, etc, affect the interview negatively.

Thank you

Helpout12345:


Yes. Affidavit of support is not required for NIW. But there are things required to serve same purpose as the Affidavit of support in case of NIW.

The purpose of Affidavit of Support is for US government to ascertain than the immigrants will not become public charge after getting the immigration benefits. In other words, that the immigrants will not end up collecting public poverty alleviating benefits.

So for NIW applicants going through consular processing, the public charge requirements are tested at embassy stage. The primary NIW applicant must convince the VO at the embassy that he or she has a job offer waiting, or has a high prospect of landing a job as early as possible when they arrive in the US. If the primary applicant has no job offer waiting, the following are tips to use to convince the VO that they will not become public charge

1. Present your letter of intent submitted with your I140 from the first stage. But you must have written your letter of intent to serve this purpose as well when you were preparing it at USCIS stage. In the letter of intent, you must state your intention is to work in the field you have demonstrated extra ordinary abilities in the past and that you are still demonstrating those abilities at the moment.

2. Before your embassy interview, go into indeed.com and other job boards to apply for as many jobs as possible. Have communication and interviews with as many US employers as possible. Print those communication and interviews and take them to your visa interview. If you can get interviews with prospective employers in your field while outside the US, most likely you will land a job very soon when you arrive.

3. If you have enough savings, show evidence of it against the US poverty guidelines based on the number of people in your family.

Whao! You are very detailed in your explanations. Many thanks.
I do have a lot more questions though, but one day at a time.

Helpout12345:


Yes. EB categories applicants going through consular processing can definitely do the NVC stage by themselves. In fact, the process becomes same for everyone at NVC stage, except very few differences in visa priority dates, affidavit of support, job offer (if required).

I also always recommend that EB consular processing candidates DIY the NVC and embassy stage cos attorney has very little inputs at those stages.

NVC steps are as below.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/step-2-begin-nvc-processing.html

Let me know if you need more information on any steps involved.

Thanks a lot!
The affidavit of support and financial documents are not required in EB2 -NIW, am I right?

@Helpout12345,
I observed that a lot of family based immigrant visa applicants handle the NVC processing stage by themselves. Can the same apply to applicants in the employment based category at the NVC stage? Do you have experience with the steps involved?

Thanks

Write what is shown on your DS-2019. Good luck
[/quote]

Please can someone help answer this question?
My training duration on my DS 2019 is for 1 year, ( to be renewed yearly) but actual training duration is 4 years. What do I fill in the DS 160, 1 year or 4 years.
Thanks.

Hi@Chyjoey
My training duration on my DS 2019 is for 1 year, but actual training duration is 4 years. What do I fill in the DS 160, 1 year or 4 years.
Thanks.